“I received Rolfing and my body changed. I want to become a Rolfer myself.” “I want to make bodywork my profession — but how does one actually study Rolfing?” For those who hold questions like these, this article lays out the full picture of the path to Rolfer certification.
What you’ll learn from this article: the differences among the organizations to become a Rolfer (DIRI, ERA, ABR), the content and length of Basic Training, the conditions for continuing education, and the path to Advanced Rolfer certification — all explained from the perspective of a Rolfer who actually trained with the ERA and earned Advanced certification in Japan.
The Certifying Bodies for Becoming a Rolfer
There are three main international bodies that certify the Rolfing credential.
DIRI (Dr. Ida Rolf Institute) is based in Boulder, Colorado, in the United States, and is the direct lineage of the Rolfing association founded by Ida Rolf. Its training is structured in three stages: Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3. It operates primarily in the United States, and the Japan Rolfing Association (rolfing.or.jp) partners with the DIRI to hold training within Japan from time to time. For residents of Japan, this is an option that lowers the language barrier to enrollment.
ERA (European Rolfing Association / Dr. Ida Rolf Institute Europe) is the European Rolfing association, based in Munich, Germany. Its training is structured in three stages — Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 (formerly Phase I–III) — and is held in Munich and across Europe, as well as in many places around the world, including Japan. The training I took was the ERA’s. Even those with no prior bodywork experience can begin at Level 1 (formerly called Spectrum). Level 1 is an introductory course covering the fundamentals of movement, anatomy, and touch — an ideal entry point for learning while experiencing Rolfing firsthand.
ABR (Associação Brasileira de Rolfing) is the Brazilian Rolfing association, active primarily in South America. Its training is sometimes held within Japan as well.
The certifications of all three bodies are internationally recognized, and there is no practical difference in the sessions one can offer clients. Because there are differences in the location, language, and finer points of approach in the training, you choose according to your own lifestyle and language environment.
→ Japan Rolfing Association — Education (Japanese)
→ ERA — How to Become a Rolfer
Step 1 — Basic Training (Approximately 89 Days)
How the training is structured
Basic Training is the course in which one acquires the theory and practice of anatomy, palpation, fascial theory, and the Ten-Series. The ERA’s training is structured in three stages, Level 1–3 (formerly Phase I–III).
In Level 1 (formerly Phase I, Foundation), one studies the fundamentals of movement, anatomy, and touch across nine courses. It is an introductory stage open even to those with no bodywork experience, and one can take just the first three courses (Movement 1, Anatomy 1, Touch 1) to confirm whether Rolfing is a fit.
In my own case, before beginning the training I obtained a certification in Thai traditional massage, and entered the training having acquired the basics of how to touch the body, anatomy, and bodywork. I also held a yoga instructor certification, so through negotiation with the ERA, Level 1 (formerly Spectrum) was waived and I was able to begin directly from Level 2. When you have prior bodywork experience or related qualifications, it is sometimes possible to negotiate your starting level in this way.
In Level 2 (formerly Phase II, Structural Fascial Bodywork), one deepens the theory and practice of the Ten-Series and gives a first session to an outside client. Ethics and preparation for opening a practice are also included. It is an intensive 33-day course.
In Level 3 (formerly Phase III, Practitioner & Client), one masters the entire Ten-Series through outside clients and, after a final examination, is certified as a Rolfer. It runs 30 days. After certification, one may formally open a practice as a member of the ERA.
The Supervision Workshop (formerly Phase IV) is a required six-day workshop taken within one year of certification. Participants bring the challenges and experiences they faced in their first year of practice and, under the supervision of instructors, deepen their practice. It is positioned as the capstone of Basic Training.
What you learn in the training
Beyond the structure and function of anatomy and fascia, the most important things are “Body Reading” (the capacity to read the body) and “Touch” (the way of touching). Reading what structural patterns a client’s body holds and what it needs, and working appropriately on the fascia — cultivating these two at once is the essence of Basic Training.
More important still is learning, in the body, “the Rolfer’s way of being (Being).” Not “doing” technique, but “responding” to what the client’s body needs — this is the theme that runs through the whole of the training.
What I received during Basic Training
During training, one can receive mentoring sessions to deepen one’s practical ability as a Rolfer. During my training period, I received mentoring in London, Leipzig, and Paris.
- Keith Graham (London): twice, in 2014 and 2016.
- Alan Richardson (London): 2014.
- Kathrin Grobelnik (Leipzig): 2016.
- Hubert Godard (Paris): 2016. Receiving mentoring directly from Godard — the Rolfer and dancer who built the theoretical pillars of Rolf Movement — was an experience that fundamentally changed my way of seeing the body and movement.
In the ERA, receiving mentoring five times is a required condition for certification. This is because what is directly tied to how profound one’s learning becomes is not simply learning technique, but actually encountering the perspectives and ways of being of different Rolfers.
Looking back on my study of Rolfing, I had the opportunity to learn from a total of 25 instructors — 6 in Basic Training, 7 in Rolf Movement Training, 6 in continuing education, 2 in Advanced Training, and 4 in mentoring. Whom you study under greatly shapes how profound the training becomes. As for which Rolfer and which training instructor to choose, the best shortcut is to first consult a Rolfer in Japan.
Step 2 — Continuing Education
After Rolfer certification, ongoing study is required. As a condition for taking the Advanced Training, at least 18 days of continuing education are necessary.
Continuing education comes in many forms. Workshops led by specialists in fascia, the cranium, the nervous system, and movement are held all over the world.
The main continuing education I took after Basic certification:
- Bone Work (Sharon Wheeler): three days learning a direct approach to the skeleton. Taken in Seattle.
- Neural Fascial Mobilization (Jonathan Martine): a 12-day intensive course dealing with the mobility of the neural fascia. Held in Tokyo.
- Structural Integration for the Cranium (Sharon Wheeler): a structural approach to the cranium. Taken in Seattle.
- Dimensions of Integration (Gael Rosewood): a movement-based workshop exploring the dimensions and profundity of integration. Four days, Tokyo.
- Trauma Workshop (Lael Keen): a one-day workshop on the relationship between the body and trauma. Held in Tokyo.
- Peter Schwind’s workshop (ERA): Schwind is an ERA training instructor and a leading authority on the theory and practice of fascia and structural integration. The chance to learn directly from Peter Schwind — also known for his book Fascial and Membrane Technique — carried great meaning for deepening both the subtlety and the systematic understanding of working with fascia.
Continuing education broadens both the range and the profundity of a Rolfer’s practice. Which training to choose changes according to your own interests and the kind of clientele you aim to serve.
Step 3 — Rolf Movement Training (Optional)
Offering Rolf Movement cannot be done with Basic certification alone. One must separately complete the certification training for “Rolf Movement Practitioner.”
The ERA’s Rolf Movement Training has a three-part structure, Part 1–3, spanning approximately 36 days in total. One acquires, in a practical way, the theoretical framework of Tonic Function, Pre-movement, and Seeing proposed by Hubert Godard.
From July 2017 through December 2019, I completed Part 1–3 in Munich and was certified as an ERA-certified Rolf Movement Practitioner. I am one of the few holders of this ERA certification in Japan.
Once you acquire Rolf Movement, the approach to structure and the approach to movement become integrated, and the range of a session expands greatly.
→ ロルフ・ムーブメントとは何か──動きの質を探究するボディワーク
→ ヨーロッパのRolf Movement Practitionerまでの歩み
Step 4 — Advanced Training (AT)
Requirements for enrollment
In the case of the ERA, the requirements for taking the Advanced Training are “three to seven years of practical experience after certification” and “the completion of at least 18 days of continuing education.” For those who obtain Rolf Movement certification, the period is extended to as long as nine years. Only after meeting these conditions can one take part in the AT.
I took the AT in Japan in 2025, ten years after my Rolfer certification. Because I had obtained Rolf Movement certification, I qualified under the extended condition, and the accumulation of these ten years of practice and continuing education became the foundation for my learning in the AT.
The content of the training
The AT consists of 24 days in total — Phase 1 (12 days) and Phase 2 (12 days). Through practical sessions with outside clients and sessions among the students themselves, one learns in the body three pillars: Non-Formulaic (individually responsive), Seeing (the capacity to observe), and Being (the way of being).
It is 24 days not of “being taught” technique, but of fundamentally retraining one’s own capacities for observation and response.
“This is not mere visual inspection. It is listening to the body with the whole sensory apparatus.” — Jeff Maitland (Rolfer and philosopher)
What you gain in the AT
After Advanced certification, sessions change. There are words clients often say: “I don’t know what was done, but I changed,” “It feels completely different from before.” These are signs that Non-Formulaic and “Being” are appearing in the session.
If you want to know in detail, from the client’s perspective, how and where an Advanced Rolfer’s session differs from the Basic level, I explain it in a separate Gateway article.
→ Why Are Advanced Rolfer Sessions “Profound”? — Three Differences, Ten Years After Rolfer Certification
→ Advanced Rolferの認定までの歩みについて【総括】
→ 参加を決意〜アドバンスト・ロルフィング研修・2025年4〜7月
The Full Picture of Becoming a Rolfer
From Basic certification to Advanced certification, it takes at least eight to ten years. This is because Rolfing is a system of practice that requires not only “technique” but the accumulation of “body, experience, and a way of being.”
For Those Considering Becoming a Rolfer
First, I strongly recommend receiving Rolfing sessions. Knowing both “receiving” and “giving” as lived experience clarifies your motivation for training.
A list of Rolfers from whom you can receive Rolfing within Japan can be found in the Japan Rolfing Association’s directory of certified Rolfers.
→ Certified Rolfers in Japan (Japanese)
For those who want to know what Rolfing is and what kind of change unfolds in those who receive it, these articles are an entry point.
→ ロルフィングの10回セッションとは何か
→ ロルフィング体験記──どんな変化が起きるのか
→ ロルフ・ムーブメントとは何か
→ ヨガとロルフィングの接点
Among bodywork modalities, Rolfing is especially profound and lengthy in its course of study. It calls for the resolve to keep studying over the long term, and a profound interest in the body.
As for which training body and which instructor to choose, I recommend first consulting a Rolfer in Japan. It is the Rolfers in the field who hold the most current information on each body’s characteristics, course fees, schedules, and language environment. Asking about training while receiving a session is the best shortcut.
I myself received Rolfing as a client in 2013, resolved that “I want to study this,” and entered training. Eleven years after that resolve, I received Advanced certification. It is a long road, but the accumulation of one step at a time becomes the profundity of one’s practice.
→ ロルフィングの10回セッションとは何か
→ なぜアドバンスト・ロルファーのセッションは「深い」のか
→ アドバンスト・トレーニング 記事一覧（37本）
→ ベーシック・トレーニング 記事一覧
If you have questions about aiming to become a Rolfer, how to choose a training, or information on continuing education, please feel free to get in touch.
→ お問い合わせ
Hidefumi Otsuka (Ph.D.) | Certified Advanced Rolfer™ / Rolf Movement Practitioner
Completed a doctoral program at the Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo. After a career in the pharmaceutical industry, has offered Rolfing® sessions in Shibuya since 2015. Has practiced and taught Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga since 2006. Works under the theme of “the integration of thought, emotion, and body.”