Treating Chronic Conditions:
Gravity is a chronic condition; meaning we are in it and it is acting on us and through us all the time. Gravity can also be a life-giving stressor and a nourishment depending on how our vertical moving body finds itself in it.
Rolfing, like Feldenkrais work, Alexander Technique, and many other contemporary modalities of bodywork is ideally suited for working with gravity and the chronic conditions we find ourselves in because of our embodied history (what has happened to our bodies), because of our present posture, and because of the repetitive movements and coordinative patterns in our lives.
As a Rolfer I am not of the medical profession and I am not allowed to diagnose. I have however worked with many of the conditions below and have on many (not all) occasions been able to alleviate the condition totally or partially.
The Rolfer acts directly on the 3-dimensional structural web of the body with an intense and listening touch. The sensation is usually one of delicious release as stiffness, chronic pain, and a sense of body clutter and crud seems to melt away session by session. New insights and perceptions come as the sessions progress – about the repetitive movement and postural habits in my life. With insight comes meaning and before you know it you are recovering from pain, stiffness and a feeling of being ‘old’ or ‘lost’. . .
The Rolfer can help you to resolve pain in the body – both joint pain, nerve pain and the pain of stiff tissue. This usually comes with a change of perception and with ownership of what is being integrated and feeling ‘new’.
The Rolfer will help you with your posture and the quality and range of movement in your life: from better fuller breathing to walking, running, computer work and so on.
Essentially the Rolfer will work with you, respecting your autonomy to help you find a new potential in and through what you have always called ‘my body’.
Rolfing can help you with aspects of:
– alignment, improving alignment, posture and improving posture
– scoliosis, lordosis, kyphosis
– improving walking, improving gait
– improving breathing, freeing the breath for daily life; for professional singing and related vocal work
– sports, athletic performance
– pre-operation preparation; post operation preparation
– back pain, lower-back pain, cervical pain, sacral pain
– loss of motion in the neck
– loss of motion in the back, upper back, lower back
– disc hernias, disc prolapses
– sacro-iliac pain, sacro-iliac dysfunction, sacro-iliac imbalance
– rib fixations, stuck ribs, costo-vertebral fixations, costo-condral imbalances
– sciatica, sciatic nerve pain
– obturator nerve pain, medial knee pain
– pubic symphisi dysfunction
– head pain, head aches, pressure in the head
– tinnitus, loss of balance
– whiplash from car accidents and falls
– TMJ problems, TMJ dysfunction, bite problems, occlusion problems and dysfunctions
– RSI, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and other forms of repetitive strain
– abdominal discomfort, irritable bowel, the structural aspects of bloating
– knee pain, lateral/medial knee pain, medial and/or lateral meniscus pain
– more balanced legs, freer and longer hamstrings, shin splints
– feet vitality and balance; better movement through the foot for standing and walking whether the arches are high or low, more comfort with flat feet
– stiff hips and stiff shoulders
– more freedom through the clavicle and into the neck and arm
– better integrated arms and wrists
– free and able hands for those who work with them all day long.
Treating Acute Conditions:
Many chronic conditions, if left untreated become acute.
Treating perceptual and psychological issues:
– very helpful alongside work you may be doing with a psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist
– trauma
– abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect
– body image issues, anorexia
– expressive issues; learning to say no / learning to push
– expressive issues; learning to say yes / learning to reach
– improving boundaries
Rolfing® & Yoga in London 