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Rolfing and Yoga
Trends in Rolfing and Yoga
Rolfing and yoga complement each other by improving structure,
balance and flexibility. Rolfing developer Dr. Ida Rolf used
yoga to further our understanding of human structure. Did you know
that Hatha Yoga influenced Dr. Ida Rolf's development of
Rolfing?
 When
Dr. Ida Rolf was a young mother, before she started practicing
Rolfing, she used yoga to address back problems, related to a scoliosis.
In the 1930's, she studied yoga with Pierre Bernard, a yoga teacher
in Nyack, N.Y.
Yoga was considered a bit far out at the time, and there were
very few teachers
available in the US. At the time, Rolf was cautious about referring
her students to yoga. "Dr. Rolf declared that yoga was the
best exercise system ever
devised, if the student worked with a good teacher," says
Jeff Linn, Certified
Rolfer and archivist. "If the teacher
was not good then
it could do serious
damage in
the long term."
Over the past seventy years interest in yoga has
grown steadily in the West, and now there are many expert instructors
teaching
from a variety of yogic traditions.
Dr. Rolf's personal study of yoga, osteopathy and homeopathy
contributed
to the evolution of her Rolfing principles. She aligned her vision of
Rolfing with the goals of yoga, "a physical system that enriches the
student's body,
mind and spiritual well being through an understanding of structural
balance."
"Dr. Rolf always investigated what was new and was never afraid
to take what
she learned and use it," says Rosemarie Feitus, Certified Rolfer, in the
introduction to her book, "Ida Rolf Talks: About Rolfing and Physical
Reality." "In those years of practicing and discussing the principles of yoga; (Dr.
Rolf)
was establishing the basis of her future work; that bodies need to lengthen
and be balanced, and that a balanced body will give rise to a better human
being," says Feitus. "Slowly she realized that the asanas did not achieve
length
and separation of the joints, that in too many cases there was actual
contraction of the joint surfaces. Something else was needed." Sometime
later,
Rolfing was born.
Rolfing works primarily in two ways, with
hands-on manipulation and movement education. It physically changes the
body's
structure and energetically improves movement and function. Yoga and
Rolfing both
work subtly with energy inside and outside the body. Let's look at the
breath,
and how Rolfing works with energy. Sometimes stress makes us short of
breath, so we breathe more tensely. By guiding the breath throughout the
body,
Rolfing can potentially help relieve tension and increase energy levels.
The most common objectives that guide people
to Rolfing and yoga are:
- to gain relief from chronic or acute tension or pain
- to increase flexibility or coordination
- to improve posture and alignment
- to learn to relax and obtain more body awareness
- to offset deleterious effects of aging
- to release emotional blocks stored in the body
- to have more energy and stamina
- to find relief from breathing difficulties
—"Bodies, Health, and Consciousness, by Rosie Speigel, SRG Publishing, 1994
More on Rolfing and Yoga:
Article: Bodywork and Yoga: Partners for Life by Carmela Carvajal
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