Articles

Rolfing® SI and Music: A Productive Symbiosis

Published:
April 2025

This article explores the powerful synergy between Rolfing Structural Integration (SI) and musical performance, emphasizing how Rolfing can significantly enhance a musician’s posture, coordination, and stress resilience.

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We Can Work on This Together: A Conversation with Marilyn Beech

Published:
April 2025

The International Association of Structural Integrators (IASI) was founded to unite structural integration practitioners, resolve past conflicts, and establish the profession within manual therapy.

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Credit the Photographer: An Interview with David Kirk-Campbell

Published:
March 2025

This article is a conversation with David Kirk-Campbell, a Rolfer™ and photographer, about his iconic images of Dr. Ida P. Rolf from the 1970s.

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A Tribute to Rosemary Feitis

Published:
March 2025

Dr. Rosemary Feitis, a key figure in the Rolfing® Structural Integration community, passed away on July 5, 2018. An early follower of Dr. Ida Rolf, she played a pivotal role in establishing and documenting Rolfing SI.

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Ninja Movement Exercises and Vertical Bone Alignment

Published:
March 2025

Tsuguo Hirata explores the movement principles of ninja master Go Murasame Sensei, highlighting their alignment with Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI).

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Meet My Rolfer™: Patrick Clough

Published:
February 2025

The article is an interview with Patrick Clough, a seasoned Rolfer with over fifty years of experience, conducted by Mandy Cheek for the "Meet My Rolfer" column.

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Uncover the Voice that Nature Intended: An Interview with David George Delaney

Published:
January 2025

David George Delaney's book Intrinsic Singing (2024) is aimed at singers, actors, and anyone interested in authentic expression through voice.

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Honoring Helen “Jimmer” James

Published:
January 2025

The article is an excerpt from Briah Anson’s upcoming book, recounting the life and accomplishments of Helen “Jimmer” James, a pioneer in Rolfing® Structural Integration.

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The Philosophical Touch: How Wittgenstein can Enhance Somatic Therapies

Published:
January 2025

Andrew Rosenstock honors the late Jeffrey Maitland by exploring philosophy's role in somatic therapy.

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Letter from the Embryo - A 'Footnote'

Published:
December 2024

An exploration of how embryological growth patterns and developmental forces shape anatomical structures, joints, and the torsional design of the foot.

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The Ten Series: A Phylogenetic Approach

Published:
November 2024

The article discusses a bodywork approach that emphasizes reconnecting with ancient, evolutionary patterns of movement.

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In Memoriam: Wolf Wagner, PhD

Published:
November 2024

This article commemorates the late Dr. Wolf Wagner and his legacy alongside Dr. Hans Flury and Willi Harder, pioneers of structural integration influenced by Dr. Ida Rolf’s work.

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In Memoriam: Larry Koliha, Certified Advanced Rolfer®, Rolf Movement® Practitioner, and Rolfing® Instructor

Published:
October 2024

Larry Koliha (1953–2024) was a beloved Rolfing® practitioner, instructor, and former engineer known for his intuitive bodywork, creative teaching, and dedication to helping others connect with breath and movement.

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In Memoriam: Dr. Jeffrey Maitland

Published:
October 2024

Jeffrey Maitland was a philosopher, Zen monk, and Advanced Rolfer who brought a unique blend of intellectual rigor, spirituality, and somatic insight to the field of Rolfing Structural Integration (SI).

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A Functional Fascia Treatment with Rolfing® Structural Integration for Double Mastectomy: A Case Study

Published:
October 2024

This case study explores how a five-session Rolfing® Structural Integration therapy helped a 39-year-old breast cancer survivor, JD, improve mobility and alleviate pain after multiple surgeries and radiation.

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Rolfing® Holism

Published:
October 2024

This article contrasts holism and reductionism in healthcare, using Rolfing® Structural Integration as a case study.

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Be Big, Inhabit Your Space: The Legacy of Emmett Hutchins

Published:
September 2024

The article explores Elisa Jane Noel’s career as a structural integration practitioner and her mentor Emmett Hutchins, focusing on his teaching style, legacy, and dedication to preserving Dr. Ida Rolf's work.

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The Power of Story: An Interview with Briah Anson

Published:
September 2024

The "Admonition for 1977" stresses critical thinking and personal empowerment, urging belief only in what reason and consciousness support.

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There’s a Place for All of It: A Walk through Manual Therapy Work

Published:
September 2024

Jeffrey Burch's book, Assessment and Treatment Methods for Manual Therapists (2023), offers significant insights into the history and techniques of manual therapy, drawing from osteopathy and structural integration.

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The Space of a Person

Published:
September 2024

Marius Strydom discusses his journey into Rolfing, emphasizing the importance of subjective spatial awareness in structural integration.

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The Resonance of Space, Ground, and Gravity

Published:
August 2024

The article by Jörg Ahrend-Löns explores the concept of structural integration, focusing on how the human body organizes itself in response to gravity through the vestibular, visual, and sensory systems, particularly the feet.

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The Gravity Problem

Published:
August 2024

Sultan discusses how Rolf used the concept of the "Line" as a symbolic representation of the relationship between the Earth and the human body, helping practitioners understand gravity's influence on human structure and movement.

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Caution Column: Nerve Work According to Jan H. Sultan and Jeffrey Burch

Published:
August 2024

The article explores nerve work from a structural perspective, emphasizing the role of neural connective tissue manipulation in alleviating chronic pain.

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Space, Ground, and Gravity: Tuning Our Practitioner Body to Suitable Tone and Ma Sensitivity

Published:
August 2024

Dr. Ida Rolf emphasized gravity's impact on the body, while introducing "ma," a Japanese concept of spatial-temporal balance.

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Meet My Rolfer®: Dean Bergstrom

Published:
July 2024

Dean Bergstrom transitioned from logging to becoming a Rolfer in Terrace, BC. He and his wife Sue offer Rolfing and Skillful Touch Massage through their business, Four Hands Body Renewal.

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Fascia Insights: Peer-Reviewed Myofascial Intervention Study on Lumbar Microcirculation

Published:
July 2024

Researchers Andreas Brandl, DO, and Robert Schleip, PhD, published a 2023 study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine showing that myofascial release significantly increases microcirculation in the thoracolumbar fascia.

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Research Basics: Definitions, Methods, and Where to Begin

Published:
July 2024

Research is a complex and challenging field. In this article, I will provide an overview of basic research definitions and offer strategies for effectively researching bodywork.

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Should We Believe What We Read? What to Consider When Evaluating Clinical Research Publications

Published:
July 2024

Scientific research starts with unbiased observations. Valid experimental studies are needed to confirm any relationships between fascial interventions and client outcomes.

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Research as a Communitarian and Bottom–up Process

Published:
July 2024

In Brazil, NAPER exemplifies community-building for Rolfing research, creating valuable client data for study. Integrating research into RISI training fosters a scientific attitude.

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Horse Listener: How Horses Taught Me to Work

Published:
June 2024

Felisa Holmberg, a Certified Rolfer since 2005, blends Rolfing Structural Integration with her lifelong connection to horses. Her intuitive approach enhances healing for both humans and horses.

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The Dialogue of Touch: Inspirations from Psychotherapy after Forty-Five Years of Rolfing® Structural Integration

Published:
June 2024

This article discusses integrating psychotherapy with Rolfing SI, the impact of the unconscious and cell membranes on tissue changes, encouraging Rolfers to pursue psychotherapy for self-awareness.

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Working with Scoliosis – In Our Clients and Ourselves

Published:
June 2024

The authors discuss their personal experiences with scoliosis and its impact on their lives, highlighting how they've used self-experimentation to develop Rolfing Structural Integration and Rolf Movement techniques.

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What is Rolf Movement Integration: The Challenge of Coordinative Learning

Published:
May 2024

Rolf Movement Integration complements Rolfing® Structural Integration by emphasizing movement, addressing perception, coordination, autonomic regulation, and expressivity.

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Awareness-Oriented Structural Integration and Higher Consciousness

Published:
May 2024

Dr. Edward Maupin recounts his journey from Zen meditation to Rolfing, revealing the transformative power of body-oriented psychotherapy.

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Energy Work: Re-conceptualizing an Inclusive Spectrum of Interventions within an Informational Model of SI

Published:
May 2024

The article examines two interventions: homeopathy with acupuncture and mirror therapy for phantom-limb pain.

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Down the Rabbit Hole: An Interview with Robert Schleip

Published:
May 2024

Conducted during the Fourth International Fascia Research Congress in Washington DC on September 20, 2015, this interview with Robert provides insights despite his busy schedule.

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The Role of Consciousness in Transformational Rolfing® SI

Published:
April 2024

The article explores Structural Integration's (SI) transformative effects on various layers of being. It emphasizes connective tissue and gravity's role in facilitating shifts in physical, emotional, and cognitive realms.

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Somatic Process: Developing a More Inclusive Somatics Education

Published:
April 2024

This paper discusses teaching somatics in higher education and professional settings. The author examines his background in somatics, dance, and Rolfing® Structural Integration, as well as his research about phenomenoloogies.

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In memoriam: Dr. Hans Flury (June 16, 1945 – June 18, 2023)

Published:
April 2024

Explore Dr. Hans Flury's pioneering journey in Rolfing® and Structural Integration, from his certification to groundbreaking research, teachings, and lasting impact on the global community. An insightful tribute to his legacy.

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The Superficial Layer as Sensory Envelope: New Perspectives from the Art of Yield About the ‘Superficial’ Sessions of the Rolfing® Series

Published:
April 2024

The author continues to develop his body of work with the Art of Yield (Tahata and Agneesens 2012) and the role of ma.

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Practically Integrated: Where Parallel Practices Meet

Published:
April 2024

Relating her Rolfing practice with her musical practice, Lynn Cohen explores her journey of acquiring structural integration expertise alongside a relationship with her cello.

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If I Only Knew: When My Diagnosis Set Me Free

Published:
March 2024

Advanced Rolfer® Dan Somers interviews his client, Amy Shinneman, who is the 2023 National Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), about her life with a type of muscular dystrophy called Bethlem myopathy.

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The Superficial Layer as Sensory Envelope: New Perspectives from the Art of Yield About the ‘Superficial’ Sessions of the Rolfing® Series

Published:
March 2024

Understand at a deeper level the impact of tension in the superficial layer, the role of yielding and ma in the ‘superficial’ sessions of the Ten Series, and the elements that support the receptivity of the client’s body.

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Fascia Insights: How Dr. Tina Wang Applies Fascial Science to Educate and Empower

Published:
March 2024

Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Tina Wang discusses her appreciation for the profession of structural integration for putting fascia research on the map in this article with Rolfer® Lu Muller-Kaul.

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From Aerospace Engineering to Humanistic Psychology, to Structural Integration: An Interview with Joseph Heller

Published:
March 2024

Interviewer and Hellerworker Greer Bailey asks Joseph Heller to tell the story of creating the structural integration school, Hellerwork® International.

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Dr. Ida P. Rolf – Pioneer of Structural Integration

Published:
February 2024

Libby Eason, Chair of the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® (DIRI), takes us through Rolf’s early years, highlighting the benchmark experiences that led to her developing her ‘Recipe’ of the Ten Series and starting her school, DIRI.

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Working Across Difference in Structural Integration: Expanding Perceptual Awareness and Observational Skills

Published:
February 2024

Phoenix L. Quetzal DeLeón explores the concept of working across difference as an expansion of perceptual awareness and observational skills.

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More Than Fifty Years of Being a Rolfer®

Published:
February 2024

Jan H. Sultan reflects on learning Rolfing® Structural Integration from Dr. Rolf at Esalen Institute alongside Emmett Hutchins, Judith Aston, and Peter Melchior.

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The Mysteries of the Sacrum Revealed

Published:
January 2024

An Interview with Jan H. Sultan

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Aligning Our Words with Our Hands and Our Movements: An Interview with Monica Canducci

Published:
November 2023

Words we hear, read, speak, or even think can evoke reactions in our bodies. In this interview, Rolfer Monica Canducci discusses the embodiment of words.

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Voyage of Discovery into the Embodiment of Meaning: An Excerpt of the Podcast, Touching Into Presence

Published:
November 2023

In this article, Rolfers® Andrew Rosenstock and Nikki Olsen interview Johnson about the role of the body in human meaning.

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Voice as Touch, and Other Musings

Published:
October 2023

The tongue and voice are inextricably linked, as Rolfing SI Instructor Ellen Freed discovered firsthand when her tongue temporarily swelled for a few days preventing speech.

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The Relevance of Gravity Orientation to Postural Change and Improved Motor Patterns: An Interview with Kevin Frank

Published:
October 2023

This interview with Rolf Movement® faculty member, Kevin Frank, focuses on gravity orientation and its relevance to structural integration and somatic movement education.

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Embedded in Gravity: Musing about the Human Gravity Project

Published:
October 2023

Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® faculty member, Pierpaola Volpones, describes the gravity journey, some of the common experiences gravity brings to each of us as human beings.

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Caution Column: The Ins and Outs of Working with People with Autoimmune Disorders

Published:
October 2023

Auto immune disorders and the considerations that structural integration (SI) practitioners, in particular, need to consider when working with people with any of these issues.

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Fascia Insights: Humans in Microgravity

Published:
October 2023

Current research describes the consequences of microgravity on the human body and its tissues, making space exploration research an area that Rolfers and structural integration (SI) practitioners might want to read more of.

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The Business of Rolfing® SI

Published:
September 2023

In this ‘Business of Rolfing SI column’, practitioners are asked to consider inflation when they make pricing decisions for their Rolfing sessions.

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Fascia Insights: Being Precise about Fascia with Dr. Carla Stecco

Published:
September 2023

In this article, Dr. Carla Stecco describes the application of cadaver studies for manual therapy, the histology of fascia, and the innervation of fascia.

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Polyvagal Theory and Trauma: An Interview with Stephen Porges, PhD

Published:
August 2023

Polyvagal theory is reviewed in a short introduction, followed by a conversation with Dr. Stephen Porges. Porges’s history as research director with the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® is discussed.

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At the Head of the Table: An Interview with Jan Sultan

Published:
August 2023

In this interview with Jan Sultan, he talks about Dr. Rolf’s Seventh Hour philosophy and practical execution of ‘putting the head back on’.

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What Shapes a Life? An Interview with Fascia Pioneer Thomas Findley

Published:
August 2023

Tom Findley – medical doctor, research scientist, and Rolfer – is interviewed by Jason DeFilippis about his biography and his work with structural integration (SI) and fascia research.

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The Complexity and Reasoning of Keeping 3D Hands and Fingers - By Valerie Berg, Rolfing® Instructor, Rolf Movement® Practitioner

Published:
August 2023

This article comes from the author’s experience of a trauma to her hands and arm. She discusses the fingers and how three-dimensional (3D), multiplanar movement is necessary for a fully functioning hand and arm.

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Breathing from the Inside Out - An Interview with Robert Litman

Published:
August 2023

In this interview, Robert Litman shares the story of breath and integration, drawing on his deep background in breath and movement studies.

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People-First Language Is Part of Our Style

Published:
July 2023

Bias-Free Language in the Pages of Structure, Function, Integration

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Fascia Insights: Measuring the Effects of Soft Tissue Mobilization of the Cesarean Section Scar

Published:
July 2023

In this interview, osteopath Isabell Gilbert discusses her 2022 peer-reviewed article, “Exploring the Effects of Standardized Soft Tissue Mobilization on the Viscoelastic Properties, Pressure Pain Thresholds, and Tactile Pressure

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A Phenomenology of Whiteness in Rolfing® SI

Published:
June 2023

This paper discusses aesthetic and phenomenological philosophies as a lens to understand and discuss Rolfing Structural Integration (SI) and its relationship to orientation, neutrality, and Whiteness.

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Caution Column: Considerations When Working with Pregnant Women

Published:
June 2023

In the first Caution Column, pregnancy is discussed as a condition that is commonly found on contraindication lists for manual therapy.

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Instructor Dialogue: Thoughts About the Ten Series

Published:
May 2023

Larry Koliha and Bethany Ward, Rolfing Structural Integration (SI) instructors and also a couple, share thoughts about the Ten Series, both in teaching and in practice.

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Pars Intima as Gift and Treasure: An Interview with Gil Hedley

Published:
May 2023

Lina Amy Hack interviews anatomist Gil Hedley, PhD, about the pelvic floor. Hedley proposes a new and inclusive term for the intimate structures of the pelvic floor – the pars intima.

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Containers and Contents – In General and in Relation to Scoliosis: An Interview with Peter Schwind

Published:
April 2023

In this interview, conducted in September 2018 when he was in the U.S. to present at the Rolf Institute® Membership Conference, Peter Schwind discusses his ongoing work with harmonizing the cavities of the body and their contents.

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Pelvic Relationships and the 'Ten Series'

Published:
April 2023

Rolfing Structural Integration instructor Lu Mueller-Kaul interviews colleague, Advanced Rolfing Instructor Tessy Brungardt, about how Rolfers® think about the pelvis throughout the 'Ten Series'.

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Embody, Disembody, Re-embody, Body: Working with Scoliosis and Embodiement

Published:
March 2023

The author broadly reviews the domain of scoliosis, from etymology to diagnosis to psychobiological issues and conventional corrective measures.

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Opening Up to be Included: Structural Integration in Switzerland

Published:
March 2023

IDA president, Theres Maibach, describes the history of IDA and how the Swiss SI professionals came together to be recognized by the government as a profession within the complementary therapy category.

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Tonic Function Model: The Human Gravity Response System

Published:
February 2023

The tonic function model is an inquiry into how human beings orient themselves and organize their movement within the earth’s gravitational field.

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Down the Rabbit Hole: an Interview with Robert Schleip

Published:
February 2023

This interview took place late Sunday afternoon in Washington DC on September 20, 2015 at end of the third day of the Fourth International Fascia Research Congress (FRC).

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Rolfing® SI in Europe: Creating Opportunities in Turbulent Times

Published:
February 2023

How ERA is supporting its members and the new format in which the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® Europe is teaching Rolfing® Structural Integration and Rolf Movement Integration.

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Internal-External Is a Perception of the Nature of Structure: A Post-Rolf Point of View

Published:
July 2022

Internal-external is a perception of the nature of human structure and how people adapt their inherited form (genotype) to the demands of their lives (phenotype).

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Fascia Insights: The Third Rhythm in the Cranium

Published:
March 2022

Rasmussen and Hack discuss the significance of this first independent measurement of what could be the craniosacral rhythm, how it compares to the previous palpation studies of the craniosacral rhythm.

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The Flow of Lifelong Inquiry: An Interview with Russell Maliphant

Published:
November 2021

During my years of practice as a Rolfer®, I have come to think of scoliosis as a way of growing. There are trees that grow straight toward the sky and others that twist and torque: bamboo and olive trees. Both are beautiful.

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About Integration

Published:
November 2021

A huge question for us Rolfers is “what is integration?” I was assisting a Basic Rolfing Training and the instructor asked if someone would define what integration was.

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The Brain – New Perspectives for Manual Work: An Interview with Peter Schwind

Published:
March 2021

In this article, faculty members of the Dr.Ida Rolf Institute® Christoph Sommer and Dr. Peter Schwind discuss their investigations of palpating and treating the brain.

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Dancing with the Breath in Rolfing® SI Pre-movement, Orientation, and the Cycle of the Breath

Published:
December 2020

We find our breath at the center of movement where conscious and unconscious meet and in the place where function creates structure

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The Complexity and Reasoning of Keeping 3D Hands and Fingers

Published:
March 2020

Berg invites us to consider the psychobiological elements involved with our hands and arms and how SI’s fascial work supports clients to truly spread their wings.

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