Jon Grossart

One thing new clients often don’t understand initially is that Rolfing is a process.  Traditional massage therapy does yield cumulative effects, but it is usually done as single sessions.  There isn’t any sort of flow between the sessions.

Rolfing is most definitely done as a process.  That is why there is such power in the 10-Series.  You could basically think of it as a one super long session.  Time does play a factor in this setup: working through the whole body from the surface to the core just physically takes a long time–that’s a lot of territory to cover.  Also, it is a learning time about your body.  You won’t understand everything the first time–just like any new activity.  It takes time to build up your skill level.  You are essentially relearning the language of body sensation, and specifically your body’s unique dialect.

As I’ve mentioned before Rolfing is also about empowering you to be able to take over some of your care.  You go to the Rolfer to get some external guidance and assistance, but the “heavy lifting” is still for you to do.  It is like school in this regard–your teacher leads you through exercises and examples, but you have to do your own homework OUTSIDE OF CLASS.  We all learn by doing, not by being told how to do something.

I recently thought of a new analogy for the Rolfing process (I do like analogies).  It is like using a swing.  Sure, you can do it entirely yourself–get those legs pumping and timings right and off you go.  However, swing your leg not on sync or shift a rhythm, and it can be hard.  The Rolfer acts like the friend helping the swinger out.  You are still learning the timing and speed, but your helper gives the push at the right time, with the right power, and right angle to keep you going.  At some point, you are fully able to take over the process yourself.

That is how Rolfing ideally works.  The Rolfer is there to help push and guide you with the correct timing and pressure, but not do the work of swinging.  Then you can later use that knowledge and guidance to keep evolving your own structure outside of and after your sessions.

A recent client interested in Rolfing recently asked me this question.  And it’s a valid question, as Rolfing does generally cost more than a normal massage (at least as long as you aren’t going to a “spa”–you’d end up paying more than for a Rolfing session).

Well, several answers come to mind.  One primary difference is that Rolfing isn’t really massage, and shouldn’t be equated as such.  Massage therapy schools require their students to train in multiple modalities–Swedish, deep tissue, spa-like treatments (hot stones, salt scrubs, etc).  This results in a practitioner who has some skill at a lot of different things.  As they go into practice, they may specialize in something or take classes for even more styles.

Rolfers, on the other hand, spend their ENTIRE training learning only Rolfing.  So we come out of school being really good at one thing.  And, such specialization/depth-of-training and skill level demands a premium.

Many types of massage are geared only toward relaxation.  This is a worthwhile goal in and of itself, but it doesn’t get to the root of body issues or help you to learn new patterns.  Other types of massage are designed with more of a therapeutic mindset, but they tend to miss the mark.  Rolfing is not meant for relaxation, even though many people find it relaxing.  It is meant to transform your body and evolve your structure.  And its unique holistic approach sets it apart from anything learned in massage schools or naturopathic colleges.  Make no mistake about it–Rolfing changes your body and the mind-body connection.

And duration of the effects is probably the biggest reason why Rolfing costs more than a normal massage.  Most people, even though who love massage, admit that the relaxation or muscle relaxation usually only lasts for a couple of hours or days.  In this regard, the massage acted more like an aspirin to dull a headache.  Sometime the headache goes away on its own, and sometime you need more aspirin.

The effects of Rolfing are felt for hours, days, week, months, and even years later.  People who don’t get additional work after a 10-Series can be viewed much later, and their body will have continued to improve over time.  Rolfing isn’t an aspirin for the headache, it’s helping to resolve the headache so no aspirin is needed.

Massage can be effective, especially if the body issue is recent or temporary (like a pulled muscle).  But for deep, chronic, systemic, non-local body issues, Rolfing is the way to go.  You often would need to constantly go to a massage over and over as the effects wear off and the issue returns.  This would be penny-wise and dollar-foolish.

I’m not going to say that Rolfing is cheap, but it is cost-effective and it’s an investment in your self.  You won’t be disappointed in the return on your investment.