Michael Salveson

Michael Salveson was trained as a Rolfer® by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in 1970. In 1972 he was asked by Dr. Rolf to assist her in training classes and was certified as a Rolfing Instructor by Dr. Rolf in 1973. He has been in active practice in the San Francisco Bay Area for 38 years and an Instructor for the Rolf Institute’s Advanced Training for 22 years. Michael Salveson was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rolf Institute from 1976-1979 and President of the Rolf Institute from 1979 to 1982.

Michael has been instrumental in developing theory and techniques useful in releasing restrictions in the body’s ligamentous-articular system. He has studied extensively in the traditions deriving from osteopathy and works closely with inherent motion in the body. He is a 20 year student of Taoist Chi Gung and an avid fly fisherman.

John Schewe

John Schewe has been a Certified Rolfer since 1987, completing his Advanced Rolfing Training in 1991. He taught anatomy and physiology, structural kinesiology, and deep tissue technique classes for the Blue Cliff School of Massage in Kenner, Louisiana from 1990-1996. John has been part of the Rolf Institute Anatomy Faculty since 1995 and is currently Chair of the Life Sciences Group at the Rolf Institute. Though his academic background is in geology (MS, Louisiana State Univ., 1979), John has had a keen interest in the biological sciences as they pertain to bodywork in general and Rolfing Structural Integration in particular. He brings a fresh perspective to this material and his desire is to make the study of anatomy and physiology interesting, informative, and enjoyable.

Robert Schleip Ph.D.

Certified as first German Rolfer in 1978, Robert continued becoming a Life Science Instructor and Rolfing Instructor for the Rolf Institute, as well as a Certified Feldenkrais Teacher and earning a masters degree in psychology. After a 4-year medical research sabbatical, which generated ground breaking discoveries on active fascial contractility, his PhD dissertation was honored in 2006 with the highly esteemed  'Vladimir Janda Award for Musculoskeletal Medicine'. Robert is research director of the European Rolfing Association and also directs the Fascia Research Project at Ulm university in Germany. His websites  www.somatics.de and www.fasciaresearch.com  have become highly used sources for interdisciplinary professional information. Robert's Rolfing approach tends to focus on fascia as a sensory organ and includes the selfregulatory dynamics of the neuro-myofascial net. His teaching style embraces evidence based medicine together with more wholistic values. 

Jan Sultan

Jan Sultan’s initial encounter with Ida Rolf was in 1967 as her client. In 1969 he
trained under her, and after having assisted several classes, was invited by Dr. Rolf to become an instructor in 1975. After further apprenticeship,  Dr. Rolf invited him to take on the Advanced teaching.  He currently teaches Basic Trainings, Continuing Education, and Advanced Trainings for the Rolf Institute. He feels strongly that his responsibility as an instructor goes beyond simply passing on what he was taught, to include the refinement and coherent development of the ideas and methodology taught by Ida Rolf.   Jan lives in Northern New Mexico, and practices in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pierpaola Volpones

Pierpaola Volpones was certified as a Rolf Movement practitioner in 1986. She trained with Annie Dugan and Janie French and was the first Rolf Movement practitioner in Italy. Then in 1988 she trained as a Rolfer with Stacey Mills and Michael Salveson. Michael Salveson and Jeff Maitland were her Advanced teachers, in 1996. She has been happily working in Italy for 23 years.

In 2006, she was certified as a Rolfing and Rolfing Movement instructor and since then, she has taught several Basic Rolfing classes in Munich and in Italy. Her approach as teacher and as practitioner a well, combines the functional aspects of Rolfing with a well-rooted structural approach to the work.

Thomas Walker

Thomas completed the Basic Rolfing® training in 1987, the Advanced Rolfing®Training in 1993 and has ben on the faculty since 2004. He has extensive training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and integrates its subtle evoking with the direct contact of Rolfing®. His main goal in class is to have every student be successful. Thomas creates a safe learning environment, helps students identify and enhance their learning and perceptual styles, teaches how inner process affects perception and how shifting inner awareness affects tissue response.

He enjoys teaching students how to integrate the body’s innate self ordering as expressed through inherent motion into the touch skills necessary to accomplish the goals of the Rolfing process. He lives, practices, skis, bikes, and plays in Steamboat Springs, CO.