Rolfing Resources

Open House & Staying Limber at the Computer

2011-10-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

FALL OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, November 20th 2:00-5:00 PM

6207 N. Cattletrack Rd. #8, Scottsdale 85250

(480) 735-8875

You are invited to celebrate our move to the new studio. Please come enjoy the transition into fall at this desert hideaway in the middle of the city. There will be food and drink, time to chat, lots of info on Rolfing® Structural Integration and Somatic Experiencing®, and there will be a drawing for a free session. Your friends and family are all welcome too.

Mary Bond, the author of The New Rules of Posture, recently shared this link. Undulation Exercises is a software package which will remind you to move throughout the day and suggests stretches which will keep you limber and in good alignment as you work at your computer. To music. What a great idea. It feels good to move and stretch. It is just hard to remember to do it during the work day. I'm doing some finger stretches right now. Just takes a minute. Feels so good.....

I hope to see you on the 20th!
Rihab

News for October 2011

2011-10-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

New Office Location — Open on October 4th!

6207 N Cattletrack Rd. Ste 8, Scottsdale, AZ 85250

The Cattletrack Studios are on two secluded acres of desert in the heart of Scottsdale. I feel so fortunate to have found this authentic environment for my practice. We just finished moving in this afternoon. Everyone who has come to visit seems to linger. The stillness and spaciousness are an invitation to slow down and savor the moment.

Sessions will still be available on Thursdays and Fridays at Gilbert Yoga. I am always so happy to step into that welcoming workspace.

New Services - Somatic Experiencing®

I have now completed the final year of the Somatic Experiencing training. I am so excited about this deeply healing work. Resolution of the effects of stress and trauma from the past allows us to live more fully in the present. You can read more about it here:

http://www.rolfingresources.com/somatic-experiencing.html

Looking forward to seeing you at the Cattletrack Ranch.

Rihab

Events May 2011

2011-04-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) has been in the news a lot these past few months from an article in the NT Times in October to a spot on the Today show. It’s great to have the publicity, but the media rarely gets what this work is really like. Here are two events we’re putting on in May so that you can get the felt sense of it for yourself.

Coming to Our Senses / Good Posture doesn’t have to be hard work

May 1 2:00 - 4:00 PM

At One Yoga

3153 East Lincoln Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85016

In this workshop we will be talking about the Rolfing® SI perspective on fascia/connective tissue, sensory awareness, and how to find the ideal posture and support for your body. Explore how your habitual patterns of walking, sitting, and

standing affect your alignment and sense of well-being. You will learn how attention to the five senses can create ease and flow in movement and how to integrate these tools into your work, play and yoga practice.

This workshop will be led by certified Rolfers™ Sheri Lachance and Rihab Yaqub.

The $30 class fee can be applied towards an introductory Rolfing session.

Fundraiser for Native Seeds/S.E.A.R.C.H.

May 2-7

Gilbert & Mesa, AZ

Never tried Rolfing® SI? Come in for an introductory session and find out what all the talk is about. There will be no charge if you make a donation to NS/S. Experience bodywork and movement education attuned to the individual so you can stand tall and move with grace and ease. If you have received structural integration work in the past, come in for a Rolf Movement® session.

Hope to see you in May.

Of Snakes and Shoes

2010-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Two Rivers Treads in Shepardstown, West Virginia recently had a terrific sale on barefoot technology shoes. I finally got on the barefoot bandwagon and bought some Terra Plana Evo running shoes. One of my Rolfing® colleagues and her partner liked the shoe and hiking boot selection so much they bought 4 pairs!

I’m not a runner and plan to wear them mostly walking around the city - mainly on pavement. I’m not sure yet how that will go over the long term, but they are fantastic on natural terrain. This week I took them out to the Superstition Mountains for a test drive. They passed with flying colors even though I doubt they are designed for such rugged use.

The soles of the Evo are puncture proof (I stepped on a piece of cholla to test it) but they are so flexible that your feet really connect with the ground. I felt much more secure going downhill. I changed into my regular hiking boots on the way back. My feet felt like blocks of wood. What a difference. I also notice how much more spring I have in my gait with the Evos.

A number of people have been asking me which shoes would be best for their feet. Rolfer™ Karin Edwards has written a well thought out article on the subject. You can find that and other information about shoe choices here.

The hike ended with some real excitement. It took a while for this Western Diamondback to relinquish control of the trail.

Rolfing® Structural Integration & Slow Food?

2010-09-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

If you’ve come to this blog looking for information on the fundraiser for Native Seeds/SEARCH, you’ll find it in the August archives. The program has been extended until September 30, 2010.

On to the new topic.....

Several of my Rolfer™ colleagues recently brought my attention to this article posted by Alan Fogel for Psychology Today. I was intrigued by his statement that slow movement done with what he calls “body sense awareness” is being found to have essential nutrients for the body specifically in the realm of pain management. When he began drawing parallels to the Slow Food movement I got really interested.

My first encounter with Slow Food was in Germany in the summer of 2001. I remember we sat outside under a grape arbor and spent a good four hours consuming a delicious lunch that arrived course by course accompanied by detailed discussion of the provenance of the ingredients. I came away thinking that the Slow Food movement was about eating slowly. Somewhat like chewing each bite 50 times on a macrobiotic diet.

Of course, Slow Food refers to much more than just the speed at which one eats. One could say it boils down to bringing awareness and attention to each stage of the process of producing and consuming human nourishment. Does shining our awareness and our attention on the way we move our bodies also provide us with another beneficial form of nourishment? I believe so.

I’ve seen and felt how powerful it can be during a Rolfing session for the client to do a simple movement with imagination and awareness either as a stand alone process or to amplify the effects of the hands-on work. What about outside of sessions? We can also use this approach to find more enjoyment in the use of our bodies in the normal activities of daily life.

Something to try as you sit reading this at your computer:

Find a chair that allows your hips to be somewhat higher than your knees and your feet to be flat on the ground. Let there be a sense of weight flow into your feet. Take your awareness to your feet and how they meet the floor. Or do you feel it is the floor coming to meet your feet? Let the weight flow into your feet and your feet spread out onto the floor. Now take your attention to your head and imagine it is gently reaching up into the sky in a curious way. Feel the space all around your head. Can your ears open wide? If there were eyes in the back of your head, what would they see? Take whatever time you need to explore these things. What else are you curious about?

As you do this, what happens to your posture? Your breath?

Please read the next paragraph through to the end before doing anything.

Go back to the way you were sitting before. As you do this, be sure to notice what you did to go back to your usual posture? How did you do that? Can you find the new option again?

(Hint, if you have any trouble, just find your feet and the space around your head. Why not try this while walking , mowing the lawn or brushing your teeth?)

Rolfing® Structural Integration National Awareness Week

2010-08-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

As part of Rolfing Structural Integration (SI) National Awareness Week I've decided to offer Rolf Movement® Integration sessions from September 15-21 as a fundraiser for Native Seeds/SEARCH in Tucson, AZ. For the past 25 years this non-profit has been working to save the genetic diversity of the Southwest.

How does it work?

There is no fee for the sessions. You will be asked to make a donation (of any amount) to Native Seeds/SEARCH. Contact info and links are at the bottom of this post.

What is Rolf Movement Integration and how is it different from Rolfing Structural Integration?

In a Movement Integration session you will discover how the way you use your body in everyday activities like sitting at the computer, working out, carrying your baby, lifting, or even breathing may be the underlying cause of pain, stiffness or asymmetry. The practitioner uses gentle hands-on work and verbal cues to evoke core stability through correct use of the deep intrinsic muscles. You will leave with some simple practices that you can incorporate into your regular routine. Good posture can be effortless and authentic movement elegant.

Rolfing Structural Integration also includes movement education, but focuses more on deep fascial manipulation. Movement sessions can be done at any time - during a Rolfing series, after the series is complete or as stand alone sessions. You do not need to have had any prior work to benefit from the movement sessions.

About me:

I am a certified Rolfer™ practicing in Mesa and Gilbert, AZ. I am currently enrolled in the training to become a Rolf Movement Practitioner. I plan to complete that program in October of this year. Participating in this training program I have found an ease in my own body I have never experienced before. I am passionately interested in exploring and using this work which has the potential to transform the way we experience living in our bodies.

Contact:

(480) 735-8875

rihab@RolfingResources.com