Rolf Session 6 mentoring by Sara Soltau, Cert. Adv. Rolfer
September 13th, 2013 by Joachim Creten
I continue to work though the 10 sessions with one of my client part of the Rolf Institute program Mentorship. Here session 6 addressing the back line of the body. Here client’s feed back after her session: “ Let me set something straight. Rolfing is participatory, not a spectator sport! During a typical massage, I just relax for an hour and go home feeling “soft” for a while. With Rolfing, I concentrate, move as directed, walk back and forth, and get a bit of relaxation during the session, but then I go home changed. We all walk and most of us try to use good posture when we walk, but I’ve concluded that little injuries along life’s path, or sloppiness on my part, have allowed me to fudge a bit. Over time, my response to that injury becomes my new way of walking, instead of reverting back to the correct way to walk. Joachim is in the process of moving soft tissue around so that I can regain the freedom of (correct) movement that I had lost.
This week Joachim worked on my hips, legs, ankles and feet. I had to press up, press against resistance, rotate leg, ankle or foot, while he moved tissues in between and under muscles. At times, when he asked me to walk across the room, I felt (and must have looked) very much unhinged. At one point my thighs felt like huge watermelons as I lumbered to the end and turned around. The next time, I felt as though I was floating. Still later I must be moving with stiff legs, although I could feel them bending. Another time when I stood up, I could feel that I was leaning back but I felt quite settled, not out of balance, just leaning back. By the end of the session, I was “put back together” and could walk comfortably, freely, lightly and completely in balance.
The next day I felt great, my legs moved easily and freely. Then I reached down to dry off the inside of my calves after my shower and was surprised to find both calves tender to touch! No tenderness or stiffness in movement, but mildly tender when I rubbed them. By that afternoon, the tenderness was gone.”