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Archive for the ‘Rolfing & Buddhism’ Category

San Francisco Rolfing®: Getting in Shape for Real

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Yoga In Ancient Times

Even in ancient times Yoga was not an end in itself, it was developed to help strengthen both the body and mind for deep contemplation about the nature of the self and the world in which the self arises. It would be great if all of the things that we did today—the yoga, Pilates, massages and Rolfing served such ends—that is, a path of inquiry that led to the profound contentment of enlightenment.

But they don’t.

Technology and the Healing Arts

How the healing arts—or any technology—serves our lives is up to us. They are the gifts of great innovators and healers; handed down to us from people with profound vision and ingenuity. But technology—in any field—is no guarantee of wisdom or inner peace.

A Life of True-Love Is Not Something That Someone Can Give You

A life lived in true-love is not something that someone can give you. It is not an item to be bought or a land to be conquered. Rather, it is a goal that you must put before yourself and set to work on with passion enough to overcome the many obstacles that you will encounter on your way to achieving it.

If that is the spirit with which you come to a Rolfing session—then, in the hands of an adept healer, you are practically guaranteed the self transformation that will be required of you for attainment of your highest goal, the backbone that will be necessary for you to recognize and forgive your mistakes, process trauma, and everything else that has pulled you off your line.

Don’t Short Change Yourself

If you are in agonizing pain then by all means, get to your local Rolfer. But don’t short change yourself. Realize that when your pain is gone you are in the position to elicit the support of a healer that is now available to help you get your life’s work done.

Therefore, before your session, do a little soul searching, a little work. Contemplate your purpose in life—your unique contribution to the world. If you do that, I almost guarantee that a world the likes of which you could probably never have imagined will open up for you. Your life will present possibilities and an easiness that had remained hitherto unknown.

Let’s Get in Shape for Real

My 103 year old Zen Master once told me that it is important to realize that we are never enough. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We need to find new sources of energy, creativity and wisdom—in our bodies and minds. We need to begin gearing up for some serious change.

Our planet is in desperate need of repair. So why not start with ourselves? Let’s get in shape, for real.

Support for Transformation That We Need

Rolfing, massage and the other healing arts are not just ways of feeling better—they are resources for a better life and better ways of living, which combined with noble intentions, may yet—despite what embittered skeptics say—find their rightful place in the world.

I believe that the healing arts provide the support for transformation that we desperately need, if only we can learn to use them before it’s too late.

Posted in Healing, Holism, Massage, Meditations, Rolfing & Buddhism, San Francisco, The Line | No Comments »

San Francisco Rolfing: Healing Feelings That May Cause Stomach Problems

Friday, December 18th, 2009

healing buddha

From Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol K. Truman:

Probable Feelings Causing Stomach Problems:

Our sense of security feels threatened,

fear of new ideas,

lack of affection,

condemning the success of other people,

unhappy feelings.

To heal this ailment on the emotional level Karol provides the following exercise (Feelings Buried Alive Never Die; p.95):

Step 1: Invoke your Higher Self

Say the following, either internally or aloud:

1.  Spirit/Super-Conscious, please locate the origin of my feeling(s), thought(s) of ____________(e.g. “lack of affection” ).

2.  Take each and every level, layer, area, and aspect of my Be-ing to this origin. Analyze and resolve it perfectly with God’s [the Subconscious's, Divine Intelligence's,  The Great Spirit's, Your Highest Self's, etc.--use what works for you here] truth.

3.  Come through all  generations of time and eternity, healing every incident and its appendages based on the origin. Do it according to God’s [as above] will until I’m at the present–filled with light and truth, God’s [as above] peace and love, forgiveness of myself for my incorrect perceptions, forgiveness of every person, place, circumstance, and event which contributed to this feeling(s)/thought(s).

4.  With total forgiveness and unconditional love, I allow every physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual problem, and inappropriate behavior based on the negative origin recorded in my DNA, to transform.

Step 2: Affirm Your Commitment to Heal:

(Use the same appropriate positive feeling on each of the three blanks below to replace the negative feeling. e.g. for lack of affection: “I Choose Be-ing abundant with affection, I Feel abundant with affection, I AM abundant with affection.”)

Say the following, either internally or aloud:

I Choose Be-ing________________________.
I Feel____________________________.
I AM ____________________________.

It is done. It is healed. It is accomplished now!

Thank you, Spirit, for coming to my aid and helping me attain the full measure of my creation. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you and praise God [as above] from whom all blessings flow.

Step 3: Feel Great!

Let us know how this goes, or contact us with questions.

Posted in Emotional Healing, Healing, Holism, Meditations, Rolfing & Buddhism, San Francisco | No Comments »

25 Holistic Actions to Help You Keep It Together

Monday, December 7th, 2009
portaledge 2

Rock Climber Relaxes on the Edge

1. Before you start something, ask yourself why you are doing it.

2. Bring your mind to zero (this is difficult-try resting in the space at the end of your in or out-breath).

3. Finish what you start, but break projects up into bite-sized steps. Make sure that you finish one step before going on to the next.

4.Keep it simple.  Ascribe one action-step per goal. Complete the action. Repeat.

5. Be patient. Sometimes you need to stop or move backwards to move forward.

6. Find support for yourself and your endeavors.

7. Act from the position of being supported.

8. If you don’t have support—somewhere—don’t act.

9. Be flexible. Adapt to your circumstances; make relationship with your environment.

10. Give when you need to give, receive when you need to receive.

11. Don’t hold grudges.

12. Don’t suppress pain if you can help it. The more you can allow pain to exist the more quickly it will pass. Nothing lasts forever. If after a while the pain gets worse, call somebody for help.

13. Feel pleasure, but let it pass too. Nothing lasts forever.

14. Recognize your limits.

15. Recognize your possibilities.

16. If you feel lost, ask: Where do I start?

17. If you have started something and feel lost, ask: What do I do next?

18. If you are doing something but don’t know how to stop, ask: How do I know when I’m done?

19. Pay attention to mundane details-give your love to everything.

20. To rest and feel refreshed take ten seconds & completely forget everything (this one is difficult).

21. Dream, but do it with laser specificity.

22. See the connections between everything in your life—after all, it’s all you.

23. If you feel lost, be still and quiet, ask for a direction, listen and wait for the answer—it usually comes, but it may not be what you expect. Trust it; at least give it spacious consideration.

24. You exist together in One World with everything. There is no escape from this One World.

25. You always have the support you need within yourself. If you can’t find this support, find someone who will help connect you with it: call your local Rolfer—if s/he’s busy, see your local Zen master!

Posted in Holism, Massage, Meditations, Rolfing & Buddhism | No Comments »

Rolfing Touch at the San Francisco School of Massage

Friday, November 27th, 2009

This Thanksgiving, reflecting on some of the things I am thankful for I realize that I am greatly honored to have been able to assistant teach with Certified Advanced Rolfer® and world-renowned deep tissue massage specialist Art Riggs at the San Francisco School of Massage. Over the past two weekends I spent three days with some of the most positive, inspired, curious, passionate and dedicated San Francisco body-workers that I have ever met.

Helping them to refine their touch, one of the things I learned is that the standpoint you take as a practitioner will have a big effect on your client, as well as your ability to work.

Rolfing Touch

To teach Rolfing  touch as I was taught it by my mentor Dr. Jeffrey Maitland is to teach how to contact a person in such a way that both client and practitioner disappear into a singular fundamental reality and reappear changed. It is a unique kind of touch deeply informed by phenomenological philosophy and Zen Buddhism. What was exciting to see these past two weekends at the San Francisco School of Massage is that this profound way of contacting a person can easily be taught.

A Personal Account:

This personal account from CMT Frank Lopez explains more than I can say:

“I am indebted to you for teaching me a different, gentler means of penetrating the body for deeper work. I accept rather easily the clearly mechanical means of making adjustments: in this case, to rib alignment. That you were able to help me follow the subtle movements of the body to satisfactory resolution of a compromised rib really blew me away. It did, in fact, require me to take a leap of faith. That I have been able to replicate this approach on my own has really had an effect on me: it has altered my approach to massage. So, again, thanks for helping me see this option to working with the person on my table.

Last night I did back-to-back massages of nearly 2 hours each. And through a fair portion of the massage I just let my hands follow the body. I felt to some degree like I was just along for the ride as knot after knot melted to my touch, ribs settled themselves into place and vertebrae gently eased into more natural positions. What’s more, I was able to “work” those longer sessions last night because I felt no fatigue due to this new approach.”

Mirror Neurons, The Physiological Explanation

There are actual physiological explanations for the effectiveness of this kind of touch, especially as explained by the recently discovered function of mirror neurons. But that is more than I have time to go into now. (For more information about Mirror Neurons, either send us a request with your email address and we’ll hook you up with some terrific links, or stay tuned, as this will be a topic that we treat in great depth in an upcoming blog).

San Francisco Tutorials

Also, many of the students at the San Francisco School of Massage were interested in having more practice with this way of doing massage, so we are now providing two-hour tutorials for up to 4 people. If you would like more guided instruction or want to learn more about what goes into this kind of touch, feel free to give us a call. We will also keep you updated about upcoming tutorials and other events.

Learning a profound way of touch is an opportunity for you and your clients to be greatly transformed. Introducing Rolfing touch to your practice will most likely bring a lot more enjoyment and ease into your hands, body, and life.

Posted in Massage, Rolfing & Buddhism, Rolfing Touch, San Francisco, Teaching | 2 Comments »

The Purpose and Essence of Rolfing

Friday, November 13th, 2009

After studying philosophy, living in poverty, and starving himself on one grain of rice per day, the Buddha decided to stop. He gave up on all of the traditional rules about how to get enlightened, took a forbidden bath in the nearby river and was scandalously given milk by a young woman who saw and felt sorry for him. After that, he began to think of a way to forget all of the teachings that he had accumulated in his wanderings in an effort to find some unspoiled ground to begin his spiritual efforts anew.

What the legend tells us is that as he contemplated this unspoiled ground, he remembered sitting contentedly as a child in the shade of a palm tree, happy without cause, sinking deeper and deeper into his contentedness, losing all trace of time and worry. It was this memory that gave him the idea to sit under a tree, without austerities and punitive practices, just as he had in childhood. Thus he began the contemplation that would bring him to enlightenment.

I like this story because it speaks to my own experience. My memory is of sitting in a room with Sanguran cloth wallpaper, redwood shutters and our first color-TV. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. It was summer. The light outside was soft and forgiving. I was twelve and I had just finished reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. I had been told the story of the Buddha: how he had contemplated the “twelve link chain of causation” and become enlightened.

Having just finished the book I found myself in a state of very deep peace, and in the midst of that peace I tried to imagine what the Buddha must have been contemplating that led to his enlightenment. I remember getting as far as visualizing a chain when, like a secret river, a voice bubbled up that has not left me since.

When I contemplate this moment and this voice, even now, I am filled with love. I forget about the people that I’m angry at, my worries about the future. All of those things simply do not exist. In fact, I do not exist. There is no source, no voice, no “I”. And afterward, there is a sense of order, clarity and peace about the world.

Eventually I entered high-school and then college. I became utterly confused chasing philosophy. I ignored this voice and its source and found myself in pain.

I’m sharing this story because Rolfing as I see it is a way to bring you back to your voice. You have a voice that you know is you. You know when you’re connected to it and when you’re not. When you’re connected, life flows and you have a greater capacity for love; you embody more patience and compassion. When you’ve lost your connection, life sucks. It is dark and scarce. The Rolfing equivalent of this inner-voice is called the Line.

The Line

The Line is your fountain of youth. You can live from it. You can feel it, but you cannot see it. You can manifest it, or not. It gets obscured by going for other things in the way that I went for philosophy, but it can also be recovered, cleaned up and maintained.

The Line is not anatomical, but it effects your anatomy and your anatomy effects it. If you have ever felt really lost or adrift, the chances are—in Rolfing language—that you have lost your Line. If you are having one chronic pain pile up on top of another, there’s a good chance that you’ve lost your Line. If you keep injuring yourself, the chances are that you’re off your Line.

The Line is like a hinge for the door through which your being travels between the manifest and the un-manifest. You want the hinges oiled and working so that they don’t make a lot of noise when you enter and leave the world, or so that you don’t get stuck on one side.

The Line gets obscured in many ways: intense sports injuries, whiplash, breaks, sprains, poor nutrition and toxins in our environment. It is a vital piece of energetic health, fundamental to your well-being on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.

Of course there are things that you can do to maintain the health of your line: meditation, yoga, live a happy vibrant life, spiritual practice, eat properly. But sometimes the Line is buried beneath so much emotional, mental, physical or spiritual stuff that it needs extra help.

Of course Rolfing can help you to get rid of aches and pain. But in the simplest terms, the purpose and essence of Rolfing® structural integration is to help you get back on-line.

Posted in Favorites, Healing, Holism, Rolfing & Buddhism, San Francisco | No Comments »

Signs of Her Manifest Peace

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

She arrives. She is in a foul mood. She huffs and puffs about her husband, criticizes my flowers, her children, the government. She says that she feels “pretty much the same,” but different—good different, she says, “I think it’s doing something.” But she doesn’t know what the “something” is. Her arm hurts: “Work on my arm,” she says. She still suffers Plantar Fasciitis. Her lower legs are pale and tight and full of sadness. A scan reveals energetic blockages in her shin. A book on the shelf says the shin is related to issues of not being true to one’s values or ideals. She says that she is not sure what her values or ideals are. Do I loosen the tissue in her calves and relieve the strained nerves in her foot? Do I talk with her about her values and ideals? Do I do both of these things? Neither? Maybe all that she needs is for me to hold the points in her energy field that connect her with her source. We talk. Now I am “pushing her buttons.” The room is charged and dark like a pre-tornado sky. I move to her head and cradle it. The storm breaks up in parts. She is coming back to herself. Her Self is coming back to her. I have worked on her feet before and the Plantar Fasciitis left—for a while. But it’s back. I believe that there are other issues. This is a science and an art. She is together with Buddha, with the cosmos. My job is to remove the obstacles that obscure this alignment, this flow. That is the art part. The pain in her foot comes from inflamed nerves, made worse by fascial strains. The pain can be relieved. That is the science part. Holistic therapy is art and science. So I ask myself, why does her pain come back-what is the cause: emotional, spiritual, mental, physical? What is the best way to treat her? The session is over now. There is relief. Her arm feels much better. She is radiant, but not at peace. I can help, I can support, but she has work to do—we all have our work to do. I will use whatever I can to help her: from Rolfing to meditation instruction to referring her out. But it is too early to know. There is progress, and there are signs of her manifest peace.

Posted in Rolfing & Buddhism | No Comments »

“That’s It!”

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

In ancient India, people called shramanas wandered the countryside selling medicines and wares. They were respected for their deep knowledge, full of wisdom and lore. At one time prince Siddhartha, before he became the Buddha, was in agony because his mother had died. He missed her and could not overcome his grief. Thus he approached the shramana who told Siddhartha that the only solution was for Siddhartha to love his dead mother with his Whole Body. At once the Buddha-to-be slapped his knee, sat upright and—overjoyed—cried, “That’s it!” The shramana predicted that the young prince would become a great teacher and then disappeared into the band of travelling merchants from which he had come.

In the Zen I study, the word for “Whole-Body” is zenshin. We are told, as the Buddha was, to practice with our whole body, and that such practice is the path to true contentment, to freedom—not just from our aches and pains—but also from our deepest suffering. There are many theories about how to go about such a practice and why it works. As I see it, the goal of Rolfing is not only to alleviate aches and pain, but also to give people a glimpse of the flow and lightness that are possible when we realize that our center of gravity and the cosmos’s center of gravity are the same, that fundamentally there is nothing that we lack; and from this standpoint, to heal.

Posted in Rolfing & Buddhism | 1 Comment »


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