addressing the Rumors
Rolfing® Structural Integration has a reputation for being painful, and it earned it. Early practitioners were taught to apply A LOT of pressure and, as I’m sure your aware, some areas of the body are pretty sensitive to pressure (like the calves).
We also are willing to make contact with places other massage practices say to avoid. For example, Session 4 indirectly works with the pelvic floor by making contact with the hamstring and adductor attachment sites of the ischial tuberosity (aka sits bones) and inferior pubic ramus respectively.
These two aspects of Rolfing® SI have created some buzz among the people who have heard of it.
First I will speak to the pressure used in a Rolfing session; Different practitioners utilize different amounts of pressure. In light of research discoveries on fascia in recent years, the Rolf Institute™ has adjusted the recommended pressure to use during a session. I was taught to listen to my client and use the amount of pressure it takes to feel the fascia moving, which often registers to the client as a “hurts so good” sensation. That said, some practitioners got a lot of benefit out of receiving the heavy-handed work given from early practitioners and thus also give heavy-handed sessions.
Different strokes for different folks. As we Rolfers™ grow in number, I suggest you find the practitioner whose contact works for you. Do keep in mind that sometimes more mechanical pressure exerted on the fascia is what is needed to for it to change; the sensation of the pressure may be confronting but it does not need to be unbearable.
As for where we make contact on the body, we were trained in anatomy and how to safely and respectfully address these sensitive areas. Specifically I am referring to the adductors, ischial tuberosity (sits bones), inferior pubic ramus (specifically the end closest to the ischial tuberosity), pubic symphysis, the sacrotuberous and sacrospinous ligaments, the psoas and iliacus muscles, the anterior neck, and inside of the mouth and nose. To be clear, we do not work directly on the pelvic floor.
Aware that different life experiences create all sorts of dispositions, I always communicate with my clients about the territory of the up-coming sessions and omit working on anything that will make my clients feel uncomfortable. Even still, It’s been my experience that my clients feel safe and do not refuse any aspect of the Rolfing 10-series™, even if having my (gloved) finger in their nose wasn’t their first thought of what they’d like me to work on.
