What Is Rolfing®?
Structural Integration in Portland, Oregon
Rolfing® Structural Integration is a system of hands-on bodywork that works with the body's connective tissue—known as fascia— to improve posture, movement, and structural alignment.
If you’re searching for Rolfing in Portland, Oregon, this page explains what my Rolfing® treatment is, how it works, and who it’s for.
What is Rolfing®?
RolfingĀ® Structural Integration is a transformative therapy that works with the bodyās inherent rhythms (breath, heartbeat, & cranio-sacral rhythm) as well as fasciaāthe connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs. Working with fascia and facilitating the inherent rhythms can improve alignment, posture, and movement ease. Unlike treatments that focus mainly on symptomatic areas, RolfingĀ® looks at the body as a whole system and aims to restore balance in your entire structure. While targeting symptomatic areas is not always the next step in promoting overall balance in a structure, people often report that chronic pains do disappear or become newly manageable. Through a series of targeted manual therapy sessions (often the Rolfing Ten-SeriesĀ®), I incorporate traditional RolfingĀ®, abdominal visceral techniques, and craniosacral techniques to release chronic tension patterns, realign the bodyās structure, and relieve chronic pain. But the goal isnāt just reliefāitās transformation; Rolfing can help your body evolve physically and emotionally; you can move and function with ease from the inside out.
Common Reasons People Seek Rolfing®
RolfingĀ® Structural Integration supports a wide range of people with different goalsābut most fall into a few common categories. If any of these sound like you, Rolfing may be worth exploring. Chronic Pain & Tension Injury recovery Athletic Performance & Recovery Posture, Balance & Aging Body Awareness & Embodiment Chronic Pain & Tension Whether itās in your back, shoulders, neck, hips, or feet, persistent pain is often linked to structural imbalance. Rolfing works with the bodyās fascia to unwind patterns of strain and help reduce chronic tension over time. Injury Recovery If youāve had a fall, accident, or surgeryāeven years agoāyour body can still be holding patterns of compensation written into the fascial web over time. Rolfing helps restore alignment and function by addressing how old injuries continue to affect posture and movement. Athletic Performance & Recovery From Olympians to weekend runners, athletes use Rolfing to move more efficiently, recover faster, and prevent injuries. By improving structural balance and body awareness, Rolfing can support performance at every level. Posture, Balance & Aging As we age or adapt to daily demands, postural habits often changeāand not for the better. Rolfing helps improve alignment, ease, and stability so you can stay active, mobile, and confident in your body. Body Awareness & Embodiment Rolfing isnāt just about physical pain. Many people seek it as a way to reconnect with their bodies, improve movement quality, and feel more present. For those on a healing, creative, or spiritual path, it can support whole-person integration.
Rolfing's Signature: The Rolfing Ten-Series™
The Rolfing Ten-SeriesĀ® is a standardized sequence of ten sessions designed to systematically balance and align the entire body. Each session focuses on a different region or structural layer, gradually working from surface tension to deep core support. The process is divided into three parts: Sessions 1ā3: Improve breath and release surface-level restrictions Sessions 4ā7: Work with deeper layers and the bodyās core alignment Sessions 8ā10: Integrate the whole system for balanced movement and posture Though the framework is consistent, each Ten-Series is personalized to meet the clientās unique body and goals. The result is a full-body reset that supports long-term ease, efficiency, and resilience.
The Heart of Rolfing: Alignment in Gravity
At the heart of RolfingĀ® Structural Integration is the concept that how your body relates to gravity shapes how you feel, move, and function. When your structure is aligned, gravity becomes a supportive force. But when misalignments build over timeāthrough injuries, habits, or life stressāgravity works against you, pulling your body out of balance and forcing it to compensate. Rolfers often use the image of a stack of blocks to explain this. When the blocks are aligned, the stack is stable. But if one block shifts out of place, the others must compensate above and below. The same is true in the body: if your hips are rotated, your shoulders, neck, or knees will have to adaptācreating tension, asymmetry, and discomfort. RolfingĀ® works to unwind these patterns, relieving chronic pain in the process, using fascia-based bodywork and movement education; this helps the body re-establish a more natural and efficient relationship with gravity. Are You Fighting Gravity? This simple self-check can help you determine whether your body is working against gravity instead of with it. Do any of these apply to you? Your stride is uneven and/or uncomfortable Youāve experienced shin splints, plantar fasciitis, or foot pain Your shoulders get tired during normal activities You make a lot of noise when walking across a wood floor - do you walk heavily or lightly, or drag your feet? If these sound familiar, your body may be compensating for misalignment. Rolfing can help restore balanceāand bring you back to ease.
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Send me a brief summary of your goals and your available days (wed-sat).
Standard Session: 90 min - $150
āPhone consult: 15 min - free