Rolfing

I decided to post this as soon as I can, although I am a bit sleepy and tired. However, while I can still feel the effects full force, here it is.

The session

1. First of all, my rolfer gave me full permission to publish her name. So, she is one Ashlane Hale and you can either google her for more info, or look her up at the Rolf institute (Locate a Rolfer link, Boulder CO, USA), or you can call her at 303.859.1410
2. Today's session was #2 - I am pretty sure I got it correct this time, see my errata on last session in yesterday's weekly status. So, we did the feet and legs. Notice the 'we', although she did most of the work. My job was pretty easy today - relax, focus on my feet and let her do what she needs to do. However, I have homework to do.
   
3. We started with pictures today. Four shots, one from each side, if I figure out how to post pictures here, I'll do it but only if I can password them. Yup, not everyone gets to see me in my underwear, only selected few. The rest of you are better off. We also took the same shots after the session. Same light, same distance, no sucking in of my guts. This is for real, no faking.
4. Ashlane did her normal 'Hmmm, let me see what your posture is today' from all four sides, had me walk back and forth down the hallway, asked questions about which parts of my feet do I feel when I stand up, walk and bend my knees a little.
   
5. Then it was up on the table and Ashlane promptly proceeded with adding a new dimension to the word(s) 'footwork'. She spent significant time on my right foot loosening it up (top and bottom) and then she made me stand up, walk and bend the knees. It felt kind of silly with one foot worked on and the other still awaiting the good news. Well, definitely a bit out of balance.
   
6. The other foot also got what it needed and then Ashlane paid attention to my lower legs and then the final treat - she dug deep into my quads. I always had pretty strong quads. She went in deep, but so slow and gentle, that
   
7. she made it really easy for me to relax and not resist (which in turn makes it really easy for her to do the job, which in turn makes it really easy for me to relax, which in turn ... - whoa, infinite recursion ...). Actually, I don't think rolfing is really easy on her - while pretty strong, she is slim and this just has to take a toll on her body, too. I know, I know, if you learn to do it right, it doesn't take as much effort, but still, I have always imagined a rolfer to be a 200+ pounds bodybuilder, not a slender woman.
   
8. I am sure that by now, my dear reader, you're itching to ask the million dollar question: 'So, how the hell do you feel now?'. The short answer is 'Yes, I feel'. A bit more detailed insight is: 'I feel short and low to the ground'. I am a fine specimen of down to earth humanoid, but now I physically feel shorter, more bound to the ground I walk on, but somewhat lighter. Pretty weird, huh, and I didn't even smoke any funny stuff. My quads feel like they had Sombra or some other Menthol (Icy Hot, etc.) product applied to them, but I am pretty sure Ashlane didn't use anything like that - this time I was fully awake the whole time. My quads are currently nice and warm.
9. About half way through the adventures, my shivers came. This is really cool. Ashlane is working my right quad and my left one starts shaking and shivering, kind of like the entagled electron (google it). At one time towards the end of the session, when she worked my neck, it got to the point that I felt my teeth chatter. At the end of the session I was standing up and my knees were shaking - and it wasn't from fear, for I do not fear no rolfer :). I recall that other time while I was still on the table, Ashlane worked one of my quads and my upper body muscles were firing away (pecks, deltoids). I think it's my body's reaction to the loosening up and the detox process that's also happening at the same time (I am pretty sure, but I may be wrong).
   
10. The funny thing is my walking. For some reason the feet don't end up at their usual places and I feel I walk like a Neanderthal. Or like on a boat - a bit unsure. However, my steps are softer and I am more aware of which part of my foot I use during each phase of the step. It feels like my arches got flattened a bit and I use more of their surface now.
11. At the end Ashlane did something really interesting - kind of put her fingers on the top of my head while I was standing and got me to balance myself somehow. I started falling back at first, but somehow she got me to correct myself. I felt like an upside down lollipop, her hand holding the stick.
12. The homework - be more aware of what I do, how I walk and keep posture. Well, this already started happening. I caught myself adjusting my car seat the other day so I sit more upright, kind of like in a big truck.

Mental effects

1. When I bend my knees I feel moving down, when I straighten them, I don't feel moving up.
2. I feel enlightened and in peace with life, universe and everything. Point in case - I got severely cut of by an SUV from Michigan on my way home. To the point that I had to lay both on my horn and my brakes to avoid a collision. Normally my heart would rise up to my throat in a fraction of a second, my blood pressure would shoot sky high, and I'd curse the driver, his mother and her mother, followed by curses aimed at his offsprings for several generations to come. This time I called him a !@#$% moron just once and shrugged it off. Didn't even bother to establish nonverbal hand gesture communication. No big deal, yeah, whatever...

In conclusion
Cool stuff, enjoyed it immensely, looking forward to #3 in two weeks.

Update on the morning after (Thursday 6/9/05):

1. I slept really well, my feet seem to be firmly planted in the ground. Notice I said 'in', not 'on'. When standing still for a few seconds I feel like I am about to sprout roots (that's not the right English, is it?, hmmm, sprouting roots?). My upper body feels stretched, which is strange since she didn't touch it once. I feel the difference in the way I walk. I don't know whether it's good or bad and I don't know whether my mind will adjust to the new set of feet or my feet will adjust to the way my mind envisions them to be. I have a feeling that the former would be more beneficial.
   
2. There is a difference between learning a new language being 16 versus being 6 years of age. When you're 16, your mind has it's own ideas of what to hear and how to say things. Not too good for learning new sounds. When you're 6, your mind is more concerned with exploring butterflies, ghosts and other things that adults rarely see. Therefore much more open to the possibilities of new sounds. By the time we're 16, we're too stiff, both physically and mentally.
   
3. It is for the same reason I decided not to read about rolfing on the web or anywhere else anymore. In past couple of days I have read enough material on the web about the second session to get a mental picture of what to expect and of course my mind prepared itself by creating preconceived notions of how to react to it. Although the reality of the session was quite different, I think that my unconscious expectations likely skewed the results.
   
4. I didn't read enough about rolfing to be able to describe each session. From now on I will be testing the waters with both feet, no preparation other than what Ashlane tells me to prepare, preferably with the minimum knowledge of what's coming. Happy go lucky attitude and keeping my mind open to the unknown are the only ways to get genuine response unpolluted with prepositions. Yes, I am an overly analytical engineer, you bet.
   
5. As for you, dear reader, if you have any inclination to ever be rolfed or experiment with your body at this level, I am sad to tell you that you should probably stop reading my rolfing diaries right now. But if you never made it this far, you have nothing to fear, your mind is apparently still a rolfing virgin.

Evening update (6/9/05):
I was a bit unsure for the most of the day but I am gaining stability towards the end. It's not too bad, I am getting used to my new feet, I think. Basically, I was a bit off balance when standing or walking, went for about 4 miles walk to Jason's Deli for lunch and I was a tiny bit dizzy. Not enough to have to sit down or anything like that. It was like I had to walk with purpose, it wasn't totally automatic. My upper body feels stretched, my lower body feels short. Still get occassional wave of heat over my quads (that feels pretty darn good), I am in pretty mellow mood.