Introduction
Since June 2015, I have offered Rolfing sessions. By approaching the “fascia,” the body’s posture becomes organized, and the body’s movement, too, improves in linkage with it. This time, I’d like to introduce the testimonial of the third session of Rolfing.
The Third Session Organizes the “Front-Back Balance” — A Change in Spatial Recognition
In the first session, “breathing” (the upper body) could be organized. In the second, the soles of the feet (the lower body) were organized. Entering the third, the two dimensions (upper body, lower body) are further expanded, and the session is done paying attention to three dimensions (front-back, space).
This connects to a place of grasping the body anew in three dimensions, and brings a large change to the body.
The human being values, as personal space, the space that widens by extending the hands and feet. Why is securing personal space important? When placed in the external environment, unless it is grasped how the brain is moving through space, it becomes impossible to respond to unforeseen situations (e.g., a car or bus approaching, a person coming closer).
Furthermore, when personal space comes to be grasped three-dimensionally, space can be read deeply, changes appear in human relationships, and “to what degree to take distance from others and distance from space?” becomes clear.
Conversely, when this sense is weak, perhaps because of “not knowing where the self stands” and “not knowing where others stand,” the possibility of “connecting to non-social behavior” also rises.
The Front-Back Balance — Where to Approach?
In order to organize the front-back balance, the third session of Rolfing pays attention to three places: the shoulders and arms, the spine, and the thighs.
Both the shoulders and the arms are on the side surface of the body, which is the boundary of the “front-back balance,” and they bear an important role in organizing the body’s front-back balance.
For example, when “walking,” the arms swing; this is to cope so that the front-back balance does not become unstable in the midst of “walking.”
Furthermore, the spine makes curves — the cervical vertebrae, the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar vertebrae, and the sacrum — but there are many cases in which those curves are broken down by the tension of the fascia.
To organize the front-back balance is also to organize the curves. Through this, it connects, as a result, to the reduction of low-back pain.
The Change in BEFORE and AFTER
In the session of the pharmacist Mr. Tasuku Suzuki, centering on the shoulders and arms, the spine, and the pelvis, I approached the “fascia” while being aware of the connection between the upper body and the lower body. When the front-back balance is organized, it can be understood from the photos below that, whereas he was slightly slouched before the treatment (BEFORE), after the treatment (AFTER) the spine lengthened, and the chest was open without forcing it.
This time, Mr. Suzuki gave the impression that, compared with the first two, he did not feel that much change, and stated that the sensation of his feet became strong and that he came to feel the sensation of his feet sweating more strongly. Personally, I speculate that, regarding the front-back balance, the posture is probably not as broken down as with the up-down balance.
Afterward, he shared the impression that it felt as if he’d grown taller.
Conclusion
This time, I introduced, centering on Mr. Suzuki’s testimonial.
I hope this post is of some help.