Introduction
I will be participating in the “Advanced Rolfing” training in Tokyo starting in April 2025. The Advanced Rolfing training is for certified Rolfers who have been providing sessions for three to seven years and have completed 18 credits of continuing training. For your reference, one credit is one day of training.
Ray McCall from the U.S. and Hiroyoshi Tahata from Japan will lead this year’s training. I had been learning from the European Rolfing Association centered in Munich, but this will be the first time I learn from these two Rolfers. I am expecting to see Rolfing from a different perspective.
Upon successful completion of the training, I will be certified as an Advanced Rolfer. In this column, I would like to introduce the process of receiving the Advanced Rolfing training.
Received 10 Rolfing sessions from Akinori Ito
My “encounter” with Rolfing goes back to December 2013, when I met Akinori Ito, a Rolfer at THE CIRCLE, on December 23. I instantly got interested and started taking 10 Rolfing sessions with him on December 29 in Ebisu.
During the sessions, I intuitively felt that I wanted to become certified in Rolfing, and I left my job at a pharmaceutical company at the end of May 2014.
Certified Rolfer in Munich — June 2015, started working @ Shibuya
While traveling around the world, I attended a Rolfing training in Germany, which was held from August 2014. After becoming a certified Rolfer in March 2015, I opened my session room in Shibuya, Tokyo on June 1, 2015.
In 10 years, I have moved 4 times, working in a total of 5 locations: 3 in Sakuragaoka, Shibuya (Cherry Garden for 2 years, Porte Bonheur Sakuragaoka for 2 years, Le Gardenia for 2 years), 1 in Ebisu (Grace Daikanyama for 3 years and 9 months), and 1 in Tsunashima (2 years).
Along with providing sessions, Rolfers need to take continuing training. Therefore, besides offering private sessions, I attended continuing training courses in Germany, France, the UK, the US, and Japan (I have written about these in detail in “Continuing Education After Rolfing Certification — The 18-Credit Framework and a Map of the Teachers“).
Suspending Sessions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic forced me to interrupt my Rolfing sessions. The funds I had set aside for the Advanced Rolfing training ran out, and I had to temporarily suspend my continuing training as well.
It was not until July 2024, when I began accepting work on a contract basis, that I was able to raise the funds to attend the Advanced Rolfing training. Due to my work schedule, I could not leave Tokyo, so I decided to take the Advanced Rolfing training in Japan instead of taking it overseas (Germany and the U.S.).
I was told that the training would be conducted by members with a rich international background, including the US and Europe. I hope to learn step by step while having fun interacting with other certified Rolfers.