Below the skin’s surface lies the fascia, a seamless, three-dimensional web of connective tissue extending
from head to toe, front to back and interior to exterior. It maintains your body’s structural integrity,
provides support and protection, and acts as a shock absorber. It’s so interconnected that when the fascia is
restricted or tightened in one area, in time, the effects will appear in other areas of the body, like a pull
in a sweater.
Yoga is one way to work on this body part, but before taking your next class, you might also consider having
a good Rolfing. Yes, Rolfing. Rolfing structural integration, says Vancouver Rolfer Bradley Cornwell, is a
hands-on, therapeutic technique “to restore natural movement, function and stability to the physical system
as a whole, using the connective tissue which forms our structural matrix.”
The term “Rolfing” is a registered trademark of the Rolf Institute of Boulder, Colo., and was named for its
American founder, Dr. Ida Rolf. A biochemist and intellectual ahead of her time, she began to explore
manipulative techniques while trying to solve her own health problems. Believing that gravity is a force that
flows through the body, she took the applications of osteopathic philosophy and technique, and mixed them
with principles of yoga. She developed her theories from the ’20s until she began to teach in the early
’60s.
Yoga trains the body to remember specific poses that align and lengthen. But Rolfing — which feels like a
deep-tissue massage — manipulates the fascia by hand, helping you reach your goal more quickly. Many Rolfers,
however, believe that their practice complements yoga, Pilates, chiropractic and massage.
“Focus, centring, alignment, awareness, presence, yielding and relating to gravity may be elements that are
similar,” says Jonathan Martine, an advanced certified Rolfer and Rolf Institute faculty member. A long-time
believer, he’s been an instructor since 1993. He is passionate about his work and, reinforcing a holistic
approach to treatment, believes Rolfing helps achieve the benefits of yoga practice, only in a quicker, more
Western fashion.
Rolfers treat a spectrum of health issues, including insomnia, stress, repetitive stress injuries (like
carpal tunnel syndrome), body tension, headaches, anxiety and osteoarthritis, but pain relief is usually the
first order of business. The idea is to address discomfort before it becomes an injury. In his Denver
practice, Martine often does “maintenance” for people in performance-based professions, including many
professional football players, who he describes as being in a car accident each week.
Rolfing is traditionally done over a 10-session series covering the entire body, costing from $85 to $160 per
treatment. Unfortunately most health plans don’t cover Rolfing, but it is slowly gaining acceptance by
medical doctors. Even Oprah’s Dr. Oz recommended it on an April 2007 episode, where, in front of the
audience, he was Rolfed by none other than Jonathan Martine. •
