Direct Release Myofascial Technique with Michael Stanborough

These Dvds guide the viewer to a thorough understanding of how to effectively engage and release myofasciae throughout the entire body. Use the Dvds to become a skilled and proficient practitioner with a better sense of depth, pace and intensity than the book alone can provide.

The set was written with the intention of bringing basic Rolfing or Structural Integration (SI) techniques to the massage therapy community. This is advanced bodywork and is not intended to be the sort of superficial massage lovers give each other as part of a romantic evening. The intent of myofascial work is to create lasting change in the client. While Riggs goes into techniques, there are things that are fundamental to SI work that he doesn't specifically mention that are important.

The body structure of a person doing deeper bodywork directly impacts the person they are working on. This cannot be emphasized enough. The work is not just about a series of techniques as it requires a great deal of sensitivity to be done properly. The work is an art. If a person lacks an inner awareness of their own body, the also will fail to fully tune in to and connect with the client's body on whom they are working. Any good Rolfer or SI practitioner will make a concerted effort at maintaining their own optimal structural and emotional health. It is basic to doing the work.

There are a couple of requirements for people entering Rolfing training that do matter. One is that the student receives both the basic and advanced Rolfing sessions. The other was in effect in Ida Rolf's day, but has since unfortunately been ignored and was that the student of Rolfing be emotionally healthy. The latter, while important, I suspect was let slide within Rolfing education due to its potential for limiting paying students if it was fully enforced. Consequently there are some very emotionally blocked and rigid Rolfers practicing who do a disservice to their clients and to the profession.

Hellerwork Structural Integration was founded as an offshoot of Rolfing partly to address the lack of integration between the more physical aspects of SI and the emotional and psychological aspects of bodywork as well as to more educate clients on the everyday use of their bodies (movement education). My Charles Kelley torrent also is a response to the need for more integration between Rolfing and somatic psychology. The perceived lack of integration between SI and somatic psychology has been raised by some leading practitioners within the SI profession and I have made some effort to further aid in that integration.
Besides simply going through the largely passive process of being Rolfed, there is also movement education that is a fundamental part of maintaining the changes the bodywork has started. There is a free client handbook available at the Hellerwork website that may be of use.

There are also assorted books put out by Rolfers and SI people including New Rules of Posture, by Mary Bond and How Life Moves, by Caryn McHose. Both of these involve movement education which is fundamental to maintaining the benefits of Rolfing. There is also some material by Anita Boser and by Dan Bienenfeld that I haven't read.

Yoga is also an excellent way to enhance self-awareness and was viewed favorably by Ida Rolf, the founder of Rolfing (Rolfing had its roots in yoga and osteopathic). Other bodymind modalities of interest are Cranio-Sacral therapy, Feldenkrais Method, and Pilates. Tai Chi is also good as are many meditation techniques. There are a couple Rolfers I know who do meditation regularly.

While I do believe that learning should not just be the privilege of the rich, I also am bypassing some of the safeguards to the information that are maintained by the formal SI and Rolfing instruction centers. Doing a lot of deeper tissue work can be harmful for a person not properly built for doing the work. Doing the work without a good understanding of the material, a good inner sensitivity and sound personal body structure can be potentially harmful to the person receiving the work as well. The Trail Guide to the Body is an excellent book for learning basic anatomy. The Riggs videos rely on a fair amount of technical language and an understanding of anatomy is essential.
I have uploaded a series of videos and other material related to SI besides just this one, including the Tom Myers Anatomy Trains videos, the Anatomy Trains software, and Bodyreading 101, all under the
name of ToadOne Torrents or ToadOne_Torrents. While the Riggs set is mostly about techniques, Thomas Myers has a couple of video sets available on understanding body structure. The material complements the Riggs series. Both Art Riggs and Tom Myers are Advanced Rolfers and both are well respected within the SI community. Still further Rolfing/SI techniques are covered by the Michael Stanborough video series. Stanborough covers material that the other two leave out or are unwilling to discuss in the somewhat more basic videos. There is a quote from Riggs on the first listed web link, "A stroke can be an empty gesture without good intention." The quote has been picked up elsewhere as well. You need a reason to do what you are doing, rather than just randomly mucking around in someone's body. The Myers videos that I have uploaded on the bay are designed to give a broader understanding of the body's structure and the interrelatedness of the fascia. The Myers video series are important to anyone wanting to more fully understand what this work is about.

While Art Riggs discusses Rolfing type work here, the techniques without specifically being applied to align the body in gravity cannot be considered Rolfing.

If what you are just looking for is a pleasant, feel-good massage with also some health benefits, may I suggest Tui-na or Shiatsu rather than this material.

Novices can benefit from the videos here, but it is mainly for more seasoned bodyworkers or those who are on a serious quest for greater bodywork skills. Improperly used, the techniques can cause harm as well as good.

The material here is partially some basic Rolfing/SI information presented by a massage therapy instructor and certified Advanced Rolfer that has been sanitized to be suitable for the massage therapy community and should not be considered to be all there is to the Rolfing/SI profession.

While videos are a nice way to augment a person’s understanding, they are in no way a substitute for a full course in Structural Integration from one of the main schools in SI.

Other related torrents to be uploaded later in 09 are Bodyreading 101 and the Anatomy Trains series, both by Tom Myers.

Keep your heart in the work!

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Enjoy!

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