Rolfing on Oprah

Hopefully some of you caught a short segment about Rolfing on the Oprah Winfrey show. Rolfing has had national television and print media coverage numerous times over the years, but never on a show that is as widely seen as this one.

The good news about the segment is: everything said and shown, including a few minutes of actual Rolfing, was positive, supportive and accurate. The discussion and demonstration highlighted Rolfing's ability to free and release stuck segments in a long term way.

The not so good news is that the core idea that Rolfing achieves its purpose by realigning structure, and typically does so over the course of a ten session series, was not mentioned. The uninformed viewer could easily have been left with the idea that Rolfing is a form of super one shot special massage. And, in fact, the few inquiries I got in my office that obviously came as a result of the show were from people who had exactly that assumption, and were not interested in pursuing Rolfing when they realized what was involved.

NONETHELESS, it was excellent exposure and very useful in helping to spread the word. Thanks Oprah, and the thanks folks in the Rolf Institute who helped make it happen!

For a fuller explanation of Rolfing, check my web site, www.vermontrolfer.com.

Here's a picture of me at work. I will be using it as the "visual" for my ads in Seven Days newspaper. Yes, it was carefully staged in a photographer's studio. But here is what it is trying to say.

The work is serious, not fluffy, but not brutal or rushed or abrupt.

I'm serious and focused, and I am a grown up.

Ther person being Rolfed (who happens to be my wife whom I bribed to come into the photo studio for an hour's shoot with the promise of dinner out) is surviving the work perfectly well.

Fascia, fascial adhesions and swimming

I have been reading some of my old swimming literature in preparation for some specific workouts I will be preparing for the masters swimming group I have been part of for 20 years. The following quote is from an article by Bob Pritchard entitled "The New Swim Paradigm" that appeared in the magazine SWIMMING TECHNIQUE back in 1993. It doesn't mention Rolfing
but it does neatly discuss issues with connective tissue, i.e. fascia, which is exactly what Rolfing works with, as they relate to swimming. The lesson is universal.

"The old body paradigm is 'swimmers consist of muscles and bones, guided by a nervous system.' In fact, every muscle, muscle fiber, bone, internal organ, nerve-even the whole body-is surrounded by a thin membrane of connective tissue. The body is a series of concentric, inter-connecting tissue tubes, filled with muscles and bones. The role of connective tissue in swimming cannot be underestimated. Connective tissue makes a permanent and worsening record of every training error in a swimmer's career. Here is how it works.

"Whenever the muscles tense up because of injury, over-use or stress, small micro-fibers form between the adjacent tubes , binding them together to immobilize the area so it can heal. The micro-fibers prevent the muscles from stretching by preventing them sliding past each other. Unfortunately, after the muscles have healed, the micro-fibers not only don't go away, they accumulate as time goes by. It is the accumulation of those micro-fibers that make us stiffer as we get older. Since these micro-fibers are between the muscles, they cannot be released through stretching."

But they can be released by Rolfing. Check out my web site, www.vermontrolfer.com.

Okay, so it isn't the most clear picture in the world. But you get the idea. Check through the following posts and I will introduce myself and Rolfing, and will (repeatedly) encourage you to check my website, www.vermontrolfer.com.

Rolfing in a Schematic Nutshell

This is the official logo of the International Rolf Institute and is widely used as the individual practice logo by many Rolfers, myself included. While not perfect, it captures the idea that Rolfing is concerned with shifting the major weight blocks and structural building units of the body closer to the set of spatial relationships in which bodies function best.

It's more than just a good idea. To the degree that the body is better aligned, it functions better, typically with less pain, more economy of energy, more flexibility and, of course,is more attractive and youthful. While Rolfing is not a psychological therapy, it is also common that this kind of improved alignment influences people's psychological outlook in the direction of greater optimism, more ability to operate in the here and now, and greater emotional resilience.

You can get more information about Rolfing and about my Vermont practice, at www.vermontrolfer.com. Thanks for checking in.

Who I Am

I am Jeffry Galper,Ph.D., an Advanced Certified Rolfer® in the Burlington, Vermont area. My office is actually in So. Burlington. I have been practicing full time in Vermont for 23 years, and practiced in Philadelphia before that for 3 years.

When I first arrived in Vermont I was the only Rolfer in the state, though there had been an off and on history of practitioners in the area previously. After a few years I brought three other Rolfers into my practice as Associates (hence my business name, Rolfing Associates,Inc. You will still find me in the pnone book under that name in the White Pages.) Five years later I realized I would be much happier focusing on the work of Rolfing itself rather than on the administrative and business side of things. So I went back to my private practice in which I have happily practiced since then.

If you want to be in touch I would prefer a phone call, (802) 865-4770, but I do irregularly check my e-mail and respond to it, vermontrolfer@gmavt.net. Check out my web site at WWW.VERMONTROLFER.COM.

Some misconceptions about Rolfing

How did these structural changes come about in this man as a result of his being Rolfed? You can check that out at my web site, www.vermontrolfer.com. Was it a torture for him? Is Rolfing as painful as some think? Absolutely not.

At the same time, it isn't a massage. It is intense, in a way that many people describe as a good pain. What people who have heard about Rolfing and pain, but have not been Rolfed, do not know, is;

l. An experienced Rolfer has lots of depths and speeds of working, each tailored to the physical needs and receptivity of each client.

2. As a Rolfer, I always stop if I feel any clenching, tightening or withdrawing from my pressure.

3. If I miss any cues that the work has moved from a good hurt that you are welcoming to a hurting hurt, please say "Stop." I will stop immediately. As soon as the pressure is withdrawn, there is no discomfort.

4. After a Rolfing session you may feel slightly sore, though not til the next day, in a way that might feel like an overexercised muscle. It is rarely a big deal and is gone soon. More often, people just feel great.

For more information, check out my website at www.vermontrolfer.com.