Rolfing 1

Before I moved back to Sweden in December 1979, I received a treatment at The Rolfing Institute in Boulder, Colorado. During five weeks, I got a deep tissue massage to restore the body's natural posture and structural integration, which certainly had a different, very profound, both pleasant and scaring effect on me both physically and mentally. This massage method, developed by Swedish descendant Ida Rolf has undoubtedly been one of the reasons that I succeeded in turning epileptic grand mal seizures into complete re-experiences of a very painful birth process. Simultaneously, I could feel and experience the repressed pain behind my neurotic behavior which a few times I only with the help of luck could survive.

More than 30 years have passed since I went through the subversive connective tissue massage, Rolfing, in Boulder. I have since then often meant to take up Rolfing again but for different reasons, due to concern because of the radical impact and for the simple reason that there has been no Rolfing where I have been located. After some time having had pain in the muscle hold in the left upper arm and in the right groin, I have found a person in Carcaixent, about 20 kms from Genovés, who has Rolfing certification from Germany, and I have begun a series of 10 treatments.

The first reading took place on Wednesday 11/16/2010 between the hours 10:30 and 13:30. The Rolfing therapist, named Jordi, was initially quite nervous and was sweating noticeably at the start of treatment. He was, however, very focused, and we had good contact, and I understood perfectly his Spanish instructions and comments. The following interesting facts emerged during his review of the different parts of my body while he began to restructure my muscles.

1. My breathing which I consciously have concentrated to the abdominal muscles during more than 40 years is excessive. 25% of the lung capacity is associated with the abdominal muscles, while 75% is connected to the chest and ribs. Abdominal breathing is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system that responds to rest and recovery while the thoracic breathing is associated with the sympathetic nervous system which is linked to activity and energy release. Both respirations are obviously important and needed, but I've been too obsessed with the relaxing breathing techniques. It has for decades been one of my techniques, through the abdominal muscles, to displace and suppress tension into the stomach. I must now learn to change my breathing and also use the large, activating part of the lung which is controlled by the ribs and torso.

2. I tiptoe too much when I walk, instead of using the whole foot and my step with the right foot is shorter than that with the left foot. I have been aware of it for a couple of years and thought I had corrected the error, which is manifested by the fact that I appear to be limping. By extending the step with my right foot the limping disappears . By allowing my weight to go down from the abdominal muscles in the feet and vice versa, I get a sense of balance and power and a more stable stance. The improved attitude means that I do not have the feeling that I go leaning forward. A sensation which incidentally is not correct because a mirror showed that I leaned backwards with my upper body!

3. The pain in my tendon and muscle attachments where the left
arm connects to the body and the pain in the right groin are probably linked. When I walk with Puskas I keep him through the leash in my left hand. Puskas is strong and constantly pulls my left arm, which struggles against and becomes tense during our one-hour walk and cannot perform a normal pendulum movement that harmonizes with my right leg. To compensate for this I pull harder , which shortens the step. I have been touring Puskas 1 hour daily for 3.5 years so it's high time I fix our faulty gait to get rid of the pain and lack of coordination.

4. Much of my physical activities and reactions, conscious as well as intuitive, is linked to the "epileptic", convulsive tension that was imprinted during the birth process when I was trapped and could not either get out, move or breathe. Many of my behaviours have over the years become more and more liberated as I experienced the pain and terror of not coming out. However, part of my physical behavior still contains reminiscences of the original trauma. Since there is a mutual interaction between different levels in the central nervous system (CNS), then I expect mental changes (reductions in remaining depressive tendencies) when additional physical blockages are dissolved.
Genovés 2010-11-19