Rolfing is a technique that uses soft tissue manipulation to align the body with gravity. It involves 10 sessions over several weeks to release fascial tension and restrictions, allowing the body to stand taller and move freely. Each session focuses on a different body region from feet to head to bring the whole structure into balanced alignment. The goal is for the body to function optimally with gravity rather than strain against it.

2. ROLFING

3. ROLFING
• Dr. Ida P. Rolf, a
biochemist and
Rockefeller University
fellow, founded the Rolf
Institute in 1971, in
Boulder, Colorado.
Rolfing® is a brand of
Structural Integration.

4. ROLFING
• “A holistic system of soft
tissue manipulation and
movement education that
organizes the whole body in
gravity” (The Rolf Institute
2000).
• It releases patterns of fascial
tension and bracing, allowing
gravity to re-align the body
towards more vertical
integrity.

5. ROLFING
The human body is a structure that moves
within the earth’s gravitational field. As such,
it is either aligned with gravity or not.
A body misaligned with gravity experiences
strain from the gravitational pull. This strain
will eventually lead to pain.

6. What is Rolfing?
Gravity is the most
powerful force affecting
structures. In aligned
structures gravity flows
through it providing
“lift”.
The Geodesic dome is
very similar to the
human body, it is made
up of support structures
(bones) and tensile
structures (soft tissue).
The correct alignment of
these two elements
creates lift.

7. WHAT IS

8. WHAT IS FASCIA
 FASCIA HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS THE MOST PERVASIVE
TISSUE IN THE BODY ,REPRESENTING A THREE
DIMENSIONAL NETWORK FROM HEAD TO TOE.
 IT IS A TYPE OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE ALONG WITH
TENDONS, LIGAMENTS, CARTILAGE, MUSCLE & BONE.
 IT IS AVASCULAR STRUCTURE.

9. MAGNIFIED STRUCTURE OF FASCIA

10. How does Rolfing Align the Body?
Just as the fabric in a sweater is
contiguous and defines the
sweater, so to the fascia of the
body is contiguous and defines the
body.
And like a sweater, a strain in one
part of the “fascial net” can and
will cause strain in another portion
of the fascial net.

11. ROLFING
Fundamentally, Rolfing is based on some simple
ideas about human structure:
(1) most human beings are significantly out of
alignment with gravity;
(2) we function better when we are lined up
with the gravitational field of the earth; and
(3) the human body is so plastic that its
alignment can be brought into harmony with
gravity at practically any time of life

12. When the body gets working
appropriately, the force of gravity
can flow through. Then,
spontaneously, the body heals
itself.
— Dr. Ida P. Rolf

13. ROLFING IS NOT A MASSAGE
• ROLFING IS NOT A MASSAGE ,IN
ROLFING WE MANIPULATING THE
SOFT TISSUE (FASCIA) WITHOUT
USING A OIL,IN A VERY SLOW
MANNER WITH ACTIVE OR PASSIVE
MOVEMENT.

14. CAUSES OF DYSFUNTION
• STRESS
• INJURY
• POOR POSTURE
• DISUSE
• EMOTIONAL
DISTURBANCE

15. WHO GET BENEFITED BY ROLFING
... everyone

16. ROLFING
• Rolfing is a technique of
connective tissue
manipulation which seeks
to bring the body into a
more vertical alignment.
This is accomplished in a
series of ten sessions and in
accordance with five
guiding principles, wholism
, support, adaptability,
dynamic balance, and
closure.

17. 1. WHOLISM
• The first and primary principle that guides our
work as Rolfer is the principle of wholism.

18. 2. SUPPORT
• Support is another principle that
guides our work as Rolfers. For
example, before the relationship
between the head and torso can
be changed so that the head rests
more vertically on top of the
shoulders and is neither forward,
back or to the side, support for the
head needs to be created in the
legs, feet and pelvis.

19. 3. ADAPTABILITY
With age, accidents, surgery, or
psychological trauma the connective
tissue of the body becomes
hardened, contracted and adhered
to itself. This puts tension on joints
and muscles producing
compensations, imbalances and less
freedom of movement. If
adaptability is truly the ability to
adjust to new conditions, and new
conditions mean we are changing
the way your pelvis relates to your
legs, then it is essential that length,
elasticity and pliability be restored to
the connective tissues of the body.

20. 4. DYNAMIC BALANCE
• With the principle of dynamic balance, the major
blocks of the body are stacked one on top of the other,
dynamic balance is achieved. We have the unity of
opposites; the body is equally balanced between earth
and sky, left and right, and deep to superficial
musculature. Once we are in balance we have more
energy to lead an active, vibrant lifestyle. Change inside
ourselves leads to change outside ourselves. This
principle also means I cannot organize the back of your
body without paying attention to the front of it. Our
bodies exist in more than one dimension and my work
as a Rolfer needs to address this aspect of our
existence.

21. 5. CLOSURE
• The final principle we work with as Rolfers is the
principle of closure. This principle means we are
aware this work is a process, and that we share
the experience of this process with our clients.
Closure implies that every session or series of
sessions has a beginning, middle and end, and
that it is important to be aware of where we are
in this process. Closure also means it is important
to know when we are done, when we have
reached an optimal stopping point and no further
intervention is useful.

22. INDICATION
• POSTURAL CONDITIONS
• CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS
• CERVICOGENIC HEADACHES
• RADICULAR PAIN
• POOR CORDINATIONS
• POST SURGERY/INJURY
• STRESS
• EMOTIONAL TRAUMA
• REPETATIVE STRESS INJURY
• LIMITED ROM AND FLEXIBILITY
• ENHANCE SPORTS PERFORMANCE

23. HOW ROLFING WORK

24. TREATMENT TECHNIQUES:
• Ten sessions that last from
1-1 ½ hours each. Sessions
are generally 2-5 weeks
apart.
– Sessions 1-3: Superficial
Sessions
– Sessions 4-7: Core/Deep
Sessions
– Sessions 8-10: Integrative
Hours

25. SESSION-1
• ENHANCE BREATHING The focus of the first session
is on the relationship of the thorax to both the
pelvic and shoulder girdles. Differentiating the
shoulder and pelvic girdles from the ribcage begins
to free the breath and involves working the more
superficial tissue of the ribcage, shoulders, arms,
and hips. Every Rolfing session ends with neck
work and seated back work which is designed
to integrate the work into the body.

26. SESSION-2
• The second session focuses on your lower legs
and feet. The feet are the bodies’ structural
foundation. Whatever happens at the foot and
ankle will affect every joint above them and
influence every movement – dysfunction here is
often at the root of muscular-skeletal problems
from back pain to headache. In this session the
lower legs are opened and aligned to improve the
quality of support to the body. The connection of
the feet with the ground and the capacity to
land and to push off in walking is essential to the
activation of the bodies’ core.

27. SESSION-3
• Open the Sides. The territory for this session is the sides of
the body from ankle to neck. Strain patterns through
this ‘lateral line’ are eased increasing the potential for the
body to move freely in all three planes of movement.
Whereas in the 1st two sessions the focus has been on the
sagittal plane of front/back movement in this session the
capacity for side to side or coronal movement is
addressed. It is only when the body is free to move in
these two planes that fully integrated movement in the
third plane, the contra-lateral or horizontal plane, is
possible.

28. SESSION-4
• In this session as in the preceding session the
emphasis is on the capacity for side to
side movement and in terms of the myo-fascial
system on the relationship and balance between
the adductors and the abductors. The territory is
the inside of the legs and the outside of the hips
with the aims of, amongst others, differentiating the
adductors from the hamstrings and the quadriceps
and co-ordinating the two halves of the
pelvis through the sacro-iliac joints.

29. SESSION-5
• The work commenced in the 4th session continues
up through the quadriceps, the front of
the abdomen and then into the psoas the deep hip
flexor which directly connects the leg to the spine
and is one of the key co-ordinating and stabilizing
muscles of the body. The freeing up of deeper
pelvic and abdominal restrictions opens the
potential for improvement in pelvic movement and
position, breathing and the capacity for contra-
lateral motion.

30. SESSION-6
• Open the back. The sixth session focuses on the
back of your body from your calves to your back.
The goal of this session is to allow your legs, pelvis,
and spine to move independent of one another.
• In this session we aim to free the back of the legs
and pelvis while establishing more freedom of
movement and resilience in the whole spine
through work around the back of the pelvis, back,
neck and head.

31. SESSION-7
• Orient the head on the spine. The seventh session,
the last of the deep Rolfing sessions, focuses on
your head, neck, and face. The goal is to allow your
head to rest with ease on top of your spine.
• continue work with the upper back, shoulders and
neck. Work with neck, cranium and facial structures.
Give balance to cranium movement.

32. SESSION-8
• Integration. The eighth session is the first of three
integration sessions that close the ten-series. The work
will be lighter during this and the subsequent sessions,
and you will be asked to be more involved—for
instance flexing or extending a joint during the work or
focusing your breath more consciously. In this eighth
Rolfing session, we will focus primarily on any
remaining trouble areas in your lower body.
• work with pelvic girdle and limbs to create better lower
body integration and support for the upper body. In
this session we may apply particular attention to any
specific individual problems.

33. SESSION-9
• Integration. The ninth session, another integration
session, will focus primarily on any remaining
trouble areas in your upper body.
• work with the shoulder girdle and limbs to create
better upper body integration and a more balanced
relationship to the lower body. In this session also
we may apply particular attention to any specific
individual problems.

34. SESSION-10
• Whole-body integration. The last session of the
Rolfing ten-series covers the entire body. The
work is superficial as we address any restrictions
affecting healthy movement at your joints.
• In this last session we aim for Structural
Integration by establish horizontal planes of
support and movement from the feet up to the
head. Again we will work on individual problems
if necessary. The completion of the Basic Ten
series will definitely make it easier to deal with
any specific problems in the future.

35. REFERENCES

36. THANK YOU