Rolfing practice has changed, grown since start in late 20s

BOULDER — It doesn’t hurt!

Contrary to popular belief, Rolfing, or the manipulation of soft tissue for the integration of human structure and improvement in human movement and functioning, is not painful.

In addition, Rolfing not only changes the way one’s body feels, but also the way one feels about one’s body.

The Rolfing Institute, with its international headquarters here in Boulder since its founding in 1971, trains and certifies about 50 students per year, who then, upon being certified, go on to take 18 credits of Continuing Education workshops and then the Institute’s Advanced Certification program within seven years of graduation.

With 1,002 certified Rolfer members in 26 countries, the Rolfing Institute, with satellite institutes in Washington D.C., Munich, Germany and San Paulo, Brazil, is the only place of its kind, where teachers, students and patients alike can learn about the expanding techniques involved with both the structural and functional training of the body.

Developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the late 1920s and then refined in the 1950s, the idea of Rolfing, or more generically, Structural Integration, has changed and grown over the past 70 years. As people become more familiar with different types of health practices, Rolfing has evolved into a painless, 10-session sequence of “myofascial” manipulations used to organize and balance maligned body structure and uses — ultimately improving the body’s function.

Today, Rolfing patients are infants and elders, workers and athletes, men and women, all who experience some kind of pain or discomfort in their everyday body movements due to poor posture, scoliosis, chronic musculoskeletal conditions, stress, tension, carpel tunnel, various injuries, and physical or emotional trauma, among others.

Certified Rolfers also come from all walks of life, many choosing the occupation due to a previous, positive personal experience with Rolfing, like student Feryl Hyland. Of Hyland’s choice to become a Rolfer, she said, “It just feels like the path I should be on.”

Rolfing also seems to touch on an emotional level, as well as the physical. “It’s the first thing I’ve found that feeds my soul as well as my body,” Hyland explained, “the first thing I’ve found that I’m really in tune with.”

The initial certification program, which allows for scheduling flexibility, is comprised of four six- to eight-week sessions, taken in small classes of 12 to 16 students, and includes the pre-requisite classes on anatomy and physiology that all students must take. Tuition for the full program runs from $11,000 to $13,500. The post-graduation workshops cost between $200 and $500, and to attain Advanced Certification will cost a student roughly $3,900.

The Institute offers classes throughout the year, and estimates a yearly enrollment of about 200 students, with an annual revenue around $1.5 million. Director Gary S. Wolfe noted that in his four years at the Institute, he has seen steady growth in both revenue and interest in Rolfing and attributes these to the overall growth of alternative health as a whole.

Rolfing, with average costs between $70 and $100 per one or one and one-half hour session, traditionally in 10-session groupings — each focusing on specific areas — can be quite beneficial to most people, and as such, the Institute offers less expensive services to those not quite sure about making a long-term commitment. Reduced rate sessions are available at the Institute for $25 from students. In addition, patients may take each session one at a time, with less commitment, to figure out if Rolfing is the path he or she wants to take toward better overall body movement and function in life.

Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolfing and Movement Instructor Jane Harrington emphasized the close personal relationship that develops between Rolfer and patient, while also noting that Rolfing is simultaneously fun and challenging — for both parties involved.

As Hyland puts it, “Rolfing really is a way of life — everyone approaches it with their own unique style. It honors the Rolfer’s individuality as well as that of the client.”

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