Primary Reflexes and Structural
Typology
by Robert Schleip
"You must remember that in
appreciation of a body what you are looking for at
is the relationship between flexors and extensors"
Ida Rolf
This
article will describe a neurobiologically oriented structural typology. Before
doing so I will relate it to other already existing typologies in our field.
Currently
there exist two structural typologies in the field of structural integration
which have been published by their originators: the Sultan external/internal
model and the Flury model of his 4 types (regular external/locked knee
internal/regular internal/symmetrical external). Both systems have served as
very valuable tools to differentiate our perception for structural differences
and more differentiated working options. Jan Sultan's model (as published in
the Notes on S.I. 86/1) uses femur rotation as the key indicator and is based
on the craniosacral breathing mechanism as the theoretical driving force. Hans
Flury´s typology (Notes on S.I., 89/1 & 90/1) uses pelvis position (shift &
tilt) as the crucial key factor and the effect of gravity in the standing
position on the tissues of the client as the theoretical driving force for his
described structural differentiation.
In
working with both systems for several years now I have found GREAT insight and
practical usefulness in both of them. The only theoretical difficulties or
shortcomings those two models had for me can be briefly described:
- The assumption of
Sultan's model that the very minute craniosacral breathing mechanism would
be the primary driving force for such gross changes like pelvic tilt,
chronic spinal extension, ribcage inflation, etc. is difficult to imagine.
Compared with respiratory breathing the craniosacral pulsation is supposed
to be at least hundred times smaller. Both movement cycles are of roughly
similar frequency, and of course steady repetitions of small forces can
eventually move mountains. But it still would seem more likely that the
respiratory breathing pattern would influence ribcage and trunk patterns
more than its hundred times smaller companion.
- Other difficult items to
understand in Sultan's model are the positions of the feet. Most medical
statistics report a higher correlation of valgus feet with valgus knees
(pronated foot with X-legs) and of pes varus and genu varus (supinated
feet and O-legs) as compared with their opposite combination patterns. And
this seems to fit to most bodyworkers experience. In contrast to this
Sultan's structural theory claims the combination of pes varus with genu
valgus and of pes valgus with genu varus as the "congruent"
patterns. This seems to be not explainable with gravity (The "congruent"
combination patterns of knee and ankle position of Sultan's model actually
go against the gravitational logic as outlined in Fig.7 ) but mainly from Sultan's proposed energetic "transmission
lines" (which are still hard to understand in clear anatomical or
physical terms for me). ( E.g. it seems clear that with an internally rotated femur pattern
the daily movement of walking forward would support a more powerful
myofascial development and tonus on the lateral quadriceps and the medial
hamstrings. This fits to the energetic transmission lines of an internal
type. But looked at kinesiologically this seems to be a secondary result
and not a cause of the femur rotation. Since neither hamstrings nor
quadriceps are effective hipjoint-rotators in standing, decreasing the
tonus on those fibers would still have no mechanical effect on the femur
rotation. )
- Flury´s system seems to
assume that the force of gravity which is influencing the body structure
over time finds the clients body most often in the standing position with
the pelvis shifted and tilted in her or his particular Rolfing standing
pose pattern. Flury´s theory would be the appropriate model to understand
the long-term gravitational effects in the honorary soldiers who are
standing in a modified Rolfing stance all day in front of London´s
Buckingham Palace. But for the majority of my current clients sitting is
much more common than standing. And: the habitual pelvis position in
sitting is generally quite different than in standing. E.g. clients with a
clear anterior pelvic tilt pattern in standing often sit more posteriorly
tilted than those with a less anterior pelvic tilt in standing. Then the
resulting long-term effect of gravity on them is of course quite different
than Flury´s typology describes.
- Additionally Flury´s
description of "primary" and "secondary shortness"
doesn't seem to differentiate between myofascial length and myofascial
tonus enough. But length and tonus are very different features. Depending
on joint position and gravitational forces a myofascial unit can be in
either one of those four combination patterns: short & soft, short
& tight, long & soft, or long & tight. So what Flury calls
"primary shortness" (e.g. in the front of the chest in clients
with a kyphotic ribcage pattern in standing, or for example in the
hipjoint flexors in an internal type person) could be either one of the
following two very different structural patterns:
- In some clients those
shortened myofascial structures are very relaxed or one could say they
are simply collapsed into this position without a tightening of
those myofascial connections (i.e. short distance & low tonus). One
can recognize this often quite easily, that when lying down those
shortened connections lengthen without any resistance. E.g. then the
kyphotic ribcage pattern or the pelvic tilt changes by itself as soon as
they lie down.
- This is of course
structurally quite different to those people where the kyphotic ribcage
pattern or the lumbar lordosis shows up also when they lie down
comfortably relaxed on their back on an even table. In those people the
shortened fibers are chronically actively contracted (i.e. short
distance & high tonus).
Since
those two situations are very different it makes sense to treat them also with
different manual working approaches as will be shown later in this article.
All
typologies - specially if they are very congruent or brilliant - have a danger
of narrowing our perception to certain features and to ignore all other
possible perceptions. Gregory Bateson once said: "all typologies are
misleading". This seems to be specially the case the more one is
convinced or sure of a particular model, or where the model or its originator
is treated with severe emotional respect. When a model is taken more
light-heartedly, or when one is comfortable to use different even contradictory
models as temporary stimulation for ones perception, then they tend to be much
more useful and even powerful devices.
Gladly
for us neither one of these two typologies has become ‘successful’ enough to
have seduced us as a group to develop a missionary tunnel vision perspective.
This seems to be an appropriate context to introduce another typology as an
additional stimulation for our school. If this new typology helps us to avoid
taking any of the existing models too much as a dogma, then it will give us the
advantage of having more options of looking and of understanding the
various factors that determine individual human structures.
This
new model is oriented at understanding the neurobiological components of
individual human structures. It is based on the following three premises:
1) A dynamic definition of structure
As
opposed to a static definition of structure (geometrical arrangement of
segments of a body in a certain rare standing pose) this definition looks at
the most common movement habits of a person. Posture (e.g. in sitting or
standing) is seen as movement too.
This
concept of human structure goes along with the understanding of the Nobel prize
winner Ludwig van Bertalanffy who was strongly opposed to applying a clear-cut
division line between structure and function (as is usually appropriate in
mechanical systems like a machine) to biological systems, when he wrote:
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"This separation between a pre-established structure and processes occurring in that structure does not apply to living organisms. For the organism is the expression of an everlasting orderly process ... What is described in morphology as organic forms and structures, is in reality a momentary cross-section through a spatio-temporal pattern. What are called structures are slow patterns of long duration, functions are quick processes of short duration." L.v.Bertalanffy, Problems of Life", 1952. |
In the proposed neurobiological model for
Structural Integration "structure" then is defined as the most
permanent movement habits of a person at this period of their life. So the
difference between function (like shrugging the shoulders for a second as a
communicative gesture) and structure (like a chronic tendency to almost always
tighten the pelvic floor since early childhood) is just a difference in time,
or the question: "how permanent or how repetitive or how common is this
feature in this persons daily average body usage?"
For
the static definition of structure it is possible to give some structural
evaluation just from looking at a static photograph. With the proposed dynamic
structure definition one needs to see the person in several different aspects
(e.g. walking, standing, sitting down, lying prone/supine, etc.) for a visual
structural evaluation. (But it might be possible for a very
good computer to recognize structure (based on the proposed dynamic definition
of structure) by analyzing the visual data of a person seen walking at a
distance and by finding the most permanent or repetitive features in his or her
movements. )
2) The primacy of the nervous system in motor co-ordination.
The
bones usually don't do anything which the muscles don't tell them to do. And
the muscles usually don't do anything which the nervous system is not telling
them to do. That means for the most part movement (and postural) habits are
directed from the nervous system. (As pointed out earlier studies of bodies
under anesthesia have shown two interesting results for us Rolfers: first, that
most of the structurally important myofascial restrictions are temporarily gone
under anesthesia; and second, that the tissue of anaesthetized bodies doesn't
respond much to Rolfing manipulation work. Both findings support this second
assumption of the primacy of the nervous system in our work.)
3) A developmentally oriented view of the evolution of individual
structure.
Most
of the characteristic movement habits (and postural habits) of a person that
allow us to distinguish that person from others (e.g. when seeing someone from
far away and after not having seen that person for a long time) have been
gradually developed over their lifetime, with most of the development happening
in their early years (before the end of puberty). Therefor it is useful to look
at those factors that influence motor organization in the early individual
developmental process and which can lead to structural differences between
people in later life. This developmental viewpoint will pay special interest to
common evolutionary (phylogenetic) as well as embryological (ontogenetic)
processes.
This
model looks at two primary reaction patterns that are also sometimes called
reflexes: the ´Landau Reflex´ as basis for a chronic shortening of most
genetic extensor muscles and the ´Startle Reflex´ as a basis for a chronic
shortening of most genetic flexor muscles. It is suggested that the two
mentioned reaction patterns involving those two opposing sets of muscles - the
genetic extensors and the genetic flexors - can be understood as important
forces influencing adult human structures.
To
explain the terms ´genetic extensors´ and ´genetic flexors´ a brief look
at our embryological development is helpful.
The
genetic extensors and genetic flexors are designed as very different types of
muscles; different neurologically, functionally, and morphologically. They are
enervated from different areas of the spinal cord. The extensors are dominantly
equipped with slow twitch fibers (type I or ´slow oxidative fibers which are
called tonic fibers and are usually quite thin). They don't tire so fast, and
they are more ´dark meat´ colored. Whereas the flexors have a lot of fast twitch
fibers (type IIb or ´fast glycolytic´or tonic fibers) which are usually much
thicker and can act fast but also tire fast and which are more ´light meat´
colored.
( There are exemptions to this simple rule, like the presence of a high
amount of tonic fibers in the soleus in humans. It is believed that most
muscles have a genetically determined tendency towards growing more phasic or
more tonic fibers, but exercise and daily usage have been proven to influence
them too.)
|
Genetic
Extensor Muscles |
Genetic
Flexor Muscles |
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A simple way for grouping all muscles of the human
body into the two categories is: Genetic Extensors are those muscles that are enervated
either by a dorsal primary ramus (i.e. all erector spinae) or by a dorsal ramus
of the plexi. The latter are all those enervated by one of the following six
nerve supplies:
1.
common peroneal
nerve
2.
gluteal nerves
3.
femoral nerve
4.
radial nerve
5.
axillary nerve
6.
posterior cord of
brachial plexus.
All other muscles can be considered to belong to the
Genetic Flexors. Very useful charts about this correlation can
be found in 'Muscles, Testing and Function', F.P.Kendall, E.Kendall Mc Creary,
P.G.Provance, 4th Edition, Baltimore 1993, pages 389-394. )
Here's
a list of muscle groupings into those two categories:
|
GENETIC EXTENSOR MUSCLES |
|
Primary:
|
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Secondary:
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Associated:
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GENETIC FLEXOR MUSCLES |
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Primary:
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Secondary:
|
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Associated:
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Short Extensor Pattern
When
holding a six month old baby unexpectedly into open space only supported with its
belly on your hand, it will most likely react with the so-called "Landau
Reflex", which is an active shortening of most genetic extensor muscles
(See Fig.3).
Fig. 3: 4 month old baby without (above) and 6 month old
baby with 'Landau Reflex' (below)
It
lifts its head, arcs its trunk backwards and extends the legs. This does not
happen normally with much younger babies and therefore this reflex reaction is
used as a standard neurological test for the development of the baby.
Already
at about 3 months a healthy baby learns to use the extensors of the neck and
upper back to lift its head when lying prone in order to more actively meet the
outside world around. This seems to be a genetically programmed function also
as a first element for the functions of walking and standing. Learning to arc
the back with the lower erector spinae comes later, usually about 5 months.
Then the baby is usually also able to lift its legs and arms as well as arcing
the whole back, which is the basis of the Landau Reflex as an important
gravitational response.
In
some people this muscular pattern becomes a chronic habit which then shapes
their overall posture and movement patterns. Thomas Hanna describes this reflex
as "Green Light Reflex" to indicate the psychological state of
preparedness or readiness for active interaction with the environment which
accompanies this Landau Reflex. He writes "The Green Light reflex is
assertive; its function is action." (
Thomas Hanna, Somatics, p.65 ) If somebody's posture is dominantly
shaped by this reflex - or one could say by this attitude ( The German word "Haltung" beautifully relates to both
aspects; it means "posture/tension pattern" as well as "attitude"
in English language ) - it will become a chronic feature and
show in a shortening of the genetic extensor muscles.
The
Short Extensor Pattern in standing looks like this:
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Short Extensor Pattern |
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Primary Features:
|
|
Secondary Features: (
The term does not relate to secondary flexor muscles above. It simply
indicates that those features are not as obligatory or common than the above
primary ones (but they still tend to be more common than their opposites in
this structural type).)
|
The
Short Extensor Pattern puts people usually more upright. This puts them in a
more economical position than most random structures. Additionally the genetic extensors
are much better equipped for chronic work than the flexors since they are
dominantly composed of slow oxidative fibers. Therefore one could expect that
those people don't seem to be as tired as the Short Flexor types. This might be
aided by the bigger vital capacity in breathing which tends to be able to
supply more oxygen for the brain and body. The underlying chronic attitude of
"being ready for action" will often be expressed in a more
extroverted personality (but of course not always, since other factors might
influence this too). A recently published study showed that this posture tends
to increase people's sense of self worth or how proud they feel about
themselves (Strack, F., Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 1993. In this brilliant double blind study the participants were
unknowingly induced to assume a collapsed or upright posture just by the
respective arrangement of furniture. Simultaneously they were given the
(wrong!) information that they had just achieved unusually high grades at a
mental text just done before. The upright sitting "winners" reported
in their questionnaires that they felt very proud about their achievements;
whereas the slumped sitting winners were not so much impressed about their
achievements.) . In the extreme - when the extensors are
chronically severely contracted - people can become stiff and rigid, like in
what Ida Rolf called the classical military posture (see Fig.4.
The Short Flexor Pattern
When
frightening a mammal with a sudden loud sound or sudden painful stimulus it
will show a "Startle Reflex" which has been researched extensively
(and often painfully) in scientific laboratory studies. Robert Eaton´s book
"Neural Mechanisms of Startle Behavior" (1984
Plenum Press, New York ) describes several studies showing a quite
uniform muscular reflex pattern in mammals, which always involves a dominance
of genetic flexor contraction. ( Although sometimes an extension of
the front and hind limbs may occur in some mammals (e.g. in rats and guinea
pigs). But even then it is usually followed by a generalized flexion of the
whole body into a "hunched position". The probability of this
extensor involvement is higher after voluntary or ongoing extension. I also
found it interesting to note that even in those rats, "as habituation
proceeds, extension seems to drop out leaving mostly flexion" (Eaton,
p.293). )
Fig.5
shows how a human embryo reacts to sudden painful stimulation by curling up
more.
High-speed
photography of adult humans during for example a sudden loud noise reveals the
following uniform pattern (see Fig.6):
- After an initial facial
reaction by the jaw and eyes (after already 14 - 20 msecs)
- the shoulders come up
via the upper fibers of the trapezius and the head moves forward (25-40
msecs).
- Next thing is a bending
of the elbows (60 msecs)
- followed by contraction
of the abdomen and finally bending of the knees (145-400 msecs).
It
is suggested that a chronic Short Flexor Pattern is often associated with this
Startle Reflex as a habitual neuromuscular pattern. Taking the anatomy of the
genetic flexors into account the Short Flexor Pattern will look like this:
|
Short FLEXOR Pattern |
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Primary Features:
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Secondary Features:
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Let's
look at the knee positions in terms of genu valgus (X-legs) and
genu varus (O-legs), which are defined anatomically by a shorter distance between
femur and lower leg along the medial side (varus) or lateral side (valgus). (
Some bodywork practitioners tend to believe that X-legs are caused by short
adductors and O-legs by short abductors. But this doesn't hold much ground when
one tests this by moving the leg in the lying position; since then it is clear
that adduction or abduction of the thigh doesn't influence the X- or O-leg pattern of the knees.) From
their history (i.e. medial rotation of the leg in embryonic life) it is quite
clear that the medial leg muscles of the thigh and lower leg today are more
closely related with the original flexors. They used to be more in the front
with the knee flexors and they still tend to act more like flexor type muscles.
Whereas the lateral leg muscles used to be more in the back and are more
closely related with the original extensors. In a Short Flexor Pattern the
increased tension between thigh and lower leg along their medial connections
will over time tend to shift the knee joint towards varus (O-legs). This will
also be supported in standing and walking by the increased gravitational
compression across the medial side of the knee because of the support of the
supinated foot pattern underneath (see Fig.7). Whereas in the Short Extensor
Pattern the increased tension along the lateral connection of lower leg and
femur together with the pronated foot support underneath will lead more often
toward the valgus (X-)leg pattern of the knees.
The
psychological and energetic tendencies of Short Flexors are best
described by Ida Rolf: "There is another factor in upright stance
besides evolution. This factor makes Feldenkrais candidate for the title of a
really intuitive researcher. He saw that negative emotion strengthens flexors.
My recognition out of my own life is such that such an overwhelming amount of
emotional experience is negative. And when you experience negative emotion, you
respond with a flexor every time - you flex, always you are flexing ...
Feldenkrais called attention of the fact that all negative emotional
expressions are accompanied by a shortening of flexor muscles. The energy in a
chronically flexed body has to work just to hold up; the man continuously has
to add energy to that body to keep it going. Such chronic flexion gives a
feeling of ´depression´." (Ida Rolf Talks, p.133-134) When studying Feldenkrais´ original description in ´Body and Mature Behavior´ we
see that he calls this Short Flexor pattern "the body pattern of
anxiety". Besides a contraction of flexors (especially of the abdominal
region) he described for this pattern an "inhibition of the antagonistic
extensors" as well as a "halt in breathing". (
p.83.94)
What
moved Ida Rolf to describe the underlying neurology of Short Flexor people with
this much wider term "negative emotions" - compared with Feldenkrais´
more specific term "anxiety"? I suspect that she felt that there are
also other emotional reaction mechanisms besides the startle reflex that can be
a neurological basis for this pattern. In my experience it is often useful to differentiate
two types within the Short Flexors: a contracted and a collapsed type. In
the contracted type the flexor muscles are not only shortened but also
tight (short distance & high tonus). In lying supine on a table one can
usually find a lot of free space behind their lower neck, their shoulders, and
often also behind their lumbars. They have very little inter segmental mobility
of their ribcage and fit probably best into Feldenkrais´ description of a
chronic "pattern of anxiety".
Opposed
to those are Short Flexor people in which the flexor muscles are not actively
tightened but are just collapsed (short distance & low tonus). Like
in the contracted type the antagonistic extensor muscles of the trunk are
lengthened and - because of the harder work against gravity than in a more
upright posture - tightened in standing (i.e. long distance & high tonus).
When lying on a table the thoracic kyphosis disappears easily and their ribcage
still has a lot of mobility. I commonly call this version ´Short Flexor
Collapse type´; but it would have also been possible to call it ´Long Extensor
type´. I suspect that this muscular pattern is not so closely related to the
anxiety pattern of the startle reflex but to a neurobiological feature
described as "Postural Collapse". Postural Collapse has been studied extensively
as a typical primate reaction to early maternal deprivation. (
for example by Martin Reid of the Univ. of Colorado Medical Center. But there
have been also several other studies in which they separated young chimpanzees
from their mothers to study postural and other effects of maternal deprivation
on young chimpanzees.) They found again and again
that an early separation of young chimpanzees from their mothers (e.g. by a
glass partition in the cage) would soon lead to this feature of ´Postural Collapse´
(plus other metabolic and neural changes). See Fig.8. (Drawings
for this article by Marianna Pavlidou. Some of them were inspired by already
published illustrations: Fig.3 by T.Hanna, Somatics, page 64; Fig.4 by
D.Johnson, The Protean Body, p.78; Fig. 6 by Eaton, Neural Mechanisms of
Startle Behaviour, p.290; Fig. 8 by a video tape titled "A Touch of
Sensitivity" by the National Science Foundation, BBC 1980.) This seems to be
typical for mammals and specially for primates. I speculate that such a trauma
of not having got enough emotional/tactile "nourishment" might often
be the basis for this collapsed version of the Short Flexor pattern.
So
looked at closer this neurological model could be seen as three different types
related to three different primary reaction patterns: Short Extensor type
(based on a Landau Reflex), Short Flexor Contraction type (based on the startle
reflex), and Short Flexor Collapse type (based on the primate ´Postural
Collapse´ reaction). The last two types look very similar from the outside with
the same outer form and contour changes, but seen from the inside one can
recognize different tension patterns and different neurobiological driving
mechanisms underneath them.
Different Manual Working Approaches With Different Neurobiological Body
Types:
- With Short
Extensor Pattern people it usually works well to apply more of our
traditional "direct technique" or slow but persistent
"melting " approach when working with the extensor muscles. This
makes sense when taking into account that their trunk extensor muscles are
short & tight, so a clear message along the lines of "You fibers,
lengthen please!" makes actually sense. Additionally it is specially
useful to focus the emotional interaction (tactile, verbal &
otherwise) on RELAXATION, to help them to increase their ability to let go
instead of being "always prepared for action" without any real
pause.
- In a Short Flexor
Pattern it is often useful to not only work with the shortened flexor
muscles but also with the extensor muscles of the trunk which are long but
tight (or at least tired), in order to seduce them to shorten more
effectively. But here a traditional melting work along the lines of
"Lengthen please" does usually work not as well with those trunk
extensors. It makes more sense to use indirect technique and/or
stimulating touch to communicate something like "Hey nervous
system, please re-evaluate what you are doing right here with those
joints. Maybe you want to change something or be more present here".
Another way to put it is to ´VITALIZE those myofascial tissues
more. You want to influence those muscle fibers so they shorten (and not
lengthen!) more in order to be able to work less hard.
- With a Short Flexors
Contraction Pattern it is additionally advised to do some
"lengthening work" on the shortened flexors. But since those
muscles don't contain as many Golgi receptors compared with genetic
extensor fibers I suggest to address them additionally with indirect
technique besides with our traditional direct Golgi tissue stretch type of
manipulation. Emotionally it is often good to focus on "SAFETY"
in the interactions with the client in order to give new options away from
any anxiety pattern underlying the startle reflex mechanism.
- In a Short Flexors
Collapse Pattern it often works best to focus more on stimulation
and vitalization of their WHOLE neuromuscular system (instead of getting
too much focused in detailed structural logic in a search for any
chronically contracted tissues) It often works well to be aware of the
nourishing factor of human touch when looking for ways how to bring "more
life" back into their system, and to use that tool as effectively
as possible. Sometimes this might include giving strong and vigorously
stimulating touch in order to achieve this. Active client movement
participation also contributes to this very well. So besides subtle
micromovement participation I often involve them in participating with
more active movements, where they stretch, or move against my resistance
while we work. Also postural education works very well and can often do
wonders with those types, since there are no chronic tissue restrictions
to overcome.
Conclusion
It
is hoped that this model helps to stimulate your perception to take into
account more neurobiological factors involved in human structure. The author
cannot take much credit for the development of this "third model",
since basically all elements have been described before (mostly by Sultan,
Hanna, Feldenkrais). When comparing the above description of the Short Extensor
type and the Short Flexor types with the geometrical description of the two
Sultan types it is obvious that there are about 80% congruence; i.e. the Short
Extensor type corresponds closely to the Sultan external and the Short Flexors
to the internal. The main feature which is clearly different are the lower legs
and feet. Therefor it is justified to give most credit to Jan Sultan for the
refined development of his model underlying this newly proposed typology as a
solid and most crucial foundation. It is further obvious that Sultan's model is
based on an enormous amount of clinical experience. It would have been possible
to present this new neurobiological model just as a modification of the Sultan
model, since it consists basically of his descriptions minus the lower legs
& feet, minus the craniosacral driving mechanism, and minus the energetic
transmission lines. But since especially the last two items might be crucial
factors of Sultan's model, this would have not been very appropriate or even
respectful. Therefore I chose to present the above article as a "new"
way to look at structural differences between
people.
A
major difference of this model to both the Sultan and the Flury model is that
the two described typologies are not exclusive of one another. Sometimes the
two reflex patterns Short Extensor and Short Flexor Contraction can overlay
each other, sometimes even in the same body segment. The poor person's ribcage
is then not only chronically tightened from the back but also from the front. (
Whereas the Short Flexor Collapse pattern and the Short Extensor pattern would
be seen as antagonistic.)
Key
indicator for the reflex patterns in not the pelvis position in standing (like
in Flury´s model) nor the femur rotation (like in Sultan's), but the tonus
balance between trunk-flexors and trunk-extensors, specially around the
ribcage. In Short Extensors the main mobility-limiting elements for the ribcage
are the tight extensors in the back; in Short Flexors Contraction types it is
the tight flexors in the front; and with the Short Flexors Collapse types there
is free trunk mobility with a sunken and collapsed (but not tightened) chest in
front.
It
is clear that postural typologies are arbitrary ways to divide a continuum. One
can easily divide the cake into two slices, or twelve, depending how many
distinctions one wants to make. The proposed way of eating the cake in two big
portions (and calling one of them Short Extensor type and the other Short
Flexor type) and then eating the second one of those portions in two different
styles is suggested as a useful tool to include more neurobiological factors
into our work. But there are other ways to divide the cake. One of them was
suggested by the American humorist Ogden Nash who once said:
"There are two kinds of people:
those that believe that there are two kinds of people,
and those that don't."
The Rolf Recipe as a Flexor-Extensor
Wave
The Rolf Recipe
can be understood as a wave between genetic flexors and extensors.
It is possible that Ida Rolf was consciously aware of
this aspect (see the quote above). Yet it is also possible that this mainly served
as a subconscious and intuitive background
for her in the creation of the recipe (similar like many people
intuitively feel a similarity between the ‘softer’ genetic flexor tissues in
their arms, legs and belly -as opposed to their more ‘stringy’ extensors -even
if they don’t know much about anatomy or embryology).
First Triangle (Superficial Sessions)
Session 1: Flexors (mainly work on front of thorax,
yet curiously also on hamstrings)
Session 2: Extensors (mainly work on front of legs,
plus on erector spinae)
Session 3: Integration, synthesis (relating front to
back)
Middle Triangle (Core Sessions)
Session 4&5: Flexors
(abdomen, chest, adductors). Ida Rolf often suggested to see 4&5 as one session.
Session 6: Extensors
(back of legs, hip rotators, erector spinae)
Session 7: Integration,
synthesis
Third Triangle (Integrating Sessions)
Session 8: Flexors (all main flexors. Including
healthy flexion and pull/curl gestures of client)
Session 9: Extensors (all main flexors. Including
healthy extension and push/reach gestures of client)
Session 10: Integration, synthesis (contralat.
push-pull combinations in crawling, walking, running,
etc.)
The Flexor - Extensor Typology In a Nutshell
|
Genetic
Extensor Muscles |
Genetic
Flexor muscles |
|
· Enervated
from the ventral branches of the plexi. · Tend to be
phasic (fast twitch fibers). · Tend to be
involved in Startle Reaction |
|
Primary:
|
Primary:
|
|
Secondary:
|
Secondary:
|
|
Associated:
|
Associated:
|
Postural Patterns
|
Extensor Type |
Flexor Type |
|
Primary
Features:
|
Primary
Features:
|
|
Secondary
Features:
|
Secondary
Features:
|
Literature:
- Jan Sultan,
in 'Notes on Structural Integration', 1989/1 (basic foundation of this
typology).
- Thomas
Hanna: 'Somatics', Addison-Wesley, Reading MA, 1988 (Green Light & Red
Light Reflex).
- Robert
Eaton: 'Neural Mechanisms of Startle Behavior', Plenum Press, N.Y., 1984
(details about the startle reflex)
-
Kendall, Kendall, Wadsworth: 'Muscles, Testing and Function', Baltimore 1971
(muscle enervation charts).
A first draft of this article was
published in ROLF LINES, October 1993