Sometimes a person says something that's so outrageous, you know they're either full of crap or onto something interesting. Here are two examples. A friend told me that her girlfriend went to have this stuff called Rolfing done, and afterwards she had to throw out all of her shoes because her feet grew a whole size. Another friend told me that his sister went for Rolfing and she, already tall to begin with, grew an inch and a half by the time the sessions were over. Because I trusted both friends, I decided to put Rolfing in the interesting category.

If you don't know what Rolfing is then you probably haven't been to Boulder very often. Rolfing, or structural integration, is a system of bodywork formulated by Ida P. Rolf. Dr. Rolf, already a PhD in biochemistry, began a deep study of healing systems to try to solve a family health issue. After 30 years of study and practice, she began to teach her system at the urging of friends, and thus, the Rolf Method of Structural Integration was born in Boulder.

The bottom line of Rolfing is just that, a line, or as Rolfers call it, The Line. Dr. Rolf's research led her to conclude that the body functions most efficiently when the major segments -- head, shoulders, abdomen, pelvis, and legs -- are perfectly stacked and balanced along a central axis. This, she determined, would allow for the body to be aligned with the force of gravity and work with it, not against it. In turn, this would minimize strain and tune the body for maximum energetic capability. When the body doesn't need to fight constantly with the pull of gravity against structural misalignments, there is more energy available to do the things we do. Dr. Rolf termed bodies that deviate from this Line "disorganized" and ones that are organized along this Line "integrated" -- hence the title "structural integration." But how does a body become disorganized?

The physiological details are complex but can be summed up easily. If you run your car over a big-ass pothole, you're going to knock something out of whack. Let's say it's just the alignment. Soon the tires start to wear unevenly and that increases the alignment problem, which exacerbates the tire problem, which increases the alignment problem and so on. Slowly this starts to put a little tweak in the frame and before you know it everything adds up to one very messed up vehicle. The body is the same. That boo-boo you came home with after falling off your bike probably caused you to protect that area just a little the next time you went out for a ride. Feed that into the above scenario and you get the picture. The truth is, life is full of little boo-boos, and when you add them all up, the vehicle ceases to run at maximum efficiency.

The way to fix the problem is the same for the body as it is for the car -- get in there and move some stuff around. The body needs something to hold it together other than the skin on the outside. Muscles and bones don't just attach miraculously. They need some substance to link them to each other and to themselves. This is where the fascia (pronounced fash-yuh) comes in.

Fascia is the connective tissue that keeps everything in place. It winds together to form the tendons and ligaments to attach muscle to bone and muscle to muscle. It covers the outside of organs and hangs like sacks to keep them in place. It forms little protective balloons around joints. It lines the whole inside of the body. If you want to fix the vehicle, you have to move the fascia. And that's the good side and the bad side. Good, because until the vehicle is ready for the junk heap, so to speak, it can be fixed. Bad, because getting to the places where the problems are will probably take some digging.

This is where most people get hung up with Rolfing. The manipulations necessary to move the fascia and create an integrated body can be intense, to put it politely. Someone who has a vague awareness of Rolfing will usually know it as "the stuff that hurts," and this image of Rolfing as a painful experience is one thing that keeps more people from trying it out for themselves.

There is also another level to the healing that can be brought about through structural integration. It is said that the body stores memories in the form of knots or tightness or even illness. It's easy to see this theory in action just by feeling your own shoulders after a stressful day. It stands to reason that removing these knots or tight spots will require a simultaneous removal, or at least unearthing, of these memories. The practitioner digs into a spot on your leg, and suddenly you are remembering that day you fell off your bike. The more intense the memory, the more powerful the emotional release. Which leads to another daunting feature of Rolfing -- that it can be accompanied by sudden outbursts of laughter or tears or other emotions. Again, another reason why some people shy away from this work. On the whole, most of us would rather avoid unpleasantness.

There are many reasons to try Rolfing. You may be experiencing chronic pain that doctors can't seem to figure out. You may be a professional athlete looking for ways to take your game to the next level. Or, you may just want to get treatment because the last spill you took on your board cranked your back, and now you can't sit up in bed, let alone ride. Of course, there is also the level of complete body wellness -- integrating body, soul, and spirit for maximum living. Rolfing is all of these.

Steve Daly, a computer networker and massage therapist in Broomfield, puts it this way, "Go in and try it. Keep an open mind and see what happens. For me, I learned that for 39 years I wasn't walking properly and Don Bruce, my Rolf practitioner in Boulder, helped me to learn. First he made the necessary openings in my hips and legs and then gave me ways to practice walking. But more than that, he helped to bring memories to the surface so that I could connect with and release old patterns."

Now for the details. Rolf therapy is set up to work in stages. The first stage consists of a series of ten sessions. They can be spaced as far apart as the client likes, but it is usually recommended that they be done about a week or two apart. There are three milestones amongst the ten where, if a client needs to, they can stop and pick up the sessions again later -- after the first, third, and seventh. When the first series is completed, some people elect to have "Post-10" sessions every year or so to maintain The Line. There is also an Advanced Series that consists of one to five sessions. These are meant to take the client to the next level of integration. It is recommended that these are not undertaken until at least six months after the first series to allow for the body to adjust to its new form. There are also Rolf Movement sessions which are designed to create a greater kinesthetic awareness and improve biomechanics. There are no physical manipulations during the movement sessions, just lessons in proper, well, movement.

Overall, as Daly says, "You have to want to change. It won't change you if you don't want to be changed. The pain comes when you fight the work. Just remain open and allow the Rolf work to facilitate the changes you are trying to make, because Rolfing gets to the core quicker than any other work I know of. It can be intense, but if circumstances were right, I'd go to the Rolf school. I love the work." Steve's not alone, either. The Institute has a press release about "celebrities and elite athletes" who tout Rolfing. The list mentions Charles Barkley, Mario Lemieux, several Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Levar Burton of Star Trek, and others. Even Willie Nelson has used Rolfing for back pain.

Normally each session costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 to $125 depending on where you live. However, since the Rolf Institute is just around the corner there is a golden opportunity at hand: As a practice body at the school you can have the entire first series for $250. Just call the school and get the details. Rolfing probably isn't for everyone. If you don't like massages to begin with, then chances are you won't get into someone working on your body with their elbow. If you are a massage aficionado, then you'll probably find it more challenging than you may be used to, but definitely worthwhile in the end. And if you love deep massage already, then Rolfing is your nirvana. Be careful though...it's a bit like drugs -- one taste and you're hooked.