published in "Structural
Integration", May 2002
by
Monica Caspari, Certified Advanced Rolfer, Rolf
Movement Practitioner
Adjo Zorn, PhD, Certified Advanced Rolfer,
Rolf Movement Practitioner
|
The soul of man with
all the streams of pure living water seems to dwell in the fascia of his
body. When you deal with the fascia you deal and do business with With the
branch offices of the brain, and under the general corporation law, the same
as the brain itself, and why not treat it with the same degree of respect. |
We often hear it said that Rolfing is a process - not an event. Orientation to
process is perhaps a hallmark of "holistic" practice. But there are
degrees of holism. Rolfing by the Recipe is holistic in the sense that considers
the structural context of local symptoms and addresses the entire body, and
goes one step further by interpreting the body in the context of gravity.
What's more, with the development of the Principles of Rolfing Intervention, we
have a paradigm for the work to retain its holistic aspect and at the same time
be non-formulistic. Rolf Movement Integration carries the work a step further
with its focus on function and the "Circle of Being", which
recognizes the need to integrate the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects
with the physical. Still, the holism of Rolfing is limited in that it does not
formally address other dimensions of context (although in practice, many
Rolfers do take them into account). For example, just as we are continuously exposed
to the gravitational field, we are also exposed to social and cultural fields.
But neither the Recipe nor the Circle of Being explicitly considers them,
although they do affect the fascial structure.
The process of Rolfing
takes place within the larger process of the client's life. Given that these
larger processes, in turn, take place in contexts having dimensions that
Rolfing does not explicitly consider, how thoroughly can the Rolfing process
really integrate into the client's larger process? This kind of integration
requires a style of work that opens space for these other dimensions of the
client's process, while still strategizing each session or series according to
the Principles.
STRUCTURE HAS MANY
LEVELS
Imagine that you - as the
"therapist" of the Golden Gate bridge - are responsible for ensuring
its safety 1. As you
"read" the bridge, you first observe its general shape and
configuration. In an analysis of its static's, you might perceive the bridge as
a network of tension and compression forces. If the basic design is sound, you
could then inspect particular physical components. These might include deck
truss bracing and framing members, cables, support tower columns, welds, and anti-corrosive
coatings. If a single truss member is corroded, a local fix will be sufficient.
But if many members exhibit significant corrosion or other conditions reducing
their load-bearing capacity, the bridge is prone to sag and twist; thus, the
overall state of the truss members is a structural property, and any
intervention must be strategized accordingly.
To a holistic engineer,
addressing deck truss torsion apparently arising from widespread member
degradation would require more than rebalancing opposing forces to accommodate
their reduced load-bearing capacity. It would require asking why the members
were degrading in the first place. lf the answer were "age" -
degradation commensurate with the lifetime of the bridge and assumed properties
of the steel - the engineer might reinforce or replace the members. If actual
live loads were in excess of design loads (think sports or repetitive stress
injuries), one might reinforce existing members or add more of them (made it
stronger) - or reduce the live loads by restricting the traffic on the bridge
(rest). But what if the condition were rooted in a change in chemical
properties, say an increase in the kind or quantity of corrosive chemicals in
the air or water (think metabolic changes)? Carrying the thinking further, what
if the corrosion of the members - although it exists - is not the cause of the
twisting at all? Perhaps a shift in prevailing currents has compromised the
foundations of the support towers, which in turn has altered the position of
their columns? What if an earthquake has affected the abutments into which the
cables are anchored? Focusing only on the truss members would not solve the
problem; it would merely yield a "blind fix". To go beyond blind
fixing, you would have to look beyond the forces of tension and compression
within the bridge itself. This is because anything that substantially maintains
or influences the configuration and behavior of the bridge or its parts should
be considered structural.
Similarly, we will better
integrate our clients and avoid blind fixing if we recognize factors
that substantially maintain or influence the configuration of the fascia and
other corporeal structural elements. This means we should look, beyond the
balance of forces in the fascial net and at least recognize restrictions in
levels of structure other than the fascial "stuff". We all know this,
but the traditional presentation of Rolfing excludes any systematic way to
account for these other levels.
The goal of this paper is
to offer some suggestions in this regard. First, we describe at least some
levels of structure beyond the fascial that ought to be considered. Then, we
offer some basic rules which, if followed, should increase the likelihood that
our work will touch upon these other levels.
LEVELS OF STRUCTURE
Coordination
|
Do you want to have an
American pelvis? |
In the 1960's, Nobel prize-winning biologist Konrad Lorenz described in the
motor cortex a precise representation of the physical body and its functional
properties 2. Since then, further
research has supported his view 3 and it is now commonly
accepted that our brains not only "map" our bodies, but also that the
brain works actively to maintain body shape congruent with the map. In the
Rolfing community, the close relationship between the fascial structure and the
motor cortex has been explored by Hubert Godard in his work on "Tonic
Function", and by Robert Schleip 4. These brain functions
are indeed structural. As Peter Schwind has commented, "working with an
anaesthetized body is like working with a flat tire"; a Rolfer will be
more effective by recognizing that the inner representation is affected.
During sessions, we know
the inner representation has changed when the client experiences major
proprioceptive shifts. For example, clients often "find" body parts
or regions previously absent from their awareness. Or, the client might have to
re-map a relationship, like the woman who exclaims, "After all the work
you just did in my shoulders and neck, I can't find the holes for my earrings
without a mirror!"
The structural importance
of the inner representation might also shed some light on the phenomenon that
body shapes differ with geography. For example, a Brazilian girl whose favorite
place is the beach might have "learned" the anterior tilt and
posterior shift of her pelvis to conform herself to a culturally desirable
pattern. Once the learned attitude is established in both her fascia and her
brain, it becomes "structural". At this point, it is difficult to
distinguish mechanical structural preferences from neurological ones. The
Rolfer's hands will treat the fascial issues; but unless the neuromotor
component is addressed and the client gains an understanding of how the fascial
preferences arose in the first place, she is likely to revert to her old
pattern. In this sense, "Rolfing is not a manipulative technique. It is
a system of education." 5
Emotions
Most Rolfers would accept
that muscle and fascia can "hold" memories and emotions from the
past. So naturally, clients sometimes experience emotions when longstanding
fixations in fascia, joints or viscera are released. Often, clients seem to
experience a combination of relief and sadness upon finding space that was lost
long ago. On the one hand, because emotional habits are structural, fear or
avoidance of emotions can lead to reversion to habitual postures. On the other
hand, the client's recognition of the correlation between physical and
emotional structures can both enhance the physical changes and prevent
reversion. But for the client to gain that recognition, it is important for the
Rolfer to be alert and open to the emotional level. This means recognizing the
importance of this "non-concrete" structural component. At the same
time, we must treat emotions as just one aspect of structure, and not amplify
them or overestimate their importance to the whole. This, in turn, requires
Rolfers to have some degree of openness to and understanding of their own
emotional processes.
Autonomic Nervous
System
|
If you don't reach the
nervous system, you haven't got it. Ida P. Rolf |
The balance of tone in the fascial system corresponds to the balance between
the branches of the autonomic nervous system. Chronic sympathetic dominance
generates hypertonic skeletal musculature, shallow breath, decreased peripheral
circulation and inhibited peristalsis; whereas chronic parasympathetic
dominance generates joint and tendon inflammations and increased muscular
effort to overcome air flow resistance into the lungs. As demonstrated by the
work of Jeff Maitland and John Cottingham 6, Rolfing improves the
balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic - although this often happens
accidentally, rather than systematically. We would prefer to get these results
based on our understanding of the ANS and in furtherance of structural goals,
rather than by mere chance 7.
Biosociology
|
We are not truly erect
standing; we are only on our way to being erect. This is a metaphysical
consideration. One of the tasks of the Rolfer is to speed up this ongoing
process. Ida P. Rolf |
We humans use our bodies - including our fascial structures - to convey to each
other non-verbal social messages. Our ape ancestors lived in social groups for
eons, which suggests that body language is much older than verbal language.
Only recently has the behavior of our closest ape relatives in their natural
environments become the subject of scientific research - particularly by Jane
Godall and Frans de Waal) 8. The apes body
language - in terms of both intention and meaning - resembles some human
behaviors, and their body language is readily understood by humans. Thus,
humans carry not only the "reptile brain", but also what we might
call the "ape brain" - at least in respect to our communication and
social behavior.
The manner in which a
particular person might use structure as a means of communication is not
necessarily congruent with an optimum upright posture. Therefore, if we ignore
body language, we might miss - and misinterpret - structural issues related to
it. For example, if a client cannot look straight into the eyes of others,
changes induced by Rolfing will challenge more than the client's fascial
system. We should at least entertain the possibility that structural or
functional characteristics might have social meaning for a particular person,
and consistently include body language in our assessments and strategies.
Although we might observe repeated correlation between particular structural
issues and meanings in persons from similar cultural milieus, we must not
forget that the semantics of body language do vary among different cultures.
Sense of Self
|
The way you walk
through the room is the way you walk through life. Vivian Jay |
A mentally healthy person has internalized a definition of self. Erik H.
Erikson has shown how this sense of self relates to self-esteem and
independence, and influences the ability to find love and work in society 9.
Part of self-identity manifests as a clear "felt-sense" in the body.
Discussion about what establishes the sense of self has evolved from the purely
philosophical into more concrete and neuroscientific realm. Neuroscientists
Antonio Damasio and Vilaynur Ramachandran have been extensively exploring this
question recently, and postulate that one thing that establishes
"self" is its specific embodiment; in other words, the
"self" always relates to its imagination of its particular body 10.
lf the felt sense of the body is altered, the person can temporarily feel
strange or unnatural. But as Myron Sharaf, one of Wilhelm Reich's most
brilliant pupils, used to say in his workshops, "If it feels unusual, it
could be healing" 11.
The physical changes
induced by Rolfing present challenges to the client's physical self-identity,
which can in turn affect sense of self in other contexts. We must be aware of
the potential scope of the challenge and be prepared to try to help the client
to accept and then resolve any discomforts, (such as fear or pain of growth)
and then integrate the insights into other realms. At the same time, Rolfing
presents a great opportunity because, on the physical level, the client's sense
of self can be quickly and strongly challenged.
Energy
We use the term
"energy" here to describe the intensity - or energetic density - of
metabolic processes. A person's overall energy level can also be called
"vitality" or "life force". It is that which both drives
and enables a person to strive for success, to cultivate himself, to move, to
enjoy some form of art, to play, to love and to have gratifying sex - and to create
something that will last beyond his own lifetime. Energetic density is clearly
affected by mental and emotional states. For example, energy is greater in an
engaged, happy person than in an alienated, sad one. But it is also strongly
influenced by the functions of the hormonal, immune and neurological systems;
e.g., the degree of flexibility in the musculature is related to metabolism,
which in turn depends on these other systems.
Biologically, greater
energetic density is genera11y a good thing; but this is not necessarily true
socially. Psychologist Alice Miller has made a convincing case for the
proposition that the more vital, independent and expressive a child is, the
more the child's social environment tends to compel the child to suppress his own
vitality 12. This suppression
can manifest as physical or psychological tension or withdrawal, as well as
psychological dissociation. Perhaps its influence on the whole structure can
manifest as "withdrawal-diseases", such as back, neck or shoulder
pain, arthritis, asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, bruxism, hypertension, sexual
dysfunction, and many others - which often produce our clients' presenting
complaints.
As much as Rolfing might
address the fascial and functional aspects of tension or withdrawal patterns,
the patterns are unlikely to resolve completely unless the client adjusts the
balance between the demands of the social environment and individual needs. In
such cases, lasting structural changes are less likely without behavioral
changes.
GUIDELINES FOR
PROCESS-ORIENTED ROLFING
How, then, can Rolfers
address levels of structure beyond the fascial level? Although we are not
neuromotor chemistry experts, psychiatrists or spiritual mentors, to truly
integrate our clients' physical structures, we can and should recognize and
acknowledge levels of structure beyond fascial balance and neuromotor function.
What follows are some guidelines for how to do so within the scope of our
practice as Rolfers.
POR Rule 1:
Let the Client Define the Goals of the Process.
Ideally, the client is
the captain, and the Rolfer is only the navigator - at least by the end of the
Rolfing process. Often, clients appear in our offices expecting us to fix them.
With these clients, the first challenge might be to enroll the client as a
partner. Authority and responsibility must be with the client at least by the
end of the series, if not before. After all, only the client himself can heal
or grow. Nevertheless, the Rolfer can and should help the client to form
appropriate goals, reasonable expectations and responsibility for his own
process.
This requires a certain
humility on the part of the Rolfer, who must not yield to the temptation to
take on the role of a "guru" or "magic" person. We must
understand that some clients will encourage us to take that role as a way to
justify their own passivity or reluctance to take responsibility for their
processes.
POR Rule 2:
The Process of Structural Change is Self-Revealing.
Of course, a plan is a
good thing to have. But we should be willing and prepared to abandon our plans
for good reason, Any living organism - including a Rolfing client - has an idea
of what it ought to be like, and will defend that idea. A Rolfer cannot impose
change, but only educate the client to its possibility, and offer an invitation
for growth. And growth cannot be precisely planned because life - if it is
truly alive - is full of surprises. Start each session by asking yourself,
"What wants to be done here and now ?" Observe which of the many
issues in the client's multi-level structure presents the most obvious
restriction, in the sense that addressing it will bring the client's whole
being to a higher level of function. The client might reveal the answer on any
of several levels: by a fascial strain, an incomplete movement pattern,
autonomic changes, body language, or clear verbal expression,
One potentially important
clue is "resistance." In connection with psychoanalysis, the concept
of "resistance" was originally developed by Sigmund Freud; but
Wilhelm Reich perceived the importance of "working with resistance" 13.
Because Rolfing induces changes that challenge the client's self-perception, it
can produce resistance. In the context of Rolfing, resistance might manifest as
voluntary muscle contraction contrary to the intention of the work; last-minute
cancellations; devaluation of the Rolfer; pain symptoms with the message that
the Rolfer is making them worse, or that the client is afraid of what might
happen next; collapse into suffering; escape into drugs or frenetic activity;
inability to recall what was done in the previous session or failure to do the
homework; or fear of being stronger, freer, happier, or more successful or even
erotic. Resistance is not necessarily an obstacle; it is a sign post toward
progress if it helps the Rolfer to perceive the next step in the growth
process. What's more, if the client becomes aware of his resistance, it will
help him to hold the work.
POR Rule 3:
Balance Support and Challenge.
When Alfred Adler - one
of Sigmund Freud's most famous students - was asked how to raise children, he
replied, "There is one ultimate thing: the best that can happen to a child
is an obstacle that he can barely crawl over." 14 This is commonly
interpreted at the psychological level, but one might ask whether Adler's
structural/functional metaphor should better be taken literally.
Adler's insight certainly
applies to Rolfing. On the one hand, Rolfing with lots of stimulus, challenge
and even pain - but little support - might gratify clients who long to feel
anything at all. We call this style "Sado-Maso-Rolfing". On the other
hand, Rolfing with lots of support and little challenge might gratify childlike
or the burned-out clients. We call this style "Cradle-Rolfing".
Although either style can produce happy clients, both might yield only limited
structural results.
The history of Rolfing
shows a trend away from the first style toward the second perhaps corresponding
to changes in society as a whole, or perhaps arising from our desire to escape
Rolfing's reputation for being rough and painful. Nevertheless, our work should
include the element of challenge. Not only does it enrich the process, but also
retains a key attribute of Ida Rolf's own style. She and Moshe Feldenkrais both
were demanding of their clients.
|
I don't need a friend
who nods when 1 am nodding. My mirror image does this much better. Goethe |
POR Rule 4:
In Addition to Integrating The Results of the Work into Gravity, Integrate Them
into Functional and Social Contexts.
Were fascia the only
component of structure, table work alone would suffice. But because it is not,
it is crucial to bring the client off the table and into the world. We need to
help the client integrate the table work not only into the gravitational field,
but sometimes also into social and relational realms. Of course, we should
teach the client to maintain the release of restrictions in gravity; to feel
newly acquired internal and external space and deepening of the breathing; and
to recognize the sensations of letting go into gravity through the pelvic floor
and into the feet while at the same time allowing upward lift. Here, sitting,
standing and walking can be much more than evaluative tools. Made part of the
session, they become every bit as important as the table work.
At the same time, we can
acknowledge and support expressions of uneasiness, feelings or fears that
physical and proprioceptive changes might induce - e.g., fears of losing
control or standing solid, of feeling ugly because of having a belly, of
unaccustomed sexual feelings from letting go of the pelvic floor, of
vulnerability because of an open chest, and countless others.
Here, it helps to allow
time at the beginning and end of each session - and at the end of the series -
for verbal integration. We are creatures of language, and verbalization helps
us to concretize and "own" our experiences. It can also help the
client to integrate his physical experience with other layers of his being, and
to assume responsibility for his own process. Finally, verbal integration can
be used to bring closure to a Rolfing series. For the Rolfer, this requires
considerable skill and practice, but care in listening and mirroring is a good
start.
IS POR STILL ROLFING?
Rolfing could become
extinct in either of two ways: by adhering to narrow orthodoxy, or by
incorporating too much and losing any defining border. We can find the balance
between these extremes by generalizing Ida Rolf's ideas while remaining
grounded in the traditional work. Although Ida Rolf recognized that "comprehensive
recognition of human structure includes not only the physical person but also,
eventually, the psychological personality - behavior, attitudes, [and]
capacities" 15, many Rolfers see
"structure" only as the fascial net. This view limits both
understanding and efficiency. We believe that the concept of structure is made
more powerful by considering factors other than fascia, while at the same time
keeping the focus on the physical body moving in gravity (and - by the way -
with inertia, which will be the subject of another article coming soon).
If we say, for example,
that the legs are congruent with the spine, we are speaking the language of
classical Rolfing. lf we add that this fascial structure is congruent with the
client's pattern of walking, we incorporate the language of Rolf Movement
Integration. But with Process-Oriented Rolfing, we can go further, and discuss as
elements of structure factors contributing to the client's formation or
maintenance of fascial patterns such as learned postural and functional
configurations, self-definition, body language, emotional habits, and demands
of the social environment. Then we can say that the fascial structure is
congruent with the client's behavior, as well. Although many Rolfers consider
these things already this approach should be systematically investigated.
1. The discussion that
follows is derived from modern Systems Theory, which addresses stability
conditions in complex systems. As in traditional Chinese medicine, concepts of
"cause and effect" have limited applicability. In Systems Theory,
"structure" means that which is quasi-stable in an "ordered
chaos" system, such as the human body. "There is no such thing, as
cause an effect. There are patterns of coexistence." Ida P. Rolf 1977, as
quoted in Rolf Lines, Nov / Dec 1988, p. 7. zurück!
2. Lorenz, Konrad, Über
tierisches und menschliches Verhalten, Piper 1964. zurück!
3. For example, in a
recent issue of The Journal of the British Medical Society, neurologists
reported brain scan research with experienced meditation practitioners. The
part of the brain that holds the inner representation was inactive during
meditation, which might explain the subjects' reported experiences of
"leaving space and time". For reference, contact zorn@rolfing.de. zurück!
4. See, Talking to Fascia
-Changing the Brain, Rolf Institute, Boulder, Co., 1994. zurück!
5. Ida P. Rolf, as quoted
in Rolf Lines, Spring 1992, p. 62. zurück!
6. Cottingham, John, et
al.: "Effects of Soft Tissue Mobilization - Rolfing; Pelvic Lift on
Parasympathetic Tone", Am. J. Physiology, vol. 68(3), 352 - 356, 1988. zurück!
7. For some basic Ideas
how to balance the Autonomous Nervous System, see the article entitled,
"Rolfing, Stress and the ANS", published in Portuguese in the April
and June 2001 issues of Rolfing Brasil and in German at file:///C:/WINDOWS/TEMP/stress.htm.
zurück!
8. See their work
concerning the behavior of chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos, e.g., Jane
Goodall, Chimpanzee Family Book-, North-South Books, 1997; Dian Fossey,
Gorillas in the Mist, Houghton Mifflin, Wilmington, MA, 1988; Frans de Waal,
Chimpanzee Politics, Power and Sex Among Apes, Johns Hopkins University Press,
1998. zurück!
9. Erikson, Erik H. ,
Identity and Life Cycles, International University Press, Madison, CT, 1967. zurück!
10. See, e.g., V.
Ramachandran and S. Blakeslee, Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of
the Human Mind, 1998. zurück!
11. By memory from Adjo
Zorn, who has attended several workshops taught by Myron Sharaf. zurück!
12. Miller, Alice, The
Drama of the Gifted Child, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 1996. zurück!
13. Reich, Wilhelm,
Characteranalyse, S. Fischer, Frankfurt Germany, 1928/1976. zurück!
14. Adler, Alfred, Vom
Umgang mit Sorgenkindern, S. Fischer, Frankfurt Germany, 1930/1979. zurück!
15. Rolf, Ida P., Rolfing:
Reestablishing the Natural Alignment and Structural Integration of the Human
Body for Vitality and Well-being, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT, 1989.
___________________________________________________________________________________-
Copyright is with the
authors. For any further duplication of distribution please contact Dr.
Adjo Zorn