WHAT IS ROLFING?

"My goal in my practice is to help individuals become connected to parts of their body that feel stuck,  to bring an increase in inner awareness and natural vitality."
- Jordan Shaffer





"Jordan is truly incredible! His Rolfing sessions have been life-changing for both me and my husband. I've noticed a dramatic improvement in my posture— My husband, who has dealt with persistent back pain, now feels relief he never thought possible. Jordan's knowledge, skill, and attention to detail are unmatched. He takes the time to understand your unique needs and works with you to achieve results that genuinely improve your quality of life. I can't recommend him enough—thank you, Jordan, for making such a positive difference!"

-Ashley l

"Wow! Jordan’s Rolfing has been a game changer. Now in my 50s I noticed things began to ache and stiffen. I was feeling less ease within movements and wanted to break through the stagnation. 10 sessions of Rolfing has given me my body back. There's more fluidity in movement and less awkward rigidity. This is so much more than massage… it can be intense yet totally doable. Jordan’s gentle nature and thoughtful explanations will guide you through the process. If you feel stuck, this is for you.

-Sonya L

"I cannot recommend seeing Jordan at Vertical Path Rolfing enough. I like to tell people rolfing shouldn’t be looked at as a quick fix but a holistic approach to changing your body. This is the second time I’ve done a tens series of rolfing work. Both of the times I’ve done a tens series, my body was out of “wack” and in pain from my job. I feel incredible after this last series. If you feel at all stuck whether it’s in mind or body Rolfing is a great way to get unstuck"

-cara w

WHAT IT IS

ROLFING is a system of integration which includes manipulation of the fascia and movement education that organizes the whole body in gravity.

Rolfing influences postural changes in the body by manipulating the body’s myofascial system and influencing the body's nervous system.

WHAT IT ISN'T

While ROLFING is often grouped with massage and other hands-on forms of bodywork, there are fundamental differences between Rolfing and other modalities.

Rolfing works to address the structural integration of your body, not the symptoms resulting from the body’s misalignment. The aim of Rolfing is to provide a more functional body for the long term; beyond the temporary ease of symptom relief.
Benefits
  • Transformation of posture and movement
  • More support and ease in the body
  • Significant reduction in chronic stress responses
  • Conservation of energy
  • Reduction of the negative effects of repetitive stress injury
  • Increase in a mind body connection
  • More efficient and refined patterns of movement
  • Enhanced neurological functioning
  • Greater postural alignment

Here’s a video on Fascia:

What is Fascia?

Fascia is a three-dimensional network of connective tissue that covers the body’s muscles, bones, organs, and nervous system. Fascia is highly innervated with nerve receptors called mechanoreceptors that sense balance and posture

Fascia is a ubiquitous and continuous medium that contains, separates, and interconnects all of your other tissues and organs. It is also referred to as connective tissue. Dr. Ida P Rolf considered this system to be the “organ of structure” as it supports all the structures in the body. Fascia develops as early as the embryonic stage of life

Fascia is what gives the muscles and body its unique shape and dynamic support through it’s elastic properties. Fascia is stronger than muscle tissue, because of it’s elastic capacity for recoil. (capacity to lengthen and return without deformation) and it’s innate ability to store kinetic energy from muscle contraction. This is how athletes and performers at times can seemingly defy physics. 

Fascia has an important role in immune system function (migration of immune cells which aid infections) 

Fascia is a sensory organ, a network of connective tissue with 10x more sensory receptors (mechanoreceptors) than contractile muscle tissue, and it plays a key role in proprioception

Proprioception is the ability to sense the body’s position and movement in space. Proprioception is important for balance and coordination, and it allows us to make effective movements, expressions and gestures. One can think of proprioception as “a sixth sense” or “the eyes of the body.”

Interoception: a branch of proprioception which refers to the perception of the body’s internal sensations. The Enteric Nervous system (the brain of the gut) is an example of a branch of the nervous system that participates in sending sensory information gathered by the gut to the central nervous system. This is made possible by interoception

Exteroception: is a branch of proprioception which refers to the perception of external stimuli utilizing the 5 base senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste)  

How can we improve fascia health and physical wellbeing?

 

  • Fascia mobility

    Improving fascia mobility can help enhance body awareness and movement control. Compression/tensional patterns have the potential to cause the epimysium of one muscle to form adhesions to its neighboring muscle, resulting in undifferentiated fascia. Rolfing® helps to lubricate and unglue these myofascial components and create more gooey fascia,  bringing more horizontal organization and freedom for the fatigued tissues of the body. 

     
  • Balance training

    Balance training exercises, such as Yoga and many others, even standing on one leg, can help improve proprioception. Professional athletic trainers utilize one legged stance exercises for top athletes to improve stability and balance.

     
  • Movement-based therapies
    Manual therapy and movement-based therapies such as Alexander, Feldenkrais, Rosen are all methods which can tremendously help improve fascia mobility and proprioception.
A good approach to changing your fascial health is through continuous participation in the practice of well-being and healing, not as isolated events. If you are someone who wants consistent results without having to make an effort to change deeply ingrained unhealthy habits, this may not be it. Structural Integration invites us on an evolutionary path to more organized structure and efficient functional movement through a conscious shift of emboided awareness, determination and perserverance. This may require us to change in our attitude toward ourselves and others at times. Integration is not only a physical process; it is an intellectual, psychological and interpersonal process as well... 

A WORD FROM

Jordan Shaffer

As a Certified Rolfer, I aspire to help individuals who want to build their own sense of embodiment, therby increasing freedom and alignment of their body so they can live life feeling more energy and vitality.

As a Certified Rolfer and over a decade of experience as Massage Therapist, has allowed me to help individuals make structural and functional changes to their everyday lives. My hope for my clients is to enable them to evolve into greater sesation and expression, and for the results of each session to stick, leaving feeling more nimble, balanced, and energetic in how they meet the world.
HISTORY

Rolfing Structural Integration is named after its creator, Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Dr. Rolf received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Columbia University in 1920 and furthered her knowledge of the body through her scientific work in organic chemistry at the Rockefeller Institute. In her pioneering search for solutions to her own as well as her family members’ health problems, Ida examined many Holistic philosophies and health systems that studied the effect of structure on function. These included Hatha yoga, osteopathy, chiropractic, and the flourishing of the human potential movement.


Dr. Rolf combined her research with her scientific knowledge to stimulate a deeper appreciation of the body’s structural order resulting in the theory and practice of Rolfing. Now there are more than 2,200 Certified Rolfers worldwide. The techniques Dr. Rolf developed during 50 years of study and practice first received wide professional exposure at the Esalen Institute in California during the mid 1960’s. She then established the Rolf institute in Boulder, Colorado where she spent the last years of her life refining her methods and teaching them to other Rolf practitioners.