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 as the foundation of a house needs to be good before other things can be built over it. But now we are done with the series the path becomes a sprawling valley. What happens next?
Upon successful completion of a basic Rolfing series we are hoping the client has more support, can sit, stand and move with greater ease, has a better sense of where they are in space. Hopefully, things are pretty good, if not great. There will always be issues though, and some of these issues can be addressed through post 10 series work or even an advanced series. Because we have spent so much time in the past separating muscle and connective tissue that has been glued together by use, and helping one get stacked better in gravity, we can now focus on deeper and more specific issues, some of which take a great deal more time to address. One of the major issues we address in advanced work is joint/ligament articulation.
Ligaments are known as the masters of the joints. Unlike tendons, they lengthen to allow greater movement only very slowly. They, along with the shape of the bones in the joint, control how the joint moves and does not move. Ligaments can become overly short or they can become wrapped and coiled up, restricting the proper movement of a joint. In order to allow the joint to sit and move more comfortably, they must be slowly lengthened and allowed to uncoil. After this is done they can shorten back to what ever length they need to in order to provide more support. Ligament work takes more time than muscle, connective tissue, or even tendon work, but as we feel like we have covered the basics in the 10 series, now detail work is more available.
An advanced series is typically done in 5 sessions, it could be more than that, it could be less, it depends on what the client wants and what is needed. In addition to ligament work, there is still muscle and connective tissue, tendon and spinal mechanics as well as movement education, just like there was in the basic series, but now we can slow down and really focus on what is most important at the moment. If there is a problem with one arm, we might spend the whole session on that arm, or whatever seems to be the most significant issue at the moment. Through the series we are looking to address a few primary issues, help build more support, develop a better relationship between the muscles of action, the muscles of posture and the spine, as well as allow movement to course through the body with less restriction. All this and to integrate our work at the end.
A Rolfing series need not necessarily be any certain number of sessions, but the fact that we are approaching it as a series means that there are unfinished projects until we are done with it. Even with a series, we may get to the end and feel that there are unfinished projects and need to add another session or two. We may sometimes feel that it would be best to go into an advanced series directly after a basic series if there are still some major unresolved issues, but usually it is best to wrap things up and see what happens. After a basic series an advanced series can be done any time, and after that maintenance work can be done anytime as well, but is usually a good idea after completing a series to give people a little space and see what happens. This is really about seeing what the body's natural intelligence does, something more sophisticated than what you or I probably understand. Ida Rolf once said that "gravity is the teacher" but I believe the body's own innate since of balance is the student. So, lets get into the classroom again and start some advanced work!