Discover the Benefits of A Holistic Approach

In Gurdjieff's system of conscious development, known as The 4th Way, there are two distinct aspects of a person that everyone has: an innate or essential self and another that forms due to life experiences, family, and society. The first is referred to as Essence, and the latter as Personality. Upon reflection, many would agree that we often aren't our true selves around others, but when alone or with someone very close, we can lower our defenses and experience a more genuin

We live in a busy world, and most of us hesitate to take time for ourselves outside of one or two vacations a year. I am sure most of us could use more money as well, but time tends to be an even scarcer resource. We live in a temporally impoverished society, at least that is how we experience the passage of time, but our relationship to time is subjective.

Talking with clients about self-awareness in daily life is a position I often find myself in. We can create structural changes through manual therapy like myofascial work and simple movement exercises, but real transformation happens when the individual's entire system is engaged. True change occurs when we gain moments of freedom by escaping habitual ways of standing, sitting, and moving. If a person is too set in these patterns, it becomes more difficult to achieve meaningf

This book by P.D. Ouspensky is an invaluable source for studying and understanding the mystical and developmental ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff. Originally and probably better titled "Fragments of an Unknown Teaching" this book was Ouspensky's account of meeting Gurdjieff and becoming part of a group he began teaching in Tsarist Russia, the dissemination and development of his ideas, and their eventual escape from their war torn Bolshevik home.

Gurdjieff emphasized working with the sensation of the body when trying to be present to the mind and emotions. This is known as Remembering Yourself. In addition, one is to practice self observation, without analysis, while trying to cultivate an impartial view of oneself, and working with the body is an important practice to actualize this.

The system that Gurdjieff brought to the west revolves around the development of consciousness through aligning the mind, body and emotion. He explains that most spiritual paths typically only focus on one of these aspects, but the teaching he refers to as "The Fourth Way" focuses on all three simultaneously.

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published May 4th, 2023 When we think of self improvement we often think of increasing desirable qualities. If we go to the gym we probably want to get stronger, more fit, and increase stamina. In doing so our aim is to get healthier, to increase health and fitness. One may read to increase knowledge, practice music to become a better musician, and may go to church to gain a better sense of community in order to become

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published April 4th, 2022 "You may take this for truth, that when a free mind is really disinterested, God is compelled to come into it; and if it could get along without contingent forms, it would have all the properties of God himself" Meister Eckhart In my Rolfing practice the topic of non-attachment often comes up. This is probably because it is part of my own path of development, but also because I see attachment as

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published April 2nd, 2022 I would like to take a moment to address the topic of meditation, as awareness is key to the transformative effects of Rolfing for both the practitioner and the client. It is by no means necessary that the Rolfer or client take up a meditation practice for success with the process, but it is very helpful in fostering and new and deeper awareness with the body, with movement and even with percepti

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published August 6th, 2021 In a process like Rolfing where we take clients through a somatic experience of themselves I am often at a loss for how to explain ideas like attention, sensation, and awareness. I can throw these terms out there easy enough, but the fact is there are meditative traditions that can make real experience of these things more meaningful. Through practices like meditation and mindfulness, a person

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published February 27th, 2021 So we have gone through a full basic series, addressed restrictions, strain patterns, and habits. We have worked with muscle and connective tissue, joints, movement, and helped an individual redefine their posture and relationship to gravity. Until that time, at least from the Rolfer's point of view, the path was somewhat clear. Certain things need to be addressed before other things, just

Written by John A. Wilson, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Published June 28th, 2020 We all want to do better in life, and that includes our own health and well being. We want to push ourselves to achieve our goals. Everyone knows there needs to be friction to create a fire, but what we overlook is that there also needs to be enough space for the fire to breathe or the flame will extinguished. In terms of or health and performance, both in everyday activities and with exercise,