The 10-Series
Rolfing was designed as a process and is most effective as a series of sessions. The results of the sessions are cumulative and this allows your Rolfer™ to more fully address your body’s restrictive postures and movement patterns so that you can get better and stay better.
Classically, Rolfing has been given as a 10-session series that addresses the entire body, systematically re-sculpting the body’s major segments in order to relieve strain from accidents, injuries and misuse. In doing so, new possibilities of movement are found that are easier, more comfortable, and more efficient often relieving symptoms of pain.
Sometimes referred to as "The Recipe", the 10-Series follows a goal and territory-based formula in order to address the body and being as a whole. I recommend receiving the 10-Series during a 3-4 month time span to allow for integration of each session. The 10 sessions are separated into 3 groups based on the overarching goals and taking breaks for 2-3 weeks between the groups is ideal. Since every body is different, the recipe leaves space for the curious and creative to explore and sink in. Below you will find the recipe so you have a better understanding of why this process is so recommended.
Introductory Sessions
Session 1: The Breath
Since the breath is one of our most important physiological functions, a 10-Series begins with the intention to free any restrictions around the shoulders, rib cage, pelvis,. and spine. By establishing a fuller and easier breathing pattern, this prepares the rest of the body to be open to more change. This session also begins to establish mutual trust between the client and practitioner.
Session 2: Resource from the ground up
The territory covered in this session is from the knees down to tune up the arches of the feet, restore function to the ankles and knees, mobilize the bones in the feet, and address any tissue restrictions in the muscular compartments of the calves. The session concludes with backwork so the feet communicate their functionality.
Session 3: Establishing the lateral line
This session looks at the client's plumb-line- from ear to ankle- and sees where there are deviations from the vertical line. In doing so, a sense of expansion is found.
Core Sessions
Session 4: The midline
The first of the core sessions begins building the midline from the ground up working up the inner legs and thighs, up to the bony basin of the pelvic bowl. The pelvic floor is indirectly accessed and helps establish how the core connects to the sleeve.
Session 5: The front of the back
The Illiopsoas is the main attraction of this core session. Work is done from the pelvis up, addressing posture, spinal mechanics, and how the legs support the rest of the body.
Session 6: The entire back
The goal of this session is to help the client find strength in their back. The fasical retlationships between the plantar fascia, calves, hamstrings, glutes, sacrum and spine are all addressed. This session often helps to decompress the spine so that a person can move and lengthen with greater ease.
Session 7: This session aims to put the head on top of the body in a balanced way. In previous sessions, the body has been reorganized and established, so this session aims to draw a line straight up. Those with jaw and neck issues tend to find great relief in this session; though some of the manual work is a bit unorthodox. In addition to neck, scalp, shoulder and face manipulation, with the client's permission, the Rolfer accesses the inside of the mouth and nose. This work seeks to find space and balance between crainal and cervical bones in addition to facilitating an unobstructed breath.
Integration Sessions
Sessions 8 & 9: These sessions focus on larger and more complex relationships across multiple joints. Previous sessions were intricate and focused, whereas these two sessions look at the big picture. These sessions usually involve a great deal of movement to encourage the client to find grace in their uninhibited structure.
Session 10: This is a whole body energetic session that aims to bring closure to the changes that have occurred over the course of the 10 sessions. "Uniform Brilliance" is the ethereal goal that Ida Rolf described as sending an independent, strong, and empowered being out to live with their freshly upgraded system.
The 10-Series is 10 sessions, though sometimes the work a person would like extends beyond 10 sessions. It is recommended to take 3 months to integrate the work of a 10-Series before receiving more Rolfing. It is said that during this break, sessions 11 and 12 occur otherwise known as "Assimilation & Manifestation".
For more information, click to be redirected to The Dr. Ida Rolf Insitute
An Introductory 3-Series
A 3-series is a great way to introduce yourself to Rolfing without making the full 10-Series commitment. There are certain areas of a body that need to be addressed in order for the changes made within a person's system to stick. These areas/goals include the breath, finding resource from the feet, and assessing the realtionship of the shoulder girdle to the axial skelton (spine). A 3-Series allows for these fundamental Rolfing goals to addressed while also gives space for the clients personal goals to be focused on.