Rolfing, or system integration, refers to the so-called body-oriented therapies. These methods originate in the works of the outstanding psychiatrist of the twentieth century, a student of Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich.

Reich suggested that mental trauma can manifest itself at the bodily level in the form of various muscle blocks and clamps. In the end, the suppressed emotions are transformed in the human body into a muscular shell, which prevents the normal flow of mental energy and suppresses the emotional side of the person. Accordingly, removing these clips on the bodily level, it is possible to achieve the release of blocked mental energy, which is subjectively manifested in improving the mental state of the patient.

On the basis of Reich’s ideas there were many different schools of body-oriented therapy, I had the opportunity to get acquainted in practice with one of them – Rolfing. The founder of the method, IDA Rolf, doctor of biochemistry, built her method on the basis of correcting deformities and changes that have arisen in the muscle fascia, a binding tissue that supports and binds together the muscles and bone system. Initially, Rolfing was intended only for work on the physical level, but in the process it turned out that the removal of tension in certain parts of the body often leads to emotional discharge and remembering some long-forgotten and repressed incidents. For me, Rolfing was of interest as a tool to achieve and identify unconscious material that may be relevant to the emergence of my underlying disease.

Certified Alferov, at the time of writing, in Russia. I had two sessions in Berlin, in November 2008, when I was in this city on a business trip. Ideally, you need to take a course of 10 procedures, but I did not have time for this, so I had to limit myself to two. Each session lasted about an hour and a half and felt like a deep massage. At times, the procedure was quite painful, yet the impact occurs at a deep level and with the use of rolfer strong pressures and sprains, sometimes with the help of knees and elbows. Nevertheless, in General, the procedure is quite tolerable and does not cause much physical discomfort.

During the second session, I actually had a childhood episode in my mind related to my relationship with my father. He did not carry a great emotional charge and his awareness did not cause a noticeable mental relief, however, this episode confirmed for me the ability of Rolfing to release long-standing emotional blocks. On the same physical level after each session I felt very good. Posture has improved markedly, the body appeared overall ease her mood has also changed in the direction of improvement.

Unfortunately, these effects were not long, after two weeks, my muscle shell gathered again in its original form. As far as I understand, one physical impact for reliable elimination of corporal blocks is not enough. Without the awareness and experience of the mental trauma that caused the clamp, he comes back after a while. For a sustainable effect, a holistic approach is necessary, along with physical impact, serious psychological work should be carried out to release from traumatic situations. Nevertheless, Rolfing can be a great addition to the method I propose. At the first opportunity, I’m going to take the course to the end and get my missing eight procedures.