Introduction
My name is Hidefumi Otsuka, and I offer Rolfing® sessions based in Shibuya.
Through working with the body on a daily basis, I support a state in which thinking, feeling, and bodily sensation (hara / tanden) naturally come together into a single, unified form of judgment.
When working in the field of bodywork, one begins to notice something.
Human experience appears to be divided into
- thinking
- emotion
- bodily sensation
but in reality, it unfolds as a single continuous process.
In Rolfing sessions, the moment fascial tension is released, emotions can suddenly arise.
Some people begin to cry.
Others feel anger that they have suppressed for a long time.
Still others experience a deep sense of relief or stillness.
These phenomena are not accidental.
They occur because human emotion and consciousness are deeply connected to the state of the body.
Emotions Arise from the Body
Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio explains emotion as follows:
Emotion is not merely a psychological event, but a physiological process accompanied by changes in bodily states.
For example, when anger arises, the body undergoes changes such as:
- increased heart rate
- faster breathing
- muscle tension
When the brain perceives these bodily changes, we experience them as “anger.”
In other words, there is a sequence:
bodily response → perception of emotion
Feeling Is Consciousness
A particularly compelling theory in recent years has been proposed by neuropsychologist Mark Solms.
Solms states:
“Feeling is consciousness.”
We tend to assume that consciousness equals thinking.
However, according to Solms, the most fundamental form of consciousness is feeling—sensations that arise from the body.
For example:
- hunger
- pain
- anxiety
- safety
These bodily sensations form the foundation of consciousness. In other words, we are conscious because we feel.
The Problem Is Not Emotion, but Resistance to Emotion
Here lies a crucial point.
Many people believe that emotions themselves—such as:
- anger
- sadness
- fear
are the problem.
In reality, the problem is not the emotion, but resistance to the emotion.
For example:
- If we try not to feel fear of failure, we begin to choose only safe options.
- If we suppress anger to avoid conflict, we continue to conform to others.
- If we avoid sadness, the heart gradually becomes numb.
When we try to avoid emotion, its energy does not disappear.
Instead, it remains in the body as tension.
Resistance to Emotion Appears in the Body
In bodywork, this becomes very clear.
For example:
- shallow breathing
- a rigid chest
- tension in the neck and jaw
- a hardened abdomen
These patterns are not simply muscular issues.
They may contain resistance to emotions that were not fully felt.
The body holds what could not be felt—as tension.
Overthinking as Disembodied Thinking
The commonly discussed phenomenon of “overthinking” can also be understood from this perspective.
In many cases, overthinking is an attempt to process unfelt emotions through thought.
When emotions such as:
- anger
- sadness
- fear
cannot be felt through the body, the brain tries to resolve them through thinking.
But emotion is fundamentally a process that moves through the body.
It cannot be fully processed by thought alone.
Why Bodywork Touches Consciousness
Here, the meaning of bodywork becomes clear.
In Rolfing, we work with:
- the relationship to gravity
- breathing
- patterns of fascial tension
As the state of the body changes, the activity of the nervous system also changes.
As a result, feeling changes.
According to Solms’ theory, if feeling changes, consciousness itself changes.
In this sense, Rolfing can be understood as a process of transforming consciousness through the body.
Conclusion
What I have come to feel through Rolfing sessions is this:
Human experience is not divided into
- thinking
- emotion
- bodily sensation
but is originally a single integrated flow.
When the body becomes organized:
- breathing changes
- the nervous system settles
- the way of feeling changes
And at that moment:
- thinking
- feeling
- bodily sensation
naturally come into alignment.
The work of Rolfing, I believe, is to create a space in which—through the body—
resistance to emotion dissolves, and consciousness becomes integrated.