Amongst many Rolfers and Structural Integration Practitioners the subject of fix-it-work and the 10 series is a heated topic. I definitely have an opinion about this as well. Ida Rolf said you have to do the ten series for at least five years before you truely understand the work. The ten sessions provide a safe foundation within to explore the depth of Rolfing. The recipe is a learning tool as well as a safety net. Each session teaches the practitioner about how the human body functions in gravity by showing you how the body releases compensation patterns associated with the teritory of said session. The safety net is the recipe itself. Follow the recipe and the
results will show themselves to you. But who wants to simply follow a recipe and tune off? Not me. I want to learn the finite neuances of this thing called Structural Integration. I want to compare many session ones and understand the true meaning of freeing the breath. I know in the long run this will help my body-reading ability and make me able to accomplish an hour's worth of work in a minutes worth of time. This is the gift and reward of the masters. After working for 15-20-30 years they have found efficient ways to accomplish an hours worth of work in a minute's worth of time. That comes from performing the ten series. 
I had the pleasure to do fix-it-work at a 24 hour dance-a-thon to support cancer research. I invited ten Rolfers. Some new to the work some with over 30 years experience. Five Rolfers showed up. I tell you this because, one of the reasons for a non attendee was, that practitioner believed that this type of fix-it-work fell outside of the realm of Rolfing. I value every one's belief and opinion. My experience was...
I worked on over 30 different bodies in the course of 21 hours. Doing the 10-15-30 minute fix-it sessions the public had a chance to learn, experience, and understand the profound effects of Rolfing. For those who've heard about Rolfing but were not ready to commit to a ten session protocall without knowing if it is for them; this provided that answer. For those who have never heard of Rolfing, it was an introduction that opened a door for research and discovery. For me as a practitioner this experience was priceless. My knowledge base expanded ten fold. I learned how to be more efficient with less pain. I learned how to see more effectively. I've even come away from the 24 hour dance-a-thon with an invaluable ability to express what the ten series is about in one or two short sentences.
Fix it work is not the ten series nor does it come close to providing the level of transformation that the ten series provokes. I think the whole world should get Rolfed. But I understand that not everyone is ready for it. Fix it work is a great introduction to Rolfing and as long as we remember that it provides temporary results we can still hold true to the vision that Ida had.
1 comment:
I agree. The ten series is kind of bullet proof. Sometimes clients just want you to "work on where it hurts" or "just fix me." It's tricky sometimes. I might look at a body and think "man they need some psoas work" yet it's not permitted in session 1. It's then that I hear the words of Jan Sultan, "where do I go, what do I do next, and how do I get out?" On occassion I'm wrong too and I realize that I was barking up the wrong tree. But when I'm dead on it really pays off. I know that I served them better and I know that they trust me more than if I just went into the 10 series protocol. The question usually isn't so much what/where they need work at this point but how do I get them to not disintegrate the work after they leave. Seated back work, pelvic lift, and some good Rolf Movement cues go a long way. So I guess the short answer is that I prefer to just give everyone a 10 series bc it's the most comprehensive and safe approach but bc I've had clients become frustrated that things weren't moving along quickly enough I've had to get more skilled with the fix it work.
Thanks for doing the blog Nikki.
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