Dr. Ida P. Rolf was a woman ahead of her time; she earned her PhD in biochemistry from Columbia University in 1920 and worked as a research scientist for Rockefeller Institute for 13 years. As a lifelong seeker of knowledge, she sought ways to help herself and her family. Eventually, she combined her scientific background and experiential knowledge to develop a system of hands-on body work, which she termed Structural Integration (SI). This evolved into a series of 10 sessions designed to bring the entire body into balance and vertical alignment with the field of gravity.
 Dr. Rolf's Structural Integration work became known as "Rolfing®". Her work gained popularity in the 1960's when it coincided with the emergence of the human potential movement in psychology. The work of SI looks at the human being as a whole – not only as a body, a mind or a spirit but as a human being having a human experience on the planet we call earth. The gravitational laws of the earth and the physics involved with becoming and maintaining an upright, vertical human structure are important components in the work of SI.
The effects of gravity on the human body were fundamental to Dr. Rolf's development of SI, so much so that she stated, "Structural Integration is not a treatment but a preparation for the use of gravity. The Rolf Line forms a relationship between man and gravity."
The gravitational force is one of the strongest unseen forces that determines our uprightness or lack of it. Like all other material bodies, we are subject to the laws of mechanics; one of these laws states that masses must be balanced in order to be stable.
 If the material body of your house is subsiding and your door no longer shuts properly, you have a choice: plane the frame to fit the changing surroundings or stop your house from collapsing. The first approach will solve the problem temporarily, but you'll have to do more and more work as the structure continues to topple; it's the same with your body.
Man consists, more or less, of stackable units. The agents of this balance within the human body are the bones and soft tissue (myofascia). Bones are spacers kept in place by the tensegrity of the soft tissue; when the soft tissue is repositioned, bones adjust their positions accordingly.
Dr. Rolf noted that misalignment of any body-part causes pain and other symptoms that increase with gravity's ever-present downward force. She saw that it wasn't enough just to relieve the most painful or troubled area. Instead, to solve the problem permanently, the entire structure had to be rebalanced from its foundations. We only have to look at the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa to see this: the entire structure is visibly fighting against gravity. The same forces apply in the unbalanced body; movement becomes restricted, joints lose freedom and range of movement, and the soft tissue compresses.
 When the tone of the soft tissue is balanced, there is a sensation of lightness in the body. The body components of head, thorax, pelvis, etc. are no longer dragged out of true alignment by weight; the structure presents less resistance and gravity can flow through, supporting it.
Since Dr. Rolf's death in 1979, a number of schools have been established and continue to teach a version of SI while trying to remain true to Dr. Rolf's basic intentions and the 10-session protocol. The ISSI emerges at a time when various versions of SI are gaining popularity. It is our intention to teach and preserve the work of SI in its original form so that our students can continue to grow, learn, and build on their skills from a solid, basic foundation and understanding of the Art and Science of Structural Integration.
Rolfing® is the registered service mark of The Rolf Institute®.
|
