Pain sucks. Life shouldn't. 

Bodywork to realign your body, relieve chronic aches and pains, and keep you limber.

A session of Rolfing can be an excellent way to loosen things up, relieve pain, and optimize your posture.

Rolfing is a manual therapy that unwinds areas of unnecessary tightness in your body so that your joints move toward their ideal positions and improve flow and efficiency.  By strategically applying myofascial release techniques, Rolfing helps re-establish balance in your body. Whether it’s a chronically aching shoulder or an ankle that stopped feeling right fifteen years ago, Rolfing can help by loosening up the imbalances and compensations in your connective and muscular tissues.

While walking my knee felt uncomfortable.  My leg muscles were in disarray because of stress and strain.  Some muscles were too short and were causing erratic movements in my knee.

I was looking for a new technique that would help my knee be more stable, and I found out Rolfing could do that after investigating it on the web.

I went to see Matt in San Diego and, surprisingly, after a few touches, pressing here and there, and exercises, the alignment and functioning of the knee while walking got better.

After doing excercises given to me as homework, my knee wobbling and stability are practically gone.  This has allowed me to feel better and walk better — in addition to being able to add a weight training program to my life — and I will soon be getting back on the tennis court.

Alberto Escobosa Cadena, Owner of Hotel Del Sol in Mazatlan, Mexico

Done well, it’s the most advanced form of bodywork around.  Done incorrectly by unskilled hands, it can be no different than a deep tissue massage.

Rolfing at Upright Health

Done without an eye for long-term stability, a Rolfer can make you dependent on them for an endless cycle of treatments for temporary relief. Things are different at Upright Health. By combining Rolfing and Posture Alignment Therapy, Upright Health’s clients can often achieve their goals with a solid understanding of how to maintain their results on their own.

Rolfing is traditionally experienced in a systematic set of 10 sessions, but at Upright Health, Rolfing is tailored to your unique needs;  the number of sessions is determined by what your body needs, not by a magic number. For long term maintenance of your body’s posture and pain free position, we strongly recommend looking into our Posture Alignment Therapy programs as well.

Matt Hsu made me better than new! Here’s how: I am a marathon runner. No medals, but I complete the course in time to get the hat and the T-shirt. I can still say this because of Matt Hsu.

In February, 2010, I sustained a 60% compression fracture of one of my thoracic vertebrae. As I began to recover, I seriously questioned whether I would ever be able to run a mile again, much less a full marathon. I’m not saying that it happened immediately, but it’s now October of 2010 and I can run 26 miles again.

Michael B., Certified Advanced Rolfer

Frequently Asked Questions – Rolfing

1. How is Rolfing different from massage?
2. Can Rolfing fix my posture?
3. Do the effects of Rolfing last?
4. I've heard/read that Rolfing can be painful. Is it as bad as it sounds?
5. What's the 10-series?
6. Do I have to commit to the 10-series?
7. Where did you get training in Rolfing?
8. What should I wear for a session?

Answers to Rolfing Questions

1. How is Rolfing different from massage?

   Typical massage focuses on bringing you relaxation, improved circulation, and is generally a good support to your overall health.

   Rolfing supports your overall health by addressing the postural misalignments in your body that make it hard for you to relax and tough for your body to maintain good circulation.

   When pain is present, Rolfing is good for targeting the connective and muscular tissues that hold your body in improper positions and cause you pain.

   For those doing maintaining heavy athletic exercise regiments, Rolfing can help maintain soft tissue flexibility and pliability so that muscles and joints don't lock up and impair your performance.

2. Can Rolfing fix my posture?

   For some postural issues, yes. For others, no.

   Everyone's posture is the result of the balance of tension of the muscles and connective tissue throughout the body. Where tight areas are dragging you into bad posture or compromised ranges of motion, Rolfing can be a big help.

   Where your posture is distorted due to weakness of stabilizing muscles, no amount of Rolfing can reactivate and re-tone the weak muscles. That is where Egoscue exercises come into play.

3. Do the effects of Rolfing last?

   Some of them do, and some of them don't.

   Rolfing is exceptionally good at loosening up tight areas that have been locked up for long periods of time for no good reason. By applying appropriate pressure and tension to those areas, your body can be allowed to move properly again. The more your body moves properly, the better it gets at it. In that sense, the result is permanent.

   When areas of tightness are actually compensating for other areas of weakness and malalignment, Rolfing will NOT have permanent effects. The areas of weakness and malalignment need to be strengthened and repositioned for any lasting, long-term, positive change to occur. This is where Egoscue® Posture Alignment Therapy becomes clearly necessary as an adjunct to Rolfing.

4. I've heard/read that Rolfing can be painful. Is it as bad as it sounds?

   It really depends on your body and on the Rolfer.

   Some bodies are very sensitive to hands-on work. Others are not. What is outrageously painful for one person may feel like heaven for another. Many people often say Rolfing elicits a sense of "good pain." It's an intensity that signals release of pent up tension rather than just a lot of hard pressure.

   Some Rolfers often substitute strength for strategy, choosing to press harder on a certain spot when pressing lighter on a completely different but related spot would actually be far more effective. I generally choose strategy over strength.

   If at any point you feel like you are gritting your teeth because the intensity is too much, I ask that you let me know so that we can adjust our approach to better suit your body.

5. What's the 10-series?

   The hallmark of Rolfing Structural Integration is a standardized “recipe” known as the Ten Series, the goal of which is to systematically balance and optimize both the structure (shape) and function (movement) of the entire body over the course of ten Rolfing sessions.

   For more information, you can visit the Rolf Institute website's Overview of the Ten Series.

   At Upright Health, Rolfing can be experienced in the Ten Series format or in sessions tailored to your specific concerns.

6. Do I have to commit to the 10-series?

   No. In fact, for many people, I recommend considering a blend of a handful of Rolfing sessions paired with Posture Alignment Therapy work. Rolfing helps address the tightness and shortness that distorts your posture and puts you in pain, while Posture Alignment Therapy helps you stabilize and recoordinate your body for more efficient movement patterns. In the long run, this blended approach can save you a lot of time and money.

7. Where did you get training in Rolfing?

   I trained at the Rolf Institute in Boulder, CO.

8. What should I wear for a session?

   Exercise clothing is best, as you will be asked to get up off the massage table periodically to walk around to assess how your body's responding. Wear light clothing that will keep you comfortable while sitting, standing, and lying down. Shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, and sports bras all work well.