“Of Grace and
Gravity”
Exploring Dr. Ida P. Rolf's Life, Work and Legacy
“Dr. Ida Rolf was undoubtedly one of the most significant
women of the twentieth century. A great mind and pioneering thinker, a creative
scientist years ahead of her time, she spent much of her life exploring the
human capacity for healing. Her education, professional career and life
circumstances led her to explore various modalities that gradually evolved into
what become known as "Structural Integration" and then took on the
name "Rolfing." Essentially, Rolfing seeks to address the development
and liberation of an individual's innate human potential, with the palliation
of symptoms an ancillary benefit. Dr Rolf was initially educated and trained
within the empiricism of scientific academia and remained firmly rooted in
those traditions. Her work was founded upon the physics of aligning the human
body within the field of gravity. She integrated her scientific perspective
with mind-body awareness without relying on an eastern mystical philosophy to
justify her conclusions. It is clear from her writings and teachings that her
studies of biological chemistry and physics provided critical insight,
inspiring such statements as, "You cannot change the energy field, but you
can change the man--the body will go as far as it will physically go, within
the laws of physics." and "What would happen to behavior if you
changed chemistry? The first way to change chemistry is to change
physics." Dr Rolf conceived of "Rolfing" as a gateway into
making progressive changes within the human organism, encompassing the
physical, intellectual and emotional aspects.”
