The School of Integrative Therapies ~ Chuck Carpenter

What is Rolfing® Structural Integration? Rolfing is a
bodywork system created by Ida P. Rolf, designed to allow the
practitioner to understand how a person's structure may be
ideally designed to balance and move in the field of gravity. A
Rolfing practitioner is able to identify when a person's structure
is out of balance and alignment. The Rolfer is then able to design
an intervention, which may be a single session or a series of
sessions of myofascial (muscle and connective tissues) hands-on
bodywork, with the goal of realigning and balancing the client in
three dimensional space. Results include greater freedom,
increased range of movement, decrease in pain or discomfort
that arise from structural imbalances. Traditionally, Rolfing uses
a series of ten sessions. Each session in the process is a
continuation of the previous one and an introduction to the next.
The client’s body is analyzed, systematically and physically
manipulated during this initial series of ten sessions, each of
which lasts about an hour and may be scheduled as often as
twice a week. Some people choose to schedule their sessions
once a week, others once a month. Rolfing's ten session series is
designed to uncover a structural ease and kinetic balance that is
unique to each client. Rolfing cannot accurately be described as
therapy or as a returning of the body to a "natural" state from
which it has deteriorated. Rather, it is a process of education in
which a Rolfer seeks to help a client discover the most efficient
way of using his or her body, given the limitations, liabilities, and
virtues of that body.

What is a Rolfing Session Like? After discussing
what you hope to gain from the sessions the Rolfer will
observe the client wearing underclothes standing from
the front, back, and each side, and, at the client's option,
may take "Before Session One" photos. Often, the client
is asked to walk around a bit so that the body can be
observed in motion. The client is asked to lie down on a
comfortable massage table. The Rolfer begins to work
on the tissue using Myofascial Techniques. No oil or
lubrication is used. Sustained pressure directed in
precise directions allows the Rolfer to realign the client’s
tissue. A brief burning sensation may be experienced as
the tissue begins to become pliable. Muscular tension is
relieved as the fascia which enwraps each muscle fiber is
released. Common client perceptions after a session
include experiencing a feeling of lightness, feeling taller
and straighter, greater awareness of body posture,
improved breathing capacity, greater ease of movement,
feeling more alive, and a difference in the way the body
is carried.

About Chuck Carpenter Chuck Carpenter is a Co-Director of
our school and the lead instructor of the only Structural Integration
Certification Program in the tri-state area. After studying Political
Science at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, he attended
the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and became a Certified
Rolfer® in 1988. He continued his studies there, and achieved his
position as a Certified Advanced Rolfer® in 1990. During his time at
the Rolf Institute, where his instructors had been trained directly by
Dr. Ida P. Rolf, he studied with some of the finest instructors in the
bodywork profession, such as:

~ Jan Sultan, Senior Instructor at the Rolf Institute
~ Tom Myers, founder of Kinesis Myofascial Integration, author of
Anatomy Trains
~ Emmett Hutchins, founder of the Guild for Structural Integration
~ Jim Asher, founder of the Colorado Cranial Institute
~ Jeffrey Maitland, Senior Instructor at the Rolf Institute, author of
Spinal Manipulation Made Simple and Spacious Body: Explorations in
Somatic Ontology

Over the next several years, as he developed his private practice in
New Jersey, he was a part-time Assistant Instructor at the Rolf
Institute in Boulder, and traveled to Europe to further his bodywork
education. He studied Visceral Manipulation with Jean-Pierre Barral,
and Cranial Sacral Therapy at both the Upledger Institute and the
Colorado Cranial Institute. As he started a family, he stayed closer to
home, enjoying a thriving private practice and various instructional
opportunities. He has offices in New Jersey and Manhattan.

An active member of the Rolf Institute, and the newly formed
International Association of Structural Integrators, Chuck has
developed our Structural Integration Training Program dedicated to
the teachings of Dr. Ida P. Rolf. His superior style of touch honed
over more than 15 years of private practice, and his clear
explanations of the anatomical and physiological processes involved in
SI provide our students with the opportunity to learn from a true
craftsman in the bodywork field.

More About the Ten Sessions
Session 1: Freeing the Breath	The goal of Session 1 is to free the muscles of inspiration resulting in increased breathing capacity. This is the first of the Opening Sessions.
Session 2: Providing a Foundation	The goal of Session 2 is to prepare the feet and lower legs to be a stable foundation for the body.
Session 3: Freeing the Hips and Ribs	The goal of Session 3 is to free the hips and ribs by releasing the shoulder and the sides of the legs. This is the last of the opening sessions. If a client needs to delay further sessions for any reason, this is a logical time to do so.
Session 4: Preparing the Core	The goal of Session 4 is to begin to free the core muscles of the body by working on the inside of the leg and thigh. This begins the Core Sessions
Session 5: Freeing the Abdomen	The goal of Session 5 is to continue to free the core musculature of the body by working on the abdominal and hip muscles.
Session 6: Balance the Hips	The goal of Session 6 is to balance the hips, creating a structure which rests on a well supported vertical core and demands minimal effort to maintain a standing posture.
Session 7: Balance the Head and Neck	The goal of Session 7 is to balance the head and neck so that it is well-supported by the ribcage and spine. Areas of focus are head, neck and face. This completes the Core sessions.
Sessions 8, 9 & 10: The Integration Sessions	The goal of the final sessions is to achieve Integration. The work of the previous sessions has prepared the body to function as a whole, which is greater than the sum of its parts. The changes that the individual has achieved are reviewed, and the Rolfer works to educate the client to most efficiently use this newly structured and integrated body. The process of integration and balance continues for the next several months or years, as the body continues to ‘find its line.’