That's the sound of my mom shouting across the hall, while i'm having my meal at the dining table. This is usually accompanied with a smack or a pinch on my back... I now understand why it was so difficult for me maintain an upright posture back then :)
Hope the following article would help you understand why it might be difficult for you to maintain upright posture and maybe that nagging pain that just won't go away...
A pattern to a young child could be specific recurring shapes “mommy, mommy look at that beautiful pattern!” A soldier may understand it to mean a repetition of the same body shape or movement to maintain formation “left right left… left right left”. A dad in his daily routine would say “I get up at 6am, wait for my breakfast to be served, read my paper, have my coffee and then I’m off to work” A repetition of a characteristic trait “Gabriel is such a happy person, he is always so jovial” A fashion trend can be a pattern… “Teenagers nowadays have an interesting way of wearing their pants, they like them real low”
Our lives are full of patterns. We live in patterns, we move in and around patterns, we depend on patterns. Society imposes patterns. The most interesting of all… our bodies conform to these patterns. We choose daily to conform, out of ignorance or due to different pressures. Different routines such as language, exercise regimes, social habits, work life, emotion or thought patterns, all of these shape our personality patterns and bodily shapes. Therefore higher awareness is called for in the choices we make as these patterns go on to determine how we experience life. Some are good patterns that turn into a habit making it a good habit. Some are bad habits which ultimately need change. And change we must! Sometimes patterns are forced upon us through unfortunate events such as trauma, illnesses or surgery. We don’t move in the same way that we used to after such incidents. Also such incidents leave scars in the physical, emotional and psychological structures. We now are forced to compensate and learn to move around them.
How does this all affect us? Consider this:
These patterns mould our bodies into interesting shapes: Flat feet, ‘O’ legs, hunched backs, rounded shoulders etc. These shapes in turn determine the pattern of movement that our bodies take. When these shapes and patterns do not go well with what and how our bodies are intrinsically meant to be, they affect our posture and potentially surface as pain.
Our entire being experiences many types of pains, in our thoughts, emotions, body aches from our feet all the way to our heads. Pain is not something one would actively choose but we are constantly plagued by it. Pain is a way our bodies tell us that a specific pattern that we have chosen does not go well with us. Pain is like an alarm for us to STOP, LOOK and REASSESS. Sometimes pain is good and necessary for us to go through. Just as it is with the cleaning of a wound, sensitive areas need to be touched in order that it may heal, so it is with the wounds in our hearts, they need ‘touch’ in order that inner healing takes place.
The meaning of pain to a person is very personal. Most of the time the answer to alleviate it can be found within the choices that we make. We can choose to either deal with it or ignore it. Consciously or unconsciously we are all looking for a way to ease that pain! And hopefully experience more joy in life.
Some of us have been living in pain for a long time, so the crux of the issue is how to get rid of the pain? We have tried all we possibly can and continue to search for answers. Unfortunately, some of us are resigned that the pain we experience is a sad fact of life, and these shapes and patterns are normal in everyone, something we must tolerate as human beings. Are we meant to just accept our predicament? I think not and I believe there are answers.
Rolfing® Structural Integration would be able to provide you with some of those answers.
Rolfing® is an education process to release these stress patterns. Rolfers™ use a specific method of ‘touch’ and different movements within the context of a sound client-practitioner relationship. The goal is to change the body shape and pattern of the client that brought the pain in the first place. 10 basic sessions begin this Rolfing process and they are structured in a way that the entire body is worked on. Each session has a specific frame of work, building upon each other from one session to the next. Rolfers™ are not psychologists or psychotherapists. We work solely from the movement and structural aspect. This is so because the quality of a movement is easier to perceive. We are then able to give our clients a holistic and clearer understanding of how their bodies tick.
At a very young age a child learns to walk by imitating his/her parents. They absorb the impression left upon them by their carers and they spend hours gaining personal experience. Part of the Rolfing® experience happen in this way. Through the sessions, the client begins to learn by imitating the intrinsic movements of His/Her Rolfer™. He/She chooses patterns of movement that they can integrate. Through the Rolfers™ touch, we are able to sense patterns that exist in the connective tissues of the body and skilfully communicate with the nervous system to change the pattern of coordination and movement. Through this ‘touch’ we realign and balance the body’s parts as much as is allowed to by the individual. Nearly all clients admit that they have never experienced the same ‘touch’ elsewhere.
Clients of the Rolfing® method testify to having more fluidity and ease of movements, a greater sense of well being and a balanced upright posture. Often, as the body transforms physically, it transforms dramatically in seemingly unrelated areas as well, having effects on areas other than the physical. These include lowering anxiety, improved sleeping patterns, increasing confidence and potential, maturing emotional expression, deepening of voice. Visible changes in the shape and structure are often observed. In posture the individual becomes more aligned, exhibiting much more grace in movement. The genius in Rolfing® is that it is a simple process involving touch and movement which has affected the lives of many people, in many ways and continues to reveal new possibilities.
Rolfing®SI can help:
- People of all ages with a history of pain and discomfort including those related to the lingering effects of accidents, illnesses, surgery and trauma.
- Workers engaged in physically demanding jobs, or exposed to repetitive motion or unilateral strain in the workplace.
- Individuals seeking relief from chronic physical ailments associated with aging, and anyone hoping to rediscover freedom and ease of movement.
- Athletes, dancers, actors, musicians, yoga / martial arts practitioners or anyone wishing to improve their body awareness and physical performance.
- People who have tried traditional medical treatments or exercise therapies with only limited success.
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