What exactly is 'rolfing'?

Question

I don't understand what this is! Can someone explain it to me?

Answer 1

Rolfing Structural Integration is named after its founder Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Dr. Rolf began her inquiry more than fifty years ago, devoting her energy to creating a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organized the whole body in gravity.

Dr. Rolf discovered that she could achieve remarkable changes in posture and structure by manipulating the body's myofascial system and eventually named her work Structural Integration.

"Rolfing" is the nickname that many clients and practitioners gave this work, and it is now a registered service mark in 27 countries.

Rolfing structural integration has the ability to dramatically alter a person's posture and structure. Athletes, dancers, children, business professionals, and people from all walks of life have benefited from Rolfing. People seek Rolfing as a way to ease pain and chronic stress, and improve performance in their professional and daily activities. It's estimated that more than 1 million people have received Rolfing work.

Research has demonstrated that Rolfing creates a more efficient use of the muscles, allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more economical and refined patterns of movement. Research also shows that Rolfing significantly reduces chronic stress and changes in the body structure. For example, a study showed that Rolfing significantly reduced the spinal curvature of subjects with lordosis (sway back); it also showed that Rolfing enhances neurological functioning.

Answer 2

It would be a handy ability to have, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, women don't just flow along and respond to things in a unconscious spontaneous way based on what emotions are overwhelming them at that time any more than men do, so I'm afraid we can't help you. If you figure out how to silence the thinking, analyzing, planning, self-conscious and world-conscious mind, do let us women know won't you? We need something like that pretty badly too.

Answer 3

Rolfing, a method of Structural Integration, is a codified series of soft tissue manipulation, which purports to organize soft tissue relationships, with the objectives of realigning the body structurally and harmonizing its fundamental movement patterns. This is said to enhance vitality and well-being.

Dr. Ida Pauline Rolf (1896-1979) developed a method, in the early to mid 1950s, the goal of which was the organizing of the human structure in relationship with gravity. This was called Postural Release and then later Structural Integration of the Human Body. Early consumers of Structural Integration coined the word Rolfing from the surname of Ida Rolf. Since the early 1970s, Rolfing has been a service mark of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, the school founded by Rolf.

Answer 4

Think it's when you start acting like Rolf Harris, singing songs about kangaroos etc.

Answer 5

Rolfing is the name given to the system of body manipulation originated by Dr. Ida P. Rolf, PhD in biochemistry. Dr. Rolf had a child who had a health problem, and searched for a way, outside of conventional medicine, to solve it. She went to work on the child with her hands and with a good measure of success, discovered that she could restore the child's body to a more balanced shape and alignment, ease of movement, by working with the connective tissue in the body. This evolved, then, into working on friends, and friends of friends, until she had quite a reputation for being able to "fix" things for people in their bodies.

As a scientist she had the insight that gravity is a force constantly at work in the body either maturing it towards organization, alignment and wholeness; or as an ever disorganizing force compressing and misshaping the body. She worked privately for more than 20 years, asking people how they felt after the last session, watching them walk, and postulating about what she should do next for the person.

Rolfing is a way of working with the fascia that balances the body in gravity. In its most simply expressed form, Rolfers work with the body as a system of inter-related segments to restore these segments to proper alignment in the vertical and horizontal grid of gravity. Thus for example, the Rolfer will determine the shift and tilt of the pelvis and its relationship to each leg in order to bring them into better vertical and horizontal balance with each other, while working with all other body segments, so that further balance, rather than strain, is induced through the whole body.

Answer 6

According to the dictionary, it's a method of massaging. It involves the therapy of muscles and internal organs to help relieve tension (both physical and emotional) and it can also improve other things, like posture.

Here is some links to some sites if you want to further your understanding of "rolfing":

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=rolfing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolfing
http://www.rolf.org/rolfer/index.htm

Hope that helped!

Answer 7

Dear me,I just went on a site on the net and it sounds as if it was started off by a doctor Rolf and it,s some mumbo jumbo about gravity on the body, blah blah blah.
Another money making ruse no doubt!!!!
Go and have a look "just google it"

Answer 8

Rolfing is a service mark used for a technique of deep muscular manipulation and massage for the relief of bodily and emotional tension.
It would be like therapy for whiplash.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/Rolfing

Answer 9

Golf to Scooby Doo... Ri Rust Re Rolfing...

No, in all seriousness I have no idea!

Answer 10

Tie me Kangaroo down sport