What is Rolfing® Structural Integration?

Rolfing® is the name that was given to the manual therapy and educational process that was developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the 1950’s. Originally called Structural Integration, it addresses posture, chronic and acute pain, and mobility, and has an unequalled ability to change a person`s posture, structure and movements.

Rolfing is a process of treatments with an intention to bring your parts into a more harmonious relationship with each other, and your whole being into a more harmonious relationship with your environment. Gravity is a constant force on us throughout our lives. When our structures are well balanced and organised, its’ constant pressure is felt more like a nourishing support than a depressing weight.

Our lives are rich with a multitude of experiences. Some of them, like accidents, surgeries, the chairs, shoes, laptops and smart phones we use, and of course, our dominant negative emotions, move our body out of our ideal alignment. The Rolfing Method of Structural Integration aims to unwind the tensions and patterns that hold us in these unhelpful postures and give us an experience of a more balanced perspective.

Why Rolfing?

Rolfing is a journey into a more comfortable, healthier you. It is not a massage, and to fully get the benefits of the treatments, you are invited to be actively involved in the sessions. The results that will stay with you for life are those that are found together as Petró helps you learn and transform your old patterns of movements and free yourself of your restrictions.

Clients often find that the Rolfing series helps with:

Tendinitis, RSI and Inflammation injuries
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
TMJ or Jaw dysfunction
Torticollis
Plantar Fasciitis
Headaches and Migraines
Eye strain
Wrinkles
Scar Tissue
Flat feet
Muscle Cramps
Shin Splints
Hip / Knee pain
Lower Back Pain
Sciatica

Along with the decrease of pain symptoms, clients regularly express that they feel:

taller, lighter, more at ease in their body
improved posture
better balance
emotionally more centred and calm
improved range and quality of movements
better athletic or artistic performance
faster recovery time from training
improved consciousness to know when they are over-stressing or under-using their body
more energetic

Petró Kohut - Certified Rolfer

Petró has been working with manual therapy for the last 22 years. Originally in Australia, and for the last 16 years in Mallorca. Initially qualified as a Remedial and Sports Massage Therapist, his goal was to get people into relaxation, the best form for their sport, and out of pain. With time, he realized that his true passion lay is diving to the core reasons that were causing these symptoms; posture, movement habits and trauma.

What is Fascia and the Neuro-Fascial Web?

Fascia or connective tissue, is our Organ of form. It is the filmy, white, and sometimes transparent substance that surrounds and penetrates all of your muscles, ligaments and tendons and wraps your bones, nerves and organs. It forms an all pervasive 3-dimensional web that holds in place every other structure in your body and also transmits the forces produced by your musculature to create your gestures and movements.

Without enough movement, and particularly after injury, our fascia can thicken and become less mobile, hydrated, and elastic, which can diminish our ability to fully use the potential of our body. In the course of your sessions, your Rolfer spreads, separates and moulds your fascia to create more elasticity, evenness of tone, and fluidity in your tissues, thus giving your body more balance, resilience, adaptability and ease.

History of Rolfing

Dr Ida P. Rolf, a biochemist from New York, developed the method of Rolfing Structural Integration between the years of about 1930 and 1950 to help understand and deal with her own spinal arthritis, and health problems within her family. She researched Osteopathy, Yoga, Chiropractics, the teachings of Mensendieck, T.M Alexander, among many others, and began to look closely at the function of the Fascia, (hyperlink to What is Fascia). Her search led her to develop a new way of rebalancing a person’s tissues to help them find a more comfortable and health supporting alignment.

Dr Rolf theorized that in case of an injury, the fascia tightens around the injured site, like a bandage, to support and protect the area. Years after the injury has healed, the fascia is often still there protecting the area, and the body has in some way learned to compensate for that tightness, often causing chronic pain.

A Rolfer is a little bit like an engineer...

...checking the structural problems that might not yet be causing pain. Author and Rolfer, Owen Marcus, compares Rolfing with the problem of cracks in the walls of a house. Marcus says: "Until the foundation is repaired, no matter how often the cracks are repaired, they will return. Your body is the same. Until the shortness and rotation in your leg is released, your neck may always be going out."

TESTIMONIALS

"He heals with his heart"

Petró has helped me heal on two occasions, and what I love about his work is not only his technical work as a Rolfer, which is the most effective bodywork I have experienced to this day, but that he also heals – and I believe that most importantly – with his heart. During his treatments, one can feel his true intention to heal that comes from a profound interest in the circumstances that may have led to the disease and the time and dedication he puts into the healing.

Claudia (March 2018)