How many rolfing sessions are needed

This is because each session has a different focus. On average, a session takes 65 minutes, including preparation and post-processing. It is best to have sessions in intervals of every 2 to 4 weeks. In the beginning of the treatment, many clients prefer to have a session every week, which is also fine. However, I do not advise to have sessions more than once a week, as the body would most probably not have enough time to integrate the work of the previous session. This way, it is easier to feel and work on the different layers of connective tissue fascia.

Therefore, clients normally wear their regular underwear. Alternatively, a bikini or short swimming trunks, as well as gym shorts and sports bras can be worn. While working on the table, we can use a sheet or a blanket so you feel more comfortable and warm. Please refer to the rates page for details on prices. Most Swiss health insurances, via their complementary insurance models, take on part of the cost of the treatment. Please check with your health insurance provider about the details prior to the first session.

My ZSR number is S Better posture, coordination, improved flexibility and improved movement can be expected. An enhanced understanding of how the body operates in harmony with gravity will be developed through the sessions. Most often the benefits of Rolfing remain for years after the initial series.

Some clients continue to improve without any further work. Some may tend to slip back toward their old patterns but never regress back to where they were before being Rolfed. Some clients choose to continue receiving one session per month for several months while others may want to do an advanced series of sessions once or twice a year.

The human structure continually seeks resilient and order. It will use the freedom, information and range of motion acquired during the initial Rolfing work to develop more functionally efficient patterns. The changes catalysed by Rolfing are not only permanent, they are ongoing and progressive. The body continues to integrate the work long after the series is complete. We work to change patterns in an orderly sequence with each session progressively brings more order and support to the body- more inherent and comfortable patterns begin to replace the old inefficient ones.

When this happens, you will consciously begin to select those more natural pattern. Our bodies also, are always seeking a higher level of order. When the body begins to experience this new order it will tend to maintain it because of its efficiency. Rolfing creates the potential for new patterns of movement which reinforces further integration.

Photographs taken years after clients have completed the basic ten series show that the changes were still present and the structure had improved further.

Keep in mind however, as life changes, bodies change in response. Any injuries, accidents, lengthy illnesses and emotional stress may necessitate additional tune up or advanced work. While Rolfing is primarily concerned with structural modifications, any change in the physical body affects the whole person. Rolfing helps people access patterns of holding that are emotional as well as physical. Therefore, Rolfing is an excellent complement to psychotherapy and other personal development work.

The way you use your body affects its structure. Rolf Movement Integration supports and advances the goals of the work done in Rolfing sessions. While the Rolfing sessions affect change through fascial manipulation, movement work does that through movement education, shifting coordination and posture in your day-to-day activities. Rolfing work is great for making large steps forward in structural shift towards better posture; Rolf Movement helps to maintain and enhance the effectiveness those structural gains.

Rolfing can be very effective with children due to the rapid rate at which their bodies break down and rebuild, therefore, profound structural changes can occur with minimal intervention.

Rolfing can assist children and adolescents with growing pains, scoliosis, poor posture, leg imbalances such as knock-knees or pigeon-toes, and headaches, among others. Work on children is gentle, and always within the comfort level of the child and parents.

Rolfing can also help children who have had accidents, or seem to be unusually detached from others and their surroundings. Many of the chronic aches and pains that adults have started as children.

Addressing the effects of injuries early in life will diminish their effects on adult bodies. When children are injured from falls or minor accidents, they may seem to be fine on the outside since the cut or bruise healed. However, as Dr. Rolf pointed out, they are not really the same. Minor changes have taken place in the connective tissue, in their joints and in the muscles that were injured.

Small tears or pulls cause the tissue to thicken. Soon, muscles begin to adhere to each other and are less able to function as discrete entities. These changes may express themselves as a slight limp, lower energy, a decrease in strength or range of motion. Rolfing is based on Western ideas of anatomy and physiology that are familiar to and accepted by Western trained physicians.

When Rolfing is understood by these practitioners, it is generally quite well received. Many physical therapists readily embrace Rolfing because they view fascial manipulation the cornerstone of Rolfing as a significant factor in joint mobilization.

More and more MDs are referring patients to Rolfers and are, themselves, being Rolfed. Rolfing and chiropractic can be mutually beneficial. Chiropractic moves bones back to their proper place to restore joint function. Rolfing improves alignment by manipulating the tissues that hold bones and everything else in place. With your approval, we can work directly with your health care team to provide work that supports and promotes current treatment plans.

Additionally, a Rolfer can contribute how fascial organisation may be affecting your condition, a factor that is often overlooked. Regular exercise is great, just pay attention to your body. Balance and coordination can be temporarily affected as your structure changes, and time is needed to integrate changes.

Although you should avoid intense workouts the day of a session, movement is key to get the most out of Rolfing. Walking, with the awareness of the changes and new patterns that are taking place, is particularly good at assisting integration. We suggest bras and panties for women and shorts for men. It is important for the practitioner to be able to see your physical structure and the changes that occur to it during the session, but is also important for you to feel comfortable during the session.

Please wear what you feel is appropriate. We are made for motion. The goal is to achieve balanced tension throughout the entire body , which allows the bones to fall back into their proper relationships naturally.

This being said, chiropractic work is made more effective and spinal adjustments longer lasting with the addition of Rolfing. Massage for the body can be described much like what an oil change is to a car.

Metaphorically speaking, Rolfing for the body would be more like getting framework done to your car! Massage is also a broad term that refers to many different styles, techniques of bodywork, and educational differences. The goals of most types of massage focus on increasing blood flow and relaxing individual, strained muscles. Rolfing is very much like graduate school for massage therapists and is a form of or catagory of Structural Integration that works to realign the entire body to withstand the constant force of gravity, so it functions as a better working and feeling unit.

Some deep tissue massage therapists or practitioners of structural bodywork work to release local patterns of structural strain, but is not usually done as part of a integrative strategy or a 50 year old method to balance whole body according to gravity. Although massage therapy is relaxing, you may find the same area bothering you again shortly after you leave the office. Rolfing clients are not in the nude like massage clients. Rolfing clients wear their under garments during sessions, perform movement, even get up off of the table to sit, stand, or walk to bring the changes of their structure into gravity and their everyday activities.

Anyone who has completed training at any of the other schools of structural integration may not use the terms, Rolfing, Rolfer, or Rolfed at any time. This is a common misconception. It is very interesting to me that most people who have the opinion that Rolfing is extremely painful have never actually experienced the work firsthand!

Since that time, the process has greatly evolved. As far as the actual experience is concerned, the area being worked will vary in sensation and feeling depending upon the severity of layers of chronic stress, injuries, hydration levels and other factors specific to your individual body.

Feelings can range from pleasurable to honest-to-goodness discomfort. Fortunately, the work always proceeds at your own level and pace. Nothing is ever forced , and skillful Rolfing never feels sharply painful or invasive. Others say Rolfing significantly reduces the pain experienced in their daily lives or increases athletic functioning to such an extent, that discomfort during the session is well worth the trade.

Unlike deep tissue massage, Rolfing is a participatory process. As an additional safeguard, I instruct clients to gauge the pressure from 1 to 10, and to notify me if I ever pass a 7. Rolfing therapy may be covered by your health insurance.

Many times a letter of medical necessity is required from your doctor or chiropractor, so it is best to check with your insurance provider to identify and meet their requirements. Currently, I do not bill insurance companies. These plans set aside a portion of your annual income tax free to be used for medical, dental and childcare expenses. Expect to see more FSA companies accepting Rolfing or manual therapy in the future, many already do.

If you are inquiring about using your insurance, Flex Spending Account or Benefits Card to pay for your Rolfing sessions, it may be beneficial to first contact your provider with the following questions so that the process goes smoothly: 1.

Many people use funds from their Health Savings Account to pay for Rolfing sessions. If you are self-employed, please contact your tax adviser for tax exemption requirements.

However, single sessions during pregnancy can be very helpful and beneficial for you as well as the baby. I simply ask for written letter of consent from your doctor prior to your first appointment.

Often a connection between these four debilitating conditions is the physical exhaustion caused by a body being stuck in hyper-arousal or survival.

Anyone exposed to constant stress will eventually acclimatize to the stress. You learn to adapt emotionally by becoming accustomed to it, and physically sustaining an alert status. No matter how strong you are, eventually the continuous stress will wear you down.

How it shows will often be one or more of the above conditions. To heal, your body must first leave the survival state, the revved-up state.

Until your body feels safe, it will be allocating its resources to survival. Rolfing SI has the ability to deeply release the stress and the self-perpetuating survival response stored in the tissue by regulating the nervous system.

Once the body comes down, the resources directed to survival can be used for self-healing. Your body can then rest and heal. It is impossible to touch the physical body without touching the emotional body. All individuals develop compensatory patterns, ways of the body holding and defending itself against a variety of physical and emotional traumas.

For most Rolfers, emotional catharsis is not something consciously desired nor intended for their clients.