Introduction
Hello, this is Hidefumi Otsuka, offering Rolfing sessions in Shibuya, Tokyo.
In the field of Rolfing and bodywork, one persistent question is: “What is this person seeking by coming here now?” Yet behind this question lies a deeper layer — the unconscious “paradigms” or assumptions that bodyworkers, coaches, and others engaged in interpersonal support often operate from.
In Phase 2 of the Advanced Training (AT) currently being held in Ichigaya, Tokyo, organized by the Japanese Rolfing Association, one of the instructors, Ray McCall, introduced the perspective of the “Three Paradigms.”
These paradigms were proposed by Jeff Maitland, an American philosopher and Rolfer, in his book Embodied Being: The Philosophical Roots of Manual Therapy. He presents three distinct paradigms within the field of bodywork.
The Three Paradigms: Relaxation, Corrective, Holistic
Maitland’s three paradigms are based on fundamentally different assumptions about how we view and intervene with the body.
1 | The Relaxation Paradigm
“Its goal is to promote healing by relaxing the client.”
In this paradigm, the focus is on relieving tension and inducing a state of relaxation in both body and mind. Aromatherapy and relaxation massage are typical examples. This paradigm is widely accepted as a common gateway into healing practices.
However, Maitland points out that this approach has limited access to deeper distortions or dysfunctions within the body. While it may bring surface-level relief, it does not typically result in structural or functional transformation.
Indeed, during the Advanced Training, in a spatial awareness exercise involving “opening and closing the eye of the foot” relaxation certainly occurred — but it functioned merely as an entry point to deeper bodily responses and shifts in relationship with space.
2 | The Corrective Paradigm
“Corrective practices treat the symptoms. It rests upon a mechanomorphic theory.”
This paradigm views the body like a machine and focuses primarily on fixing symptoms and realigning deviations. Much of modern medicine and physical therapy operates within this framework.
While relaxation techniques may be incorporated, Maitland cautions:
“Corrective practitioners tend to overlook how well or poorly the whole body responds to injury or their intervention.”
In other words, the practitioner often neglects the body’s overall response — how the whole system reacts to injury or therapeutic input. If the perspective lacks awareness of how a part relates to the whole, the resulting change may be superficial or limited.
3 | The Holistic Paradigm
“Its goal is integration, harmony, order and the enhancement of function for the whole person.”
This is the deepest level of approach. The body is no longer seen as a collection of parts but as an interwoven web of relationships. The purpose of intervention is to restore order and harmony — not just locally, but systemically.
The key concept here is “order.”
Here is a table summarizing Jeff Maitland’s “Three Paradigms”.
| Paradigm | Primary Goal | View of the Body / Assumptions | Representative Approaches | Maitland’s Critique / Limitation | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relaxation Paradigm | To promote healing by relaxing the client | The body is seen as something to be softened; focus is on surface-level tension and stress relief | Aromatherapy, relaxation massage, spa treatments | Does not address deeper structural or functional dysfunction; only accesses superficial levels | Relaxation, stress relief, gateway |
| Corrective Paradigm | To correct dysfunctions and symptoms; restore proper function | The body is treated like a machine; localized interventions aimed at “fixing” problems | Physical therapy, chiropractic, biomechanical adjustment | Often overlooks how the whole body responds to intervention; limited to parts, not the system | Correction, symptom-focused, mechanical view |
| Holistic Paradigm | Integration, harmony, order, and enhancement of whole-person function | The body is a web of interrelated systems; each part reflects and affects the whole | Rolfing®, craniosacral therapy, energy work, somatic integration | Aims to reintegrate “order-thwarters” (injuries, tensions, patterns) into the wholeness of the body and environment | Integration, order, relationship, wholeness, reintegration |
Merleau-Ponty’s “Order” and the Holistic Paradigm
Maitland deepens this notion of order by citing the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty:
“In a soap bubble as in an organism, what happens at each point is determined by what happens at all others, but this is the definition of order.”
If a change occurs in one part of a bubble, it ripples across the entire structure. Likewise, in a living organism, a local change depends on and influences the whole. This view is at the heart of holistic intervention.
Maitland elaborates further:
“Holistic interventions aim at bringing the order-thwarter back into appropriate relationship with the whole, including the environment.”
That which disrupts the body’s order — be it trauma, chronic tension, or outdated patterns — must be reintegrated into the wholeness of the body and its relationship to the environment. This reintegration is the essence of holistic practice.
Paradigms as a Hierarchy and Causal Sequence
In the Advanced Training, the three paradigms were also presented as a hierarchical model of causality:
- First Paradigm (Relaxation): Releasing tension and inducing relaxation
- Second Paradigm (Corrective): Intervening with specific issues or symptoms
- Third Paradigm (Holistic): Reorganizing the system’s order and relational integrity
What’s important is that interventions from the deepest level (third paradigm) will naturally influence the upper layers (second and first). In other words, holistic work may also yield symptom relief or relaxation as byproducts — but these effects emerge within a larger systemic transformation.
Conclusion
These three paradigms are not just conceptual categories.
They point toward more foundational questions about how we perceive, how we inquire, and how we relate to the body. In short, they are deeply tied to our way of being as practitioners.
- “I want to release fatigue” → Relaxation
- “I want to fix the pain” → Corrective
- “Why has this pattern formed in the first place?” → Holistic
To touch the body is to listen for order, perceive relationships, and tune the resonance of the whole. Holding this perspective has the potential to transform the very quality of a session.
The body speaks. How do we choose to listen?
Our listening — that attitude and presence — is what ultimately determines the depth and quality of bodywork.