By Certified Rolf Movement™ Instructor Pierpaola Volpones
In the midst of our fast-paced, modern lives, it's easy to overlook the intricate symphony of movements that our bodies perform each day. Rolf Movement™ is a method that awakens your body's natural alignment and movement patterns. It invites you to reintroduce yourself to the beauty of your body's natural grace. By pausing to acknowledge your posture, your breath, and your movement patterns, you begin a profound exploration of self-awareness.
Through Rolf Movement, you can rewrite the script of your everyday movements, crafting a narrative of elegance and fluidity that resonates with your truest self. So, as you are reading these words, take a moment to pay attention to yourself:
Are you sitting in front of your computer, or are you standing and looking at your mobile device? How is your body positioned? How do you perceive your breath right now?
If you are sitting, take a moment to sense your pelvis resting on the chair. Let it support your body, feel your feet touching the floor. Sense your breath filling and flowing inside the thorax.
Take a moment to perceive your pelvis and your thorax as you breathe. If you are standing with your device in your hands, lift your head up, look far away and take a breath and sense your body …”
These simple self-observations could be the beginning of a Rolf Movement session: bringing awareness on body habits, gesture, and everyday life movements.
The Idea behind Rolf Movement
Rolf Movement is an extension of the notable Rolfing® Structural Integration method, pioneered by Dr. Ida Rolf. While the Rolfing 10-Series focuses on structural changes to bring the body into optimal alignment, Ida Rolf developed Rolf Movement to support and complete these structural changes.
One of the pillars of Dr. Rolf’s method is the awareness that gravity is always with us, acting on us. She realised that improved alignment fosters graceful movement in the gravitational field. Rolf Movement is based on the theoretical understanding of the physiological movement of the body when we stand, walk and breath within the constant embrace of gravity.
This understanding underscores the idea that proper alignment doesn't just impact our physical form but also influences how we move and exist in the world. By delving into the physiological intricacies of standing, walking, and breathing, Rolf Movement identifies where our natural movement patterns are disrupted in everyday life.
Rolf Movement in Practice
Rolf Movement acknowledges that for each individual person, there is an economical, efficient, expressive way to perform all that is needed in life. This ideal way to breathe, walk, and move is related to subjective resources. However, the tapestry of our daily lives is often woven with habits and patterns that veer away from this ideal. With Rolf Movement, Rolfers seek to bridge the gap between the two. They can “read” individual habits and recognise the unique patterns of everyday life movement.
Through this awareness, Rolf Movement practitioners can guide their clients toward new patterns that express ease and flow. They help clients to own these changes, to understand and embody how gravity could flow and support their daily life movements.
Nowadays, the significance of postural trainings and coachings continues to grow, particularly for the alleviation of pain and discomfort. Rolfers possess a unique understanding that alignment within the gravitational field is a profound indicator of overall health and wellbeing. This concept, deeply embedded in the pillars of the Rolfing practice, is the sound base of the Rolfing method. It’s part of every Rolfer’s history and of their practice.
Author: Certified Rolf Movement™ Instructor and Certified Advanced Rolfer® Pierpaola Volpones - Italy
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