If you’re plagued by muscle pain, Dr. Oz recommends a technique called Rolfing, which he describes as “even deeper than a deep-tissue massage.”
This technique, which was developed by Dr. Ida Pauline Rolf, aims to separate bound-up connective tissues (or fascia), which link the muscles. “Rolfing literally releases the joints,” Dr. Oz says. “When you talk to folks about the impact it has on them, a lot of them just stand taller. A lot is just freeing you up to live the way you’re supposed to live.”
Rolfing is also known as Structural Integration. The goal of Structural Integration is to achieve balance around and through an energetic core in the body, allowing gravity to support the structure rather than to drag it down. Rolfing had been recommended to me in the hope that it could help with my posture, chronic pain, and never ending pursuit of a deep and intense massage. There are ten sessions which compose the Structural Integration work (source).
ROLF #4
The Pelvic Floor. I was stressed out about this session since I read about it online. I asked anyone I could think of to show me where the pelvic floor was. Nobody was entirely sure where exactly the work would be occurring. I drove to this session with great anticipation. It turned out to be nothing crazy. I was never touched in a way or place that felt like I was on a romantic date.
The session ended with my Rolfer placing his hands face up on the seat of a chair and asking me to sit on his hands. After I gave him a confused and nervous glance and asked “did you say, SIT on your hands?” he repeated the direction in a super friendly, don’t worry kinda way. Apparently he was working with my sit bones. Whats amazing is that it’s been a week since this session and I’m still extremely aware of the presence of my sit bones and trying to sit in a way that I actually AM sitting on my sit bones.
ROLF #5
The Abdomen and the Psoas. I decided to wait to eat dinner till after this 7pm session. Although I don’t know that it helped, it made me feel more comfortable with the work being done. It was exactly as I had read and researched online. The work focused on my abs. It was during this session that I have felt the most “intensity” of the massage but still nothing I couldn’t tolerate.
Overall, I left this session realizing that I was beginning to build a whole new relationship with my body. I’m only halfway done with the work and already beginning to experience the benefits of the process.
Carrie Brown
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