My Background
I was a hairdresser for 9 years and I ended up with tendonitis from cutting hair in my right elbow, standing for long periods of time hurt my knees and my lower back had severe lordosis, my right shoulder was higher than the left shoulder from holding the blow dryer, and I ended up with rounded shoulders from leaning over the chair to work on people who were also leaning over while sitting in the chair.
I became a Certified Yoga Instructor because I wanted to help ease my pain. I felt that I needed to stretch my body in order to alleviate the work stresses on my body. Wow, yoga felt great on my body! It helped more than I expected. Yoga helped physically, mentally, and emotionally. In the mirror I still noticed that my posture was poor; my shoulders were still rounded and uneven, my lordosis was still severe, and I still felt like I was slouching. Yoga helped in some ways, but something was missing……
I came across Rolfing Structural Integration online. I was actually looking for a massage therapist and Rolfing kept popping up on the screen, so of course I had to research it. Rolfing SI sounded like just what I needed, so I found a practitioner and started the 10-Series. I did one session a week for 10 weeks and it was life changing!
My Experience
Each session is completely different, working on different sections and layers of the body. Session One opened my breath. I have always had an easier time exhaling and after this session, I could actually receive a full inhale with ease.
Session Two was focused on my feet and lower legs. After this session, my feet became wider, making me feel more solid while standing. This session also brought a lot of space into me knees, which I needed after standing for 9 years as a hairdresser. My back also felt longer which was interesting because the practitioner didn’t even work on my back.
Session Three involved working on the sides of my body. This session stretched out my IT Bands and made space between my rib cage and hip area. At this point, I noticed that my yoga practice was getting easier. I was becoming aware of my body mechanics and how to perform yoga poses properly.
Session Four started to get deeper into the body. This session was the inner midline of the legs and into the pelvic floor. After this session, I noticed a much longer stride in my walk and my hips were moving.
Session Five is focused on the front side of the body. This session surprisingly helped with my digestion. I even noticed my walking being initiated by the psoas muscles. It felt like my legs went all the way up to my diaphragm. I also noticed sitting in my car I had to readjust my rear view mirror because I was becoming taller.
Session Six is the entire back side of the body. This session was a real turning point for me. My body was craving this session! My lower back felt so much relief! Standing in a mirror, my lower back didn’t have a deep curve anymore and my hips were leveled out from front to back.
Session Seven is about the head and neck with intra-oral and intra-nasal work. Who would have thought that the muscles in my mouth and nose affected my posture? After this session, I noticed that my head was centered on my body, I didn’t have to make an effort to figure out where my head had to be. I also experienced sinus drainage after this session.
Sessions Eight, Nine, and Ten were integrative sessions. I did not feel pain anymore! Not only was I physically healthy now, I felt like my life was changing. My yoga practice really improved with awareness of body mechanics. I felt more mature and ready for the next stage of my life. All of my chakras felt aligned. Rolfing Structural Integration was an amazing experience for me! It helped me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Now that I am a practitioner of Rolfing SI, it is extremely rewarding for me to see people get out of pain and to watch them change for the better on their Rolfing journey.