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In my practice I do my best to provide a safe comfortable space for clients to achieve positive change toward a more appropriate relationship with gravity.

 

In my touch, I seek the most strategic sweet spot that provides enough pressure for the tissue to soften and allow for the freedom of movement necessary for vertical movement into alignment with gravity.

 

45 years of working with Dr. Ida P. Rolf's ten session formula guides my search for the most strategically efficient series of interventions that will stimulate the whole person to self organize in the gravity field.  

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Rolfing, Structural Integration is named after Ida P. Rolf, Phd.  

 

As a world class scientist, Dr. Rolf was very aware of the real energetics, (thermodynamics), of the Human Body.  She said that, for the first hour or so, we were putting energy into our clients, but at some point the client will begin to lose energy, and they need enough energy to utilize the changes from the session.  

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It is for this reason that I closely monitor my clients' energy levels.  Over the years, I've discovered that her insight is on the mark.  I book 75 minutes per session and the work happens during that time.

 

Currently my fee is $125. per session.

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Ron's daughter Siobhan practices Structural Integration in Seattle.  She can be contacted at;

                     siobhanariel@gmail.com

                              206 790 5718

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In 1971, Ron began his Rolfing education by helping Dr. Rolf and Rosemary Feitis illustrate Dr. Rolf's book;

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                             ROLFING,

THE INTEGRATION OF HUMAN STRUCTURES,   Published in 1977.

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Copies of this book and much more can be ordered from the Rolf Institute For Structural Integration.

                             www.rolf.org

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Rolfing, Structural Integration, was created by Ida P. Rolf Phd., in the early to mid 20th century.  A good short biography of her life can be found at;

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http://rolfing.org/rolfing/historical-perspective/chronology/

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                       WHAT IS ROLFING?

Dr Rolf asked this question many times in every class that I was fortunate to attend.  Like any profound experience, it is indescribable.  The following is a simplification of my ongoing attempt to put the question into words.

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"The principle behind the ten session series is based on grandma's curtain stretcher".

Ida Rolf 

Class of January February 1971

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This is not a cryptic as it sounds. She was referring to the ancient principle of stress equalization that is employed when stretching any elastic material, be it a curtain or a canvas on stretcher bars, weaving a rug or blanket on a collapsible loom, tuning a drum, or stretching a hide between two trees.  

 

Stress in materials is usually described in three stages.  

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Tension is classically defined as a one dimensional line of force pulling in opposite directions between two points in a two or three dimensional form.  

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Stress can be defined as the pattern produced by the accumulation of multiple tensions in elastic materials, specifically, the Myo-fascial organ of form of the Human Body.

 

The accumulation of Stress produces Strain, which is the deformation of the whole elastic material in the myofascial organ of form.  The usual configuration of strain is a twist, which is the next most stable configuration away from balance around the line of gravity.   By the time this occurs, it's impossible to locate the origin of the tension and stress that has distorted the whole structure. 

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Fibroblasts, (the cells that make collagen and fascia), spin collagen fibers along the above mentioned random tension vectors.  In this way, the random patterns of stress become embedded as part and parcel of the whole myo-fascial body, (The Organ Of Form).   Any work done by an individual to self correct this embedded random pattern is limited by the random pattern it's self.   From this, one can see the need for inputting organizing energy from outside the embedded pattern. 

 

One can also see the difficulty of determining the difference between organizing input and disorganizing input.  Examples of disorganizing input are, medical intervention, car accidents and running everyday in badly designed shoes.  Given all of the above, what is the criteria for making a determination as to what is, and is not, organizing input?  Ida Rolf determined that balancing one's physical reality in gravity is the criteria.  Therefore, any intervention that results in better balance in gravity is the determining factor in whether or not the intervention is successful.  Fortunately, working with Dr. Rolf's ten series formula will safely produce reliable results.  And, simultaneously, working with the ten series will educate practitioners in the art of seeing with a Rolfer's eyes. 

 

Dr. Rolf's creation of the ten session series is the first modern attempt to address this problem.  Ida's ten session formula can be said to apply consciously directed organizing energy toward organizing the results of random interventions that have impacted individuals over their lifetimes. 

 

Rolfing, Structural Integration, is a systematic manual ten session formula for safely releasing the pattern of tension, stress and strain in the whole Human body.  Each session is designed to progressively reduce and organize the pattern of tension, stress and strain in the whole person, from the outside in.  The intent is to integrate Human Structure into it's environment, which is, gravity and the chaotic surface of the Earth.

 

The usual result is an improvement in the experience of feeling like one's self.  At a minimum, one usually feels lighter and more energetic with greater freedom of movement.

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Other modalities of intervention have approached this problem with varying success.  Yoga and Tai Chi are among the most ancient.  Both are a way to achieve better balance in gravity through the application of conscious intent to organize one's own structure.  Osteopathic manipulation and chiropractic are more modern attempts to address balance in gravity.  Of course, the success of all of these modalities is dependent on practitioner intent.  Random intent, such as a focus on remuneration, can overcome the best intentions of any modality being employed.  Ida Intentionally designed the ten series to overcome such tendencies.  Anyone who faithfully employs the ten series will achieve positive results regardless of intent.  

 

Another reason for the inability to self correct  is that, for all practical purposes, the individual human structure is a closed energy system or pattern that, in time, tends toward greater disorganization.  This is called entropy.  Any work by the individual to attempt to self correct is governed by the limits of the disorganized pattern.  The input of conscious intentional organizing kinetic energy, such as the ten series, Osteopathy, Tai Chi, or Yoga in to the disorganized organ of form will stimulate the Human Body's potential for self organization, (equilibrioception), in the gravity field. 

 

Equilibrioception is the awareness of balance, or the awareness of one's relationship to gravity on the random surface of the Earth.  From our first awareness of gravity after the weightlessness of the womb, to the collapse of our structures in old age, equilibrioception and proprioception largely go unnoticed, until something like trauma or disease brings them to our awareness as pain or disability.   Equilibrioception and proprioception combined qualify as the sixth sense, which is usually unnoticed because it is the background.

 

Given all of the above, by the time one seeks Rolfing, the question is; what is the cause of this random pattern of stress and strain, and, where is it located.  The causes are obscured by compensation over time and the location is in the whole structure.  Seeing that this is the case, what can be done to bring about constructive change toward better balance in the whole human body?  Dr. Rolf created the ten series formula or algorithm as a safe systematic way to strategically introduce a pattern of greater elasticity in to the whole strain pattern in the whole structure, which will, in turn, integrate the whole Human, into the gravity field.  

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  WHAT IS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE TEN SESSIONS?

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As stated above, "The ten series is based on Grandma's Curtain Stretcher".

 

When stretching her curtains, Grandma had to keep the tensions equal in order to avoid causing strain in the curtain that would twist the frame.  Again, her way of doing this was to follow the ancient principle of stress equalization known to anyone who has stretched a curtain or canvas on stretcher bars, woven rugs on a collapsible loom, straightened a bicycle wheel or tuned a drum. 

 

Grandma began by creating a line of tension across the center of the opening in the frame. Then she created another line of tension by stretching it across the opening at a right angle to the first line of tension, forming a cross of tension in the curtain.    She then returned to make lines of tension next to the first line of tension.  Then she returned to add to the lines of tension at a right angle to the first. She repeated these steps, until she worked her way to the corners.  If this pattern of stress equalization is not followed, the whole thing will twist in strain.

 

So, if she didn't follow these steps, and the resulting random pattern of stress in the curtain twisted the frame, how would she straighten the whole without taking the curtain off and starting over?  She would have to resort to loosening the curtain in the pattern described above. When applying this principle to the Human Body, it is necessary to visualize how it applies to a three dimensional structure that runs, jumps, and stands still in the gravity field on the chaotic surface of the Earth.  

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This is the method of stress equalization found in the ten session series.  Dr. Rolf designed this series as a teaching system that would inform practitioners, who are willing to keep doing it long enough, to see and safely intervene in each individual Human Structure.  

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Dr. Rolf used this principle of stress equalization to design an advanced formula of five sessions for safely intervening in Human Structures that have previously been Rolfed.  It least part of the intention is to address structures deep in Human structure that are out of reach to the hands of the Rolfer.  And, as a guide to working with traumatized post ten structures.

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In 1976 Ron attended Dr. Rolf's advanced class in Cherry Hill NJ. 

One morning, during discussion about whether or not the body uses Buckminster Fuller's tensegrity principles to balance it's self, the class learned of Ida's personal relationship with Buckminster Fuller.  Ida said; "why not ask Buckey", who, she said, was in fellowship down the road at Princeton?  She said that if we selected a class member, she would see if she could arrange for an interview.  Ron Kurtzman, who was a professor of math and physics it UBC, was the obvious choice.  During the break, Ida went to the phone with her address book, and, after a long conversation, returned to inform us that Ron had an invitation to interview Buckey the following morning.  Ron returned from the interview looking like he had interviewed the god of math and tension in materials.  He said that; "anything we might think, or think about thinking, Buckey thought of it first, and that of course the human structure uses tensegrity on a contingency basis as well as a long term basis to achieve and maintain balance in gravity" 

 

My thoughts on this are about how the spine resembles a tensegrity mast on legs.  And, the job of the Rolfer is to put the whole system back in balance. Easy enough to say. 

 

Collagen, is around 25% to 35% of the protein in human bodies.  Because there are few diseases specific to collagen, until recently, it has not been extensively studied.  It is around 70% water.  Jellyfish, one of the oldest life forms on the planet, are 99% collagen and about 95% water.  Collagen is highly structured water.  There are proposals that claim that when water forms collagen it is a fourth state of water.        

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From 1979 through 1991, Ron occasionally assisted and taught classes for the Rolf Institute.

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Ron is a member of, and has assisted in classes for, The Guild For Structural Integration.

 

In 2013 Ron was elected to the Board Of Directors for the Rolf Institute Of Structural Integration.  He didn't run for re election when his term ended in 2017.

 

He has practiced in the Pacific NW, for 44 years.  

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           PUBLISHED ARTICLES

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               GRANDMA'S CURTAIN STRETCHER,

ORTHOGONAL GEOMETRY AND THE UNITY OF OPPOSITES. 

Published in the Journal of the Rolf Institute For Structural Integration. 8/8/1991.

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                                  SEEING,..

WORDS CAPTURE MEANING AS REEDS CAPTURE WILD GEESE. 

Published in the Journal of the Guild For Structural Integration. 1994

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                             TIGER STONE,

a short story published in the Journal of the Guild for Structural Integration.  1994.​

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If you are interested in reading any of these articles, please contact us at;

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                 rontherolfer1@gmail.com

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