First and foremost in my mind, Rolfing is a physical therapy. Most often, people are coming to Rolfing for issues with pain and I do my best to strike a balance between temporary relief of pain symptoms and longer-term relief of the issues creating pain. The more layers of dysfunction are peeled back, the more people can become comfortable and strong in their bodies.
In a wider sense, I consider Rolfing to be a guided exploration for the client through his or her own body. Every body is different, so I aim to approach every session with a sense of questioning, looking for what a client needs rather than fitting them into a box. This can be range from simply alleviating aches and pains to exploring the mind/body connection and its effect on emotional and spiritual components of the client’s life.
Since 2002 I have developed a very strong interest in body mechanics through my participation in the Raleigh and national swing dancing scene. I have taught Lindy and East Coast Swing since 2005 and have a strong sense of movement and ability to analyze people’s movements as a result.
I spent a lot of time working on my posture for dance over the years and around the beginning of 2007 I had hit a point of diminishing returns. No matter how much I stretched it still meant a sustained effort to fully stand up straight, so I decided to try Rolfing. After my first session I was hooked and immediately felt that Rolfing was the career for me.
I completed the first 2 of 3 units of training at the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado between August 2007 and June 2008 then spent my last unit of training in Brazil in the fall of 2008 where they teach a combined bodywork and movement education course.