My Experience

I am four sessions into a ten-session treatment of being Rolfed. I’ve struggled with chronic pain for several years and tried many different techniques. Having felt that my body is crooked and overly tense, I was interested in Rolfing, which aims to realign the body and loosen the connective tissue.

For each session (performed in the practitioner’s home), I was asked to strip to my underwear. Then, she asked me to walk back and forth and stand with my arms at my sides so that she could assess my body alignment. During the procedure itself, I lie on a table, and throughout, the practitioner asks me to adopt various positions and movements as she massages and manipulates parts of my body.

The Rolfing itself can be painful, but the pain is fleeting, and the practitioner can adjust the intensity accordingly. After the first session, my body felt much looser, and I felt as if I was walking in a lot more balanced way. The feeling after each subsequent session hasn’t been as intense — and I’m not sure how much it is really helping with my pain — but I like it nonetheless.