Rolfing

It was invented by Ida Rolf. Rolfing is a way to interact with human body and psyche.

I give a simple example as : if you want to go to Australia and you need to go to Himalayas then Rolfing Puts you on a Track to Himalayas and as you keep walking toward the right destination you get the best version of yourself.

One more example: When you have a boss where he/she is screaming at you and you can’t either give answer back or can’t leave the room then the changes in the jaw muscles, body energy lost in holding you in that room and emotional trauma changes the body where Rolfing can bring it to more Organised structure.

Rolfing gives a long time effect unless you meet with a trauma which changes the electromagnetic field of the body.

When i do Rolfing on a person with a forward head and stooped posture and make them more balanced on their feet and pelvis whole organ system and the physiology of the body changes. There is hormonal balance and also the outlook to the world changes to a more accepting, more resilient outlook. I feel it helps to bring a diamond from a rock.

It’s a way where there is an all transformative body work and is a conversation by the patients body with the therapist listening.

Once a connection is set with the Human body the things start to flow and the therapy Sparks awareness in patients body.

Rolfing is done in 10 series, and it is divided in to 3 parts. From the most superficial layers of the body to the deepest parts of the body, to the nerves, blood vessels and our viscera a Rolfer can change someone’s Physiology and Psychology.

Over time, bodies can becomes imbalanced and order in the body is distorted. Stress, injury, trauma and poor postural habits contribute to these structural imbalances. As Structural Integration helps your body find relief from pain and restrictions, you’ll also see improvement to many other aspects of yourself. When the fascia is aligned, the body moves more efficiently and in alignment with itself.

Let’s get to Know Our Fascia: Intertwining envelope of our body 

Everything in the Human body is Fascia related, it is the largest communicating network in the body. When i was doing dissection in my first year of Physiotherapy we got body’s where separate body parts were given to us and there was nothing called fascia on the body as it was discarded as garbage.

I got intrigued in depth of human body and started learning about fascia and got to know that Leonardo da Vinci used to dissect Human body’s slowly and with such precision and saved each and every nerve and carefully removed fascia, he had found fascial connection in the body from foot to head. Gradually i started relating all the yogic postures to the fascial network in the body and behold, all yoga poses work on the specific lines of fascia in the body.

Fasciae run through the entire human body down to the deepest regions. Fascia helps transmit the lines of forces in the body. All fasciae are interconnected in some way.

For example, fasciae stabilise the body in static holding positions and dynamic movements against gravity - whether standing, sitting or lying down. They maintain their shape at all times and keep all organs in place.

This can be explained using the tensegrity model from architecture. The solid elements are held together and stabilised purely by the balance of tension forces. In our body, the solid elements are bones, which float freely in the fascial network under tension and are pulled apart like a rubber band.

Sliced grapefruit
Let me explain further: In oranges and grapefruits, they can be recognised as the first top layer the skin, when you peel it you will see the white skin layer which is a thick covering of the whole fruit, then you remove one slice of orange and you will have an individual facial layer, Open this piece of orange and you will see small tear drop size of pulp and that too is covered. Similarly this way our fascia is arranged, more intricately than orange.

Tensegrity model
What does Tensegrity do, solid elements are held together and stabilised purely by the balance of tension forces. The anatomy of fascia is similar to that of other connective tissue. Fascia is basically made up of cells and what surrounds them, the extracellular matrix. In its physiological state, the extracellular matrix binds a lot of fluid, which is very important for its main function in the muscle, mobility. This keeps the muscle tissue supple and allows the individual muscle fibres to slide easily past each other.

The fascia consists mainly of two types of proteins:* Collagen fibres which gives tissue a high tensile strength. They are virtually impossible to stretch.* Elastic fibres, on the other hand, have strong extensibility. They can reach up to twice their length. Depending on the mixture, this gives the fascia tissue greater stability or greater flexibility.

The 3 fascia layers

The fasciae of the body are divided into three layers - the superficial, deep and visceral layer.

Superficial layer
The superficial fascia layer is located just under the skin and consists of a dense network of elastic fibres. This makes it very stretchable, as is necessary, for example, when gaining weight or during pregnancy. The superficial layer surrounds the entire body and thus serves as a kind of "communication system". It is permeated by lymph and blood vessels as well as nerve pathways and glands. It also has a certain buffering and cushioning function.

Deep layer
The deep fascia layer surrounds and penetrates muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, joints, nerve pathways and blood vessels. It has a high content of collagen fibres. This means that compared to the superficial layer, it is particularly stable in tension and has low stretching capacity.

Visceral layer
The visceral fascia layer serves to suspend and embed internal organs. Like the deep layer, it is also less stretchable than the superficial layer, because in order to stabilise the organs, their tension must remain almost constant.

Fascia as a sensory organ

Fasciae contain an extremely high number of receptors that pick up different information and transmit it to the central nervous system. Before this realisation, the skin was called the largest sensory organ in humans. Now experts attribute this to the network of fascia and not the skin.

The different receptors have specialised function:

Nociceptors: they register potential or actual tissue damage. Pain is perceived through their activation in the brain.

Proprioceptors: They help in the perception and coordination of conscious and unconscious body positions and movements.

Mechanoreceptors: They perceive, for example, pressure, tension and vibration stimuli.

Chemoreceptors: They detect changes in the chemical environment, as is the case with inflammation, for example.

Fasciae are said to have an emotional memory function. This means that they can store experiences - and that includes pain. As a result, the fascia can shorten and stick together.

Fascia - like a muscle : Physical aspect of Emotions

Similar to a muscle, fasciae of the deep layer can actively contract.

This is important, among other things, to maintain body stability in the long term. However, if this increase in tension occurs constantly over days to months, the fascia tissue changes. This can lead to a general increase in tissue stiffness and, for example, significantly affect joint mobility. Persistent mental stress, constant overstrain or diet can be causes for this, for example.

Fascia - like a tendon

Similar to tendons, fasciae have the function of storing and releasing energy in the short term. Strictly speaking, tendons are now even counted as fasciae. They act like a spring system that helps to perform certain activities such as jumping and sprinting more economically - that means with less effort from the muscles.