Campus Engagement #2

For my last Women’s Studies Campus Engagement Event, I attended one of the To Your Health Thursdays offered by the Florida School of Holistic Living. My first thoughts upon arriving were, “I’m not sure how reliable all of this information is” and “my grandmother would love this place” (because of her interest in herbal remedies and holistic treatments; I am not making any insinuations that this type of thing is only for women of grandmotherly age). My doubts about the scientific basis of the information disseminated is likely due to the scientific nature of my courses.

However, despite my initial trepidation, I did find the information interesting. The presentation was by Lu Muller-Kaul and was about a massage-like treatment called Rolfing ®. She was educated in it in first Boulder, and then finished her Rolfing training in Brazil. She was there to explain to us what exactly Rolfing is, as well as what the potential health benefits are. In summary, Rolfing is designed to rearrange the fascial web into its original and natural place. The fascial web is connective tissue that binds one’s muscles together, and also keeps everything in its proper place. However, in our daily lives, whether they are overly sedentary or involve intense physical activity, this web can shift, causing misalignment, pain, and poor posture. The web can be shifted back, though, and this is the basis of Rolfing; massage designed to put the web back into its proper place, therefore restoring proper health. Rolfing is normally done in a series of ten session designed to cover the whole body, and then the last few target specific problem areas.

After covering the basics of Rolfing, Ms. Muller-Kaul next showed us some of what Rolfing is in real life. She had volunteers from the class walk in front of her, and then analyzed them to see what potential problems they might have. She accurately guessed a few things about the people. I was one of the volunteers, and I was impressed that all of the things she said about my posture and gait made perfect sense given my lifestyle. The two things she pointed out about me was that I walk on the outsides of my feet, and that my back muscles seem tight. This is likely very much true due to my extra-activities.

Overall, while I did find the presentation informative. I would like to see more evidence of what Rolfing is before I personally could commit to a Rolfing session, particularly as the set of ten appointments is a little over a thousand dollars. I am sure that this information is out there, and wouldn’t take too much effort to find.