Many people come to see a Rolfer because they have something "wrong" with them. They have aches, pains, injuries, etc. This is to be expected, and Rolfers can work directly with injuries and problems if they are not too acute. This being said, when people come in primarily for attention to symptoms, this is an illustration that they don't know what Rolfing is. That's OK though, most people don't, and I admit that I really did not when I started my training. It is because of this every Rolfer must become an educator, and this does not come easy to many, but if something leads a person into our office, then this is a chance to explain.
Any ache, pain, injury, or restriction is probably caused and sustained by a matrix of conditions that may be nearly imperceptible. If there was an initial event that caused an injury, i.e. an ankle sprain, then one should ask what previous conditions led to this being possible in the first place. How many times has a person twisted their ankle and not sprained it? Is the reason they sprained their ankle because their ankle was already unstable in the first place? Is it because their ankle or their arches lack flexibility so that they are walking in a way that puts unnecessary strain on their ankle? Is it because their hips are tight, and their legs are held in outward (lateral) in rotation? Is it because their neck, shoulders, and occipital region are tight, locked up, and they lack the propriception that they need to adequately feel where they are in space as they move around? Is the problem that they sprained their ankle, or is the problem the relationship they have with their ankle?
We experience symptoms and are more likely to injure ourselves when we have a lack of harmony going on, both without and within. When our parts are working together with a greater harmony, we function with greater ease, greater efficiency. Likewise, we are more likely to be able to "correct" imbalances when the great whole is in balance. Harmony is the result of better alignment with posture in relationship to gravity, at least structurally speaking. Adapting to the environment through maintaining right harmony and alignment in motion is how we gain harmony and ease in motion. Rolfing aims at bringing together a greater harmony of balance and function, in which problems can start to sort themselves out. This is to bring together a more dynamic yet stable functioning of the whole, a higher degree of order, rather than simply restoring a person back to what they were at some better time. We are searching for a greater harmony rather than getting hung up on the results of the disharmony.
Rolfing is a holistic approach. For more information on holism vs reductionism check out this video: Holism and Reductionism