Appalachian Medical Massage Associates

Here’s something we ran across on the www.irolfing.com website.  Who better to explain the subject that Dr. Rolf herself?

THE VERTICAL-EXPERIENTIAL SIDE TO HUMAN POTENTIAL
An essay by Ida P. Rolf, founder of Rolfing^® Structural Integration, dated March 1977

Like so many teachers, some of them very close to home, I complain that people do not seem to understand my basic goals, the fundamental purpose for which Rolfing has been developed. In an effort to lessen this type of frustration, I offer the following summary of Rolfing developments, purposes, and ideas.

First, let me reiterate what I have often said before: I as an individual, am not primarily interested in the relief of symptoms, either physical or mental. To hear Rolfees tell of their “wonderful”, “unbelievable” symptom alleviation, it is hard not to accept this assessment as a goal. However, I am interested in human potential, and human potential per se neither includes nor excludes the palliation of symptoms.

As of today, Rolfing is accepted as being one of the most basic, one of the most reliable means of developing whatever potential is latent in any given human, psychological as well as physical. By what route did Rolfing reach this particular eminence? We assume that human beings are, as a species, evolving toward verticality. What are the intellectual considerations which can speed us on our way toward understanding the value of this verticality?

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Thank you for your patience!

We recently received this email from a client who went through the Structural Integration series. Thanks for sharing your journey, Trini!

See our Testimonial section for more letters like this.

All of our testimonials are reprinted with permission. If you would like to make your story available to others, please let us know. Contact us at amma@ammatn.com or send us a letter the old-fashioned way.

Mike Bulger does a great job answering this question on his website.

Check it out here: Structural Revolution.

Written by Renita Kalhorn

Here in New York, holiday decorations had made their appearance before we had even celebrated Thanksgiving. Apparently time is not passing by fast enough for the rabid retailers.

Accordingly, the pace picks up as our days fill with additional seasonal activities – parties, shopping, travel – crowding already jam-packed schedules. But rather than savoring the specialness of the season, we rush along in a frenzy of activity, stressed and anxious about getting everything done.

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Written by John Groth

We’ve all seen the TV documentary where the scurrying ants are carrying portions of leaves and other vegetation back to their nest. Many loads carried by the ants exceed the ant’s weight. An almost similar scene is repeated every day at schools all across the county, and kids weighted down with overloaded backpacks trudging back and forth to school. Many only have to trudge with the heavy backpack from home to the bus and from the bus into school but the strain on their backs are obvious and could be damaging.

So book reports, various projects and science exams aren’t the only pressures on your kids at school. Wearing and walking with heavy backpacks, especially when wearing them the wrong way can lead to back pain, muscle strain and overall poor posture. In a recent study, almost 60% of students reported chronic back pain related to them.

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Hot off the presses!

The first edition of our semiannual newsletter, “To Your Health,” is downloadable below as an Adobe PDF file. Considered by many to be the global standard for electronic document sharing, the latest version of Adobe Reader is available for free download at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Read the new newsletter here: To Your Health” - Winter 2008

If you’re plagued by muscle pain, Dr. Oz recommends a technique called Rolfing, which he describes as “even deeper than a deep-tissue massage.”

This technique, which was developed by Dr. Ida Pauline Rolf, aims to separate bound-up connective tissues (or fascia), which link the muscles. “Rolfing literally releases the joints,” Dr. Oz says. “When you talk to folks about the impact it has on them, a lot of them just stand taller. A lot is just freeing you up to live the way you’re supposed to live.”

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Get the full segment at Oprah’s website, http://www.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20070426_350_101.jhtml.

He even demonstrates receiving the work!