Rolfing 9. (Febr. 10th., 2011)

Both Rolfing and Feldenkrais call attention to the fact that emotional expressions are linked to the shortenings of the flexor muscles. Consequently, someone who is overwhelmed by negative emotions tends to get shortened muscles. The energy in a chronically flexed body is fully occupied with keeping the body up. The body's owners must constantly produce surplus energy to keep the body going. Such a chronic constriction provides a profound sense of fatigue and depression.

During my Rolfing sessions, I become gradually reminded of the imprinted, reflexive muscle constriction, which instinctively shows. It appears when I try to establish a normal contact / relation between, for example, my feet and my back, or when I try to establish a natural, energy conserving and efficient way to walk. The reaction occours in the form of an unconscious spasm of the muscles that I have, for some reason, earlier wrongly chosen to use. For example, using and tensing my shoulders when I move my legs.

The muscle’s contractions that occur during a birth primal or a seizure, became imprinted in my lengthy and painful birth process, and they exist more or less in my whole body and it’s fascia. The more I have experienced / lived, during the years, of repressed pain, the less tensions do I need. It is very similar to my drastically reduced need for a painkilling, neurotic filter. After that I have lived almost a full life with countless fascia coordinated / protective muscle contractions, so I have now belatedly realized the options of Rolfing to restructure my spherically distributed fascia and learn to eliminate negative muscle contractions. Instead, I try to combine stretch and flex muscles in accordance with the natural need. Just as I have reacted to the imprinted muscle reflexes, in the same way, my mental behavior worked with filters of protective functions, which brought with it an often overly controlled and inhibited behavior without the reasonable spontaneity that makes life less stressful.

It is to me inconceivable that Primal Therapy is not engaged in or even discussing the subject of physiological restructuring, which is necessary for elderly patients who have lived for decades with improperly balanced bodies caused by both psychological and physical causes from womb life and beyond. Instead there is an esoteric debate going on, over future psychotherapeutic issues on the fringe, in and of itself, interesting topics, which belong among "the products of the future in a successful company". That have not yet been established... Meanwhile, many are suffering without being able to get help.

Over the last few months Rolfing sessions, I gradually released many of my anti-self and started to feel like doing things. Today, for example, when Jordi and I trained a natural, effective and energy-saving way to walk - which is by no means as simple as it sounds - I  lost my self-command for a moment and got to a nice relaxing walk. Positive feelings were born and I remembered suddenly the reason why I live in Spain! Originally, I wanted to go to Buenos Aires in Argentine to work but with the ulterior motive to learn tango and speak Spanish. However, prudence and reality took me to Valencia, and I can now speak Spanish.

Perhaps Rolfing can now make me sufficiently coordinated to learn tango and travel to Buenos Aires. Is there anyone who wants to tango with me?

Jan Johnsson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBHhSVJ_S6A&playnext=1&list=PL491EB384C2184612