What the hell is rolfing?
Published by Jeff, November 27th, 2006 in SkepticismI thought it was some combination of roller-blading and golfing, but what do I know? Anyway, I came across it at work and wondered what exactly it was. I sort of knew it was related to New Age-y alternative medicine, but didn’t really know much about it. A brief synopsis:
Rolfing® seems to be a kind of myofascial massage, but Rolfers prefer to call it “movement education.” Whatever you call it, Rolfing involves touching the skin, feeling around for “imbalances” in tissue texture, and separating “fascial layers that adhere and muscles that have been pulled out of position by strain or injury.”* It is also a kind of energy medicine.* Rolfers consider their unique contribution to be “to balance the body in gravity.” Deep massage or other forms of soft tissue manipulation can’t do that, they say.
It looks for all the world like a form of massage. Rolfers apparently don’t really think so, but they don’t seem to do a good job explaining why it isn’t. As would be expected from a form of alternative medicine, there’s plenty of weird and nonsensical gibberish explaining it:
The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (RISI) has continued Dr. Rolf’s profound inquiry into how to enhance the whole person by organizing the body in gravity.
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Rolfing is a holistic technique in that changes in structure can impact the whole person, physically, emotionally, and energetically.
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In Rolf Movement Integration, the Rolfer helps clients become aware of their inhibiting movement patterns and teaches them how to change them. In Rolfing structural integration, the Rolfer releases these patterns through manipulation as they manifest in the client’s structure. Rolfing is as concerned with how people experience and use their bodies in their daily lives as with their structural organization in gravity.
I’d like to see anyone to explain how rolfing improves “structural organization in gravity.”
That’s really the problem with the sort of physical therapy-ish alternative practices. To the extent that they do anything, it’s placebo and basic muscle, joint, and skeletal function improvement. Not content with that, a bunch of metaphysical pap and elusory benefits are added to dazzle the consumer into thinking it’s something new and exciting.
Bea Arthur: “Occupation?”
Comicus: “Stand-up Philosopher.”
Bea Arthur: “What?”
Comicus: “Stand-up philosopher. I coelesce the vapor of human experience into a viable and logical comprehension.”
Bea Arthur: “Oh. A bullshit artist!”
So I read this as “rofling” in my head and giggled. Roflcopters! Huzzah!
I’m dyslexic.
My God, how come I haven’t heard of this? I mean, I live in Missoula for God’s sake, this is the snake oil capital of Montana! We’ve got entire stores dedicated to this kind of crap!
I went into a place called Feng Shui with a friend once. It’s a store that sells a bunch of different kinds of horoscopes and herbs and rocks and stuff for the purpose of healing. My favorite was the rocks, though. They had a bunch of different kinds of rocks that they were selling for $4 a pop. Each one supposedly had a different healing or rejuvinating characteristic. For instance, they had some micah there (for those who don’t know, micah is a clear rock that flakes off with a mere fingernail scratch.) Take a wild guess how the micah is supposed to help you (after you pay the $4)….. It gives you “clarity.”
Brilliant.
But hey, these people wouldn’t be in business if their bullshit didn’t sell.
rolfing is not some quak remedy to whoever wrote that. YOu’d do well to read Ida rolfs books where she DOES explain ( in great detail) the theory behind rolfing and the work that she does. and it’s not nonsensical giberish. Stop jumping to conclusions when you know nothing about Rolfing.
While it is true that some people are not good at explaining what Rolfing is or how it works, that was not my experience with it. Although the results could be interpreted as a “miracle” and techniques and methodology are easily explainable in western-scientific termonolgy. I underwent the ten series in hopes that my back problem would experience some relief. The results were extrodinary and have been lasting. My Rolfer was a former Ballet dancer and instructor who was quite articulate in her explaninations of how Rolfing works and did not come across as a New Ager; Rather, she was well grounded in the science. Just my experience though. Later.
I had undergone 10 sessions of Rolfing in Butte, MT. I heard about it for the first time from a woman who had raved about how it helped after years of physical agony in her legs and hips after a car wreck. There is a strong theory behind it. It helped me tremendously with my posture and some old injuries. I felt like I was walking on air after going through the entire 10-session body work.
I just found this site today as I am looking for a Rolfer in Billings, MT…
Structural Integration is what Rolfers call it. Movement education is only a part of the process, not a moniker. Balancing the body in gravity is pretty much common sense — Dr Rolfs VERY specific protocol of sessions provide a process to organize human bodies (via the fascia system which holds the body in or out of proper shape) around a vertical axis. Any structure parallel to gravity is supported by gravity, in fact lifted. Think of a pencil balancing on its eraser, it is gravity which brings it back to center as it teeters back and forth. It is the pencil’s enertia which pulls it off center until gravity brings it back to center again. If there were no gravity, the pencil would keep moving in the same direction. Our bodies are the same way. If we are not parallel to gravity, gravity is a real downer. Rolfing changes — no– transforms our relationship to gravity to be optimally efficient. Very basic physics. Very basic. Only gibberish if you have no education in science. The goals of Rolfing is simple yet the results can be profound which is why people have a tough time putting a finger on explaining it. It FEELS like a lot more is happening than better balance, etc. Probably a lot more is happening. Read Dr. James Oschmans books for interesting clinical studies. See http://www.solbergcenter.com for links to articles and websites describing the basic physics of structural Integration as well as some of the more esoteric stuff which does not degrade the hard science of Rolf’s work.
I looked through some of the articles linked on your site and I see nothing that explains your claims in anything even approaching a rigorous manner. The only concrete claims I can find are comments about deteriorating posture as you age. Do you have any longitudinal studies tracking patients who had regular rolfing treatments and their posture as they aged?
What’s your education, then? Your website lists no formal scientific education. And judging by the list of references, which includes homeopaths, acupuncturists, and reflexologists, I’m doubting you have any. It certainly doesn’t appear to have sunk in, in any case.
If it’s basic physics, then let’s see some diagrams. In my university physics classes we drew plenty of diagrams showing how different forces affected objects in different configurations. Lets see something like that for the human body. You can then show me how rolfing reconfigures the body and how the forces you’ve diagrammed change. Of course, that’s a lot more complicated than your pencil example. It’s probably beyond basic physics and is quite difficult to diagram. Of course, that’s my point, but I’m sure you’ll prove me wrong.
I’m embarrassed to say that I took the Rolfing training at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration.
It was expensive and worthless. I’d say my teachers were without integrity, and the administration was worse. Nothing about that place was even internally consistent, much less could it stand up to any critical examination. To say that the instructors were ignorant would be a terrible understatement. To say they were ignorant and arrogant, well, that would be getting closer to it. Anywhere where you go where “everything you do is correct” and the main ideas is that we are after “no particular result” — well, that about sums up the rigor of the training. About all you can do wrong is be unsatisfied with the training, and then they suggest you aren’t “spiritually enlightened enough to training at this time”. A thoroughly disgusting place. Thinking about it makes me wretch.
The work of Rolfing Structural Integration involves four tenets of focus 1. Gravity being a force that
bares a force on the body creating resistance. 2. Geometry : front ,back, Right and Left side planes 3. Fascia And Bones 4. Movement Awareness of proper structural mechanics