Structural Work
My Path to Rolfing
As I turn my attention to the past, it is not a continuity or a flowing pattern, but a series of vivid experiences, and people, some memories are short but significant and prominent, like the time I had a palm reading in Thailand.
In 1979 I was waiting to begin my Zen practice in Japan. In a detour, I accompanied a friend to Thailand and Nepal on the way to Japan. While in Bankok, we went to the floating market in the morning, and in the afternoon I went to visit the famous reclining Buddha, Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. The statue, 46 meters long, portrays the final breath of Buddha Shakyamuni. I was pretty excited to visit this temple, which is renowned for its Buddha statues. I passed through the ornate gate, and found a large sign: “BUDDHA CLOSED FOR RESTORATION.”
At first I couldn’t believe it. How could Buddha be closed for restoration? To my left was the Buddha, enclosed by a building that had been constructed to protect the statue during restoration. Inside were many craftsmen. It looked like they were carefully removing all of the paint and refinishing the surface of the statue.
I looked to the right and saw a monk sitting behind a table with a sign that read “Palm Reading” in both Thai and English. A Thai woman came up to him, gave him 50 bhat and sat down with her hands holding the sky. After she finished, I went up to him and asked if he could read my palms.
He said, “First we must discuss the price.”
I said, “I know the price. It is 50 bhat.”
He said, “No, for you it is 100 bhat. 50 bhat for the reading, and 50 bhat for the English.”
I let him examine my hands.
The first thing he said is: “You do not belong in any county, so you are equally comfortable in any country. Japan would be best for your health and digestion.”
The last thing he said: “In your life you must heal people with your hands. It can be any school of healing, but your life will not go as it should unless you heal people with your hands.”
His first comments hit home in a big way. In the Peace Corps I spoke Marathi like a native and with my black hair, dark eyes, and emaciated torso, I was often taken to be a native. In college I studied many languages. My theory was that real freedom was having choice about how experience is described, objects named, and stories remembered. I thought that if I had a choice of describing anything I experience in different languages, this would free me of deep mental patterns. So what this soothsayer said resonated deeply and I was then ready to find any reason to believe anything else he said.
In late 1981, when I returned from Japan, I went down to the Rolf Institute to find out what I needed to do to learn Rolfing. This was the bodywork school with the best reputation for healing in Boulder. Many of my friends were theater people and thought highly of it. They were especially attached to Emmett Hutchins and Peter Melchior, Ida Rolf’s first certified teachers. I began my study with them when they established their own institution, the Guild for Structural Integration.
In those days, it took three years of study to be certified. In the beginning, one had to fulfill a prerequisite of 500 hours experience as a professional massage therapist, and at the end one had to write a thesis researching some unexplored aspect of the work.
Because of the fortune teller in Thailand, I embarked on a life change. Structural integration is not something one learns and then goes out and practices, but a life-long learning. I’ve learned more in the last few years than I did in the first 30 years. This is largely due to what I’ve learned from my daughter, Daphne Jean. She is the best touch therapist/healer anywhere on earth.
“With extraordinary talent comes extraordinary responsibility.”
Resources
What is rolfing?
“Rolfing” is named after Dr. Ida Rolf. She called the work “structural integration.” I call my own work “structural integration/posture alignment,” or SIPA.
What does rolfing do?
The goal of the work is to move the body toward its ideal posture. Each of us has our own ideal posture. We are born unique. We encounter different experiences, languages, and cultures which shape us. Sometimes, the master’s chisel is harsh and the negative shaping comes with a lot of pain. Many of my clients have been in this group.
How does it work?
Myofascial tissue shapes the form of our bodies. It is unique insofar as it responds to and transforms with touch. I can add pressure to the tissue wrapped around a tight muscle, and pressure and energy stretch the tissue; the transformation releases heat. The result is the tissue lengthens, and the body shape and posture of the client changes. This presents the client with the challenge of psychologically moving into the new space and shape of their body.
Emotional pain is created in part by disorganized tissue networks. These networks are responsible for our underlying moods. Moods can go from the lowest place we can imagine, the lowest hell, to the height of unobstructed manifestation of Buddha nature. The mood scale correlates with myofascial structure. At the bottom of the scale is disorganization; at the top is ‘optimal alignment’ of each person’s unique physical format their own age and condition.
The mood scale correlates with myofascial structure. At the bottom of the scale is ‘disorganization’. At the top is ‘optimal alignment’ of his/her unique physical form at such and such an age and condition.
So you are saying structural integration is related to emotional states?
Good health, sanity, and happiness are all very much influenced by posture and alignment. As posture moves toward verticality everything gets better and better physically and, consequently, mentally. It seems obvious to me that what inevitably comes along with improving the structural integration of the cellular body and lengthening of the whole body is less pain. SIPA achieves that by unwinding the twists in the spine. Once there is more space between the spinal processes, there is less pressure on the nerves throughout.
How does this change our bodies?
Working on bodies is a lot like working on gardens. We start with what is there, and with our minds free of all judgment. We aspire to this clarity of mind in order not to be deceived by bias, by creating distinctions such as right and wrong or beautiful and ugly. We set a clear intention for the work and advise the client to do the same. Then, with a non-judgmental mind, and a warm heart, we visualize the ultimate integrated, organized, liberated form for either the garden or for the client.
In the case of the human form, change occurs when the client is ready and willing to accept change. Lasting change does not occur quickly. It’s not the fault of the tissue. The tissue wants to move to a happier condition, but the mind, the engine of delusion, sets up resistance. Fear is one of the principal actors in this drama. There is fear of loss, fear of change, fear of death, fear of suffering, fear of fear, to name a few of the main cast.
How is bodywork related to spiritual practice?
Together they are a perfect couple. The structural bodywork can push the mind out of its lethargy, and bring into awareness the issues that are stopping the development of body and mind toward happiness and verticality. The mind can transform the negative delusions into positive ones. The myofascial tissue will move gleefully to whatever the mind allows, and then push beyond the known limitations, waiting for the mind to catch up. Together they keep one another from getting stuck, habituated, disorganized.