A few weeks ago I began a course
of ‘Structural Integration’ also known as ‘Rolfing’, as a yoga teacher told me
once that it was the best form of body-work that they’d experienced. I
hesitated at the price back in the UK (it can be quite expensive, I think 40-50
GBP and there weren’t that many Rolfers around) so when I saw that there were a
couple offering it for less than half that in Mysore, I jumped at the chance to
give it a go.
My yoga teacher has been working
with me for a few months now, trying to entice my hips to open, but for some
reason they just weren’t budging! He even said, ‘Michelle, I don’t understand,
you’ve been here for 5 months now and you still cannot do baddha konasana?!’ So
I decided to ‘get Rolfed’ and see if the manipulation of the myofascial tissue
would somehow release my hips.
I explained I’d been having pain
in the front of my right hip, but that both were sore most of the time,
restricting movements especially in marichi A and C as well as ardha
matsyendrasana. So she took a look and did some work on the SI and the hips as
well as doing something to my arms as I had wrist pain but also across my
collar bones. The results the next day were astounding! The wrist pain was
gone, she said that because of the growth of muscle in my arms it was squeezing
my nerve to my wrist and that by separating them it would release the nerve and
there would be no pain and, the next day there was no pain. My SI and hips
found a kind of space that they’d never had before and I could do leg behind head
without ‘much’ pain! But the best result of this session was that I could
instantly breathe deeper and without holding tension in my left shoulder which
for some reason I noticed always happens. I was told that there was what
Rolfers call the 10 series where they work on the whole body over 10 sessions
to get your body back to its natural balance. So given the results I signed up
for the whole course.
So sessions 1-3 are referred to as the "sleeve" sessions,
which address the superficial layers of connective tissue. They are devoted to
improving the quality of your breath with work on the arm, ribcage and
diaphragm. Opening is also started along the upper leg, hamstrings, neck and
spine. The next aim is at
providing you a powerful foundation by balancing your foot and lower leg.
Session 3 focuses on creating balance between the
front and back of the body. This is done through a side view for understanding
how the head, shoulder girdle and hips are related to one another when standing
in gravity.
Sessions 4-7 are referred to as the “core”
sessions and address the area between the bottom of the pelvis and the top of
the head, as well as the deep tissue of the legs, which play a role in support.
Session 4 establishes a floor to the pelvis and
brings awareness to the medial line of the leg through work extending from the
inside arch of the foot, and up the leg, to the pelvic floor.
Session 5 is concerned with
establishing balance between the surface and the deep abdominal layers with
respect to the curve of the back.
Session 6 aims at finding more
support and movement in the legs, freeing up the coccyx, and creating a
horizontal pelvis.
Session 7 focuses solely on the neck and head,
the positive pole of the body. Looks to balance the head neutrally over the spine.
Sessions 8-10 are “integrative”
sessions strive to blend the previous advancements, and ones yet to be made,
into the body in a way that encourages smooth movement and coordination. They
are designed to further deconstruct twists and rotations, which affect the
freedom and integrity of the lumbars (vertebrae of the low back) by lifting the
thorax up and ordering the legs and pelvis below.
Session 10 relates the fascial planes to each
other and creates an overall balance of the body. This is a final tuning taking
you from a state of static balance to dynamic balance.
I have 2 sessions to go, but I am
literally addicted to Rolfing now! It’s great to practice yoga in between the
sessions because you can notice the changes so much. My balance whilst standing
is better because she worked on my feet and heels, moving the heel into proper
alignment and taught me how to stand properly. I used to stand with an
exaggerated lumbar curve which has now gone and she also sorted out my head
which I used to hold forward but now it sits properly at the top of my spine. A
few years back I injured both knees (doing yoga in fact and have never been the
same since) and my whole body contorted to try and protect them. The rolfing
has ‘unstuck’ all my hamstrings and quads so that my knees now track properly
and this has allowed me to use the muscles properly, instead of them acting
like other muscles, pulling and straining and twisting my legs and knees. I’m
not describing this well at all, but the overall experience has been amazing.
Probably one of the best things I’ve done for my body ever. It’s one of those,
‘why didn’t I try this before’ moments.
This is the best comparison I
have found for yoga and ‘Rolfing’ from www.connectivehealing.com.
“These
two disciplines in many ways are variations on a single theme: both work
towards the physical and emotional evolution of the individual by addressing
structural alignment and whole-body integration. They share the same
fundamental goals and principals, only their methods differ. Combined the two
reinforce each other and allow for an even deeper exploration and awareness of
self.
In
yoga you practice asanas to lengthen, strengthen and align your structure. In
Structural Integration (SI) your practitioner uses their hands to work with
3-dimensional soft tissue patterns that limit the body's comfort, balance and
alignment in the gravitational field. It does this by focusing on the fascial
system.
Fascia
surrounds, supports and penetrates all of your muscles, bones and organs
throughout your body in continuous web-like layers. This fascial net is the
body's internal system of flexible support giving strength and shape to our
bodies. This system responds to injury, chronic tension and habitual movement
patterns by shortening, thickening and becoming glue-like thereby locking in
these unhealthy patterns of strain and pulling the body out of alignment. SI
works systematically and globally to release fixations, restore ease and create
deep, comprehensive order in your body. It literally changes your shape,
sometimes quite dramatically. People feel lighter, energized, more grounded and
balanced. They experience greater breathing capacity, increased range of
motion, ease and fluidity of movement, and a body more resilient to injury.
Yoga
actually had an early influence in the birth of Structural Integration. Dr. Ida
P Rolf, the biochemist who created SI, studied Iyengar yoga and drew upon its
principles along with those of osteopathy, homeopathy, and the Alexander
Technique. Dr. Rolf believed yoga was the best exercise system ever devised if
done with the right teacher. She also believed that hands-on manipulation was
needed to fully free the structure and to achieve ultimate length and
separation in the joints. This led to the development of what is commonly
referred to as "The 10
Series." This series is comprised of ten sessions, referred
to as hours, which balance your body in segments with each session addressing a
different aspect of your structure and movement. The results become cumulative
as each session adds to the results of the previous ones.
Just
as breath is the foundation of a yoga practice, it is also a focal point of The
10 Series. The first hour is devoted to improving the quality of your breath
with work on the arm, ribcage and diaphragm. Ida once pointed out, "When
the position of the ribs change, breathing changes. Getting more air into the
lungs and getting it to move faster is going to change the chemistry of every
cell in the body. So, in a first SI hour, we have started changing the
chemistry of every cell in the body in the first 10 minutes."
One
client of mine recently told me that for her SI is "like being yoga’d."
Another described her experience with the following: "
Prior to being structurally integrated, I "worked" on having
better posture. Now, I can "relax" into good posture because my body
is properly aligned from head to toe. In yoga my balance increased
significantly as I was able to spread my toes to increase surface area and
reach longer through my spine. In addition, my flexibility increased
exponentially with no additional effort. ."
While
SI is successfully used to treat everything from migraines to fibromyalgia this
was not Ida's primary objective. She was more interested in the evolution of
the individual. Dr. Rolf saw SI as a means to evoke the greatest human
potential lying within each one of us. In this way SI and yoga also share the
common goal of facilitating deeper levels of consciousness and aliveness. As a
more intimate and comfortable relationship with your physical body is fostered,
the emotions and attitudes which are housed and expressed in your posture and
patterns of holding are brought to light and given the opportunity to dissolve
and become integrated.
Yogis have long been noticing the effects of SI as they find they are
able to reach new depths and levels of ease both in mind and body. At the same
time yoga is one of the best ways to support and maintain the benefits of SI.
The combination of the two is a rich opportunity to broaden your sense of self
thereby allowing the chance to transform limiting patterns of movement,
thinking and behavior.” (http://connectivehealing.com/index_files/structural_integration_SI_and_yoga.html)
Well, I still can’t do baddha konasana
and get my chest to the floor, but it’s improved greatly! However, something's definitely shifted as I can now get both legs behind the head relatively comfortably (eka pada for some reason is a little harder but I'm putting that down to a wonky SI joint/anteriorly tilted pelvis on the right), over the past 3 weeks I've been working on the Tittibhasana sequence in Intermediate and can now complete the sequence with full correct vinyasa, without collapsing in a heap and dead thighs on my mat! I think Vijay's pleased with my progress...well he must be cos he's given me Pincha Mayurasana to practice now...and I know what's coming next...more baddha konasana, upavistha and lotus work needed for that one for sure...
Nevertheless, the bit in the
article about feeling energized is completely true too. I used to feel a lot of
weight in my legs and the lower part of my body but now feel like that weight
is distributed evenly throughout my body, I feel like my energy is moving a lot
more freely now and I can differentiate single muscles now, when before they
were all just ‘stuck’ together. I’d got to a point where my body no longer felt
like my own body, I knew something was wrong but just couldn’t work out what
was wrong. I knew there were blockages in energy, I could feel them and I have
tried physiotherapy, psychotherapy, meditation, yoga, cardio-work, even an energetic healer
and I would have to say that Rolfing by far, is the best thing I’ve done. Yep,
even over yoga. But now I can continue my yoga practice with greater energy and
use it to ensure that the blockages and unhealthy patterns, those physical and
mental samskaras don’t come back!!
If you would like the details of
the Rolfers in Mysore, drop me a message J
