Postural Changes
Proper posture is a state of balance that involves the minimal amount of strain and stress on the body. Our posture can be affected due to many reasons. We do have a genetic predisposition that is passed down from our parents. Then as our life progresses we start to form certain holding patterns within our body depending on our life experiences, injuries and attitudes bringing about postural disorder. Many people over time are unaware of these poor postural patterns forming only to consider this when pain or discomfort arise. Good posture feels good and it looks good but one of the main reasons we should have good posture is that it is preventative. In other words it protects us against degeneration of our discs and soft tissues. If we neglect our posture it will lead to rotations, tilts, and compressions which inevitably lead to pain and injuries. The exciting news is that it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Improved Flexibility
As we go through our lives we can become stiff and immobile to some degree. Accidents, illnesses or lack of attention to our body can inhibit our ability to move freely. This can have an impact on us from a physical point of view and a mental side as well. Pain and discomfort can arise causing us to lose vitality and zest for life. The amazing ability of rolfing is how it can truly change the body which can ultimately change quality of life both physically and emotionally.
Why Not Just Do Yoga
Doing yoga or stretches of your own is definitely beneficial. Rolfing techniques however can achieve much more. When we stretch ourselves or take a yoga class muscle fibres tend to be stretched all at the same time. The adhesions (knots) formed in the muscle belly are also stretched but without intelligent pressure these knots still remain. Imagine stretching a rubber band with a knot in it. The band will stretch and lengthen but the knot will still remain until you unwind it. Using rolfing techniques we are able to separate the individual muscles fibres and muscle compartments. This then enables our muscles to glide over one another, properly performing their individual functions in harmony with one another, as they were designed. Then when all our muscle compartments regain their independence the body can move effortlessly.
Rolfing treats Sciatica
The symptoms of sciatica range from a small localised pain in the lower back or buttock to a severe pain which travels down the leg and often into the foot. At its extreme a person could sustain permanent nerve damage and lose sensation in the foot and toes. As imbalances in the body occur, ligaments, tendons and soft tissue put pressure on the nerves causing pain. A rolfing practitioner applies intelligent pressure to certain areas which creates space around these nerves alleviating the sciatic pain. Rolfing has been able to successfully treat and bring hundreds of people back to full function and the total removal of all sciatic pain.
Rolfing Can Improve Emotional Wellbeing
Emotions have a powerful effect on our psyche as well as our bodies. Positive emotions generate a sense of lightness and ease of movement. On the other hand negative emotions also generate body responses. They cause our shoulders to slump, our head to tilt down and forward and our muscles to tense and contract. It is now also widely known that negative emotions can actually become pushed down and trapped in our body tissues showing up in the form of pain and other ailments. Emotions are designed to move through the body and out. Emotions such as joy, humour and empowerment move freely through our bodies. We enjoy and even encourage their presence so they can move unimpeded through our bodies and efficiently complete their life cycle. Negative emotions aren’t as welcome in our bodies. When we experience hurt, sadness, anger, resentment, loneliness or sorrow, we feel it deeply. As a result we often suppress those parts of ourselves to keep the pain from intensifying. When we resist an emotion and block its natural flow through the body, problems and imbalances can occur. This is where rolfing can assist greatly in releasing trapped emotions.