clevermanka: default (gas mask)
clevermanka ([personal profile] clevermanka) wrote2010-08-24 09:37 am

My first experience with rolfing

Rolfing is pretty intense. And awesome. Risa is awesome, too. She spent a long time explaining the process and the theory of the 10-series and reassured me that I shouldn't try to breathe through any discomfort. Forcing one's muscles to relax during treatment isn't beneficial. It's better to just ask for less pressure and let your body adjust to the level it's comfortable with. But that didn't make it any less intense. At one point she was pressing on my hip joint while I was lying on my side and I swear my bones felt like they were made of plastic. I could feel my whole pelvis shifting around! Pretty cool. Risa said I have a noticeable imbalance between right and left, which isn't surprising. Kiva my wonderful acupuncturist works on balance stuff at least every other session. Apparently I'm a very imbalanced person in all manner of ways.

At yesterday's session we worked on: hips, ribs, shoulders, upper chest, neck, back, and breathing. Lots and lots of breathing. Here are things I noticed after treatment:

  • I stand with more of my weight in my heels rather than forward on my toes, and my weight is more evenly distributed across the foot, rather than mainly on the inside of my foot.
  • My shoulder pain isn't gone, but it's lessened. The related neck stiffness is nearly gone, and I have a significantly larger range of motion turning my head side to side. What shoulder discomfort I do have is located mostly in the shoulder blade area, rather than running from the bottom of my skull down to my elbow.
  • I can breathe into the middle of my chest comfortably, instead of limiting my breathing to just my low belly. More oxygen = always a good thing.
  • During the acupuncture session immediately following the rolfing, Kiva mentioned how straight my center ab line was. "It's like a ruler!" She also mentioned that my belly looked really flat, which has nothing to do with rolfing, but I had to throw that in there because it was so fantastic to hear.
  • Afterward at yoga, I got into headstand pose easier than I ever have done. My shoulders were totally stable and I was able to relax into it a bit--a first! I held it for a long time and was able to play around with pulling my heels away from the wall a couple times. Coming down, I felt a definite twinge across the tops of my shoulders and had to hold Child Pose for longer than usual.
  • Shoulder stand was strong and straight. Gopi walked by and said "Beautiful" to me. Thumbs up!
  • I was energized when I got home from yoga. I made a baked chicken (well, tried anyway) and wound up staying up until almost midnight. I would've been very happy to go to bed earlier, but because I couldn't (near-total chicken fail), I was able to function despite the late hour. Usually I turn into a zombie by 10:00 or 10:30pm.
  • My hips and shoulders are popping like crazy. Not painful, just loud and often.

    I scheduled my next several appointments for Thursday evenings. She was even able to get me in for my second treatment this Thursday, so I should be well on my way to musculoskeletal improvement by the time KCRF starts. Isn't that swell!
  • [identity profile] redheadfae.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
    Wow, that's impressive.

    And you? Up til midnight? Jeez.
    Maybe this is something that could help with my back and pelvic unevenness. It sounds more helpful than having Dr. Chang bang me around on the table. :)

    I'm glad to hear the first session went so well. I've heard others talk about it being terribly rough and painful.

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
    It wasn't rough at all. It was very, very smooth. There were parts where I thought "whoa! intense!" but I never thought "ow" or "oof".

    I think it has definite possibilities for solving uneven hips. I tell you, I could totally feel my hip joints moving! Pretty amazing.

    [identity profile] redheadfae.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 03:50 pm (UTC)(link)

    Wow. I haven't found anyone who uses the method of fixing my "half-rotating pelvis" like Dr. Koehn did, but this might.

    Glad you're reporting the progress on this, it's really interesting.

    [identity profile] miischelle.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
    This Rofling buisness has me curious......info?

    And near-total-chicken-fail? What happened?
    Edited 2010-08-24 15:43 (UTC)

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
    Info on the 10-series (http://kinetikos.net/rolfing/).

    The fucking chicken just wouldn't finish baking! After an hour and fifteen minutes in the oven, the juices were still a little dark and there were pools of red blood in the body cavity. Of course, I didn't notice this until after I'd taken it out of the oven and let it rest for ten minutes. So I had to re-heat the oven and put the damn bird back in. All told, it took two hours to bring it to doneness and to top it off, I found it very boring and tasteless.

    Bah.

    [identity profile] mckitterick.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    I thought it was very tasty with the carrots!

    [identity profile] miischelle.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
    Bleh! Is your oven thermometer thing accurate? I've got a meat thermometer that I use to check the inside temp....I'm sure you do too (unless I still have it?)..

    Bleh!

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
    You still have my thermometer. =b

    Have you made yogurt yet, MISSY????

    [identity profile] miischelle.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
    I did. I'm making another batch tonight. Perhaps I could return the whole setup to you along with bringing the George Foreman on Saturday.
    Edited 2010-08-24 16:52 (UTC)

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    I'm off dairy until after KCRF. Tell you what, bring the thermometer on Saturday and keep the yogurt maker until November. Sound good?

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
    I take you your yogurt-making efforts have met with success, then. =D

    random commenter

    [identity profile] rowanda380.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
    oh man, I heard about rolfing from a theater teacher of mine who did it. I don't think I would ever want to try it.

    [identity profile] royal-spice.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    Eeeeeenteresting (on the rolfing).

    Suck (about the chicken).

    Glad to hear of your successes!

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
    Isn't it exciting? The success, that is. Not so much with the chicken. *sigh*

    I want one of those home rotisserie ovens (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=rotisserie+oven&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&cid=16518898441072078992&ei=lRZ1TOebLJXMNcDT5MUB&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p). I wonder how well they (really) work.

    [identity profile] skyflame.livejournal.com 2010-08-24 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
    I first heard about Rolfing several years ago when former major league pitcher Craig Swan got certified as a Rolfing practitioner - this was probably in the mid-late 1980s, I think.

    [identity profile] kalimeg.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
    Rolfing sounds useful. The reports I hear are pretty varied, so I guess it may be an eye-of-the-beholder thing.

    Sorry about your chicken. If sticking a thigh doesn't get you clear juice it is not done.

    [identity profile] clevermanka.livejournal.com 2010-08-25 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
    it may be an eye-of-the-beholder thing

    Or an arm-of-the-practitioner thing.