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*Shira* · 08-27-2007, 09:52 AM

If you do decide to try the rolfing, here are a couple of tips on how to get the most out of it:

1. Before your first rolfing appointment, go to a regular massage therapist (ie, someone who does sports massage) for 8-10 sessions and get full-body deep-tissue massages, including to the area where your injury was. The purpose of doing this is to help your body get used to deep poking and prodding. Deep tissue work can really hurt if you're not used to it. Rolfing goes deeper than standard massage, and massage will help you get accustomed to the pressure first. (In other words, the deep poking and prodding of rolfing will be less painful if your body first learns to accept deep pressure from a less intense style of body work.)

2. Hot baths are your friend. They ease a lot of pain.

3. Arnica ointment is your friend.

4. Yoga is your friend, but only if you do it in a way that brings your focus inward, to think about what your body is experiencing in the moment. Ie, take yourself into a pose, find your "edge" without going past it, hold it at your edge, and then look for ways to relax the edgy muscle without easing back on the pose. When I start starting going for rolfing, I found that the yoga technique of trying to direct my breath to whatever body party needed TLC at the moment proved helpful in rolfing. Also, every time I go to a rolfing appointment it starts with the rolfer asking me what I "noticed" since my last appointment. These questions really helped me with awareness of what my body was feeling, and in turn that awareness helped me progress. Yoga helps develop that awareness of what your body is experiencing.

5. I used to take a couple of ibuprofen before going to a rolfing appointment to make it easier to take the really deep work. I don't any more, because I've developed some mental techniques that are effective and I prefer to avoid taking drugs unnecessarily. But I'd still suggest considering the ibuprofen if you're new to deep-tissue work and don't yet have the mental techniques for processing the deep-tissue sensations.

08-27-2007, 09:52 AM	#6
Shira Master BHUZzer Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 4,530	If you do decide to try the rolfing, here are a couple of tips on how to get the most out of it: 1. Before your first rolfing appointment, go to a regular massage therapist (ie, someone who does sports massage) for 8-10 sessions and get full-body deep-tissue massages, including to the area where your injury was. The purpose of doing this is to help your body get used to deep poking and prodding. Deep tissue work can really hurt if you're not used to it. Rolfing goes deeper than standard massage, and massage will help you get accustomed to the pressure first. (In other words, the deep poking and prodding of rolfing will be less painful if your body first learns to accept deep pressure from a less intense style of body work.) 2. Hot baths are your friend. They ease a lot of pain. 3. Arnica ointment is your friend. 4. Yoga is your friend, but only if you do it in a way that brings your focus inward, to think about what your body is experiencing in the moment. Ie, take yourself into a pose, find your "edge" without going past it, hold it at your edge, and then look for ways to relax the edgy muscle without easing back on the pose. When I start starting going for rolfing, I found that the yoga technique of trying to direct my breath to whatever body party needed TLC at the moment proved helpful in rolfing. Also, every time I go to a rolfing appointment it starts with the rolfer asking me what I "noticed" since my last appointment. These questions really helped me with awareness of what my body was feeling, and in turn that awareness helped me progress. Yoga helps develop that awareness of what your body is experiencing. 5. I used to take a couple of ibuprofen before going to a rolfing appointment to make it easier to take the really deep work. I don't any more, because I've developed some mental techniques that are effective and I prefer to avoid taking drugs unnecessarily. But I'd still suggest considering the ibuprofen if you're new to deep-tissue work and don't yet have the mental techniques for processing the deep-tissue sensations.