Ida P. Rolf PhD
History of Ida P. Rolf PhD and Rolfing® Structural Integration
Dr. Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. spent her life exploring the healing potential held within the human body.
Dr. Rolf (1896 – 1979) earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1920. During the following 12 years, she worked at The Rockefeller Institute in the Department of Chemotherapy and later in the Department of Organic Chemistry. During her time at the Institute, she took a leave of absence to study mathematics and atomic physics at the Swiss Technical Institute in Zurich. Interestingly, this university is one of the top technical schools in the world, with 31 Nobel Prize winners including Albert Einstein among its graduates. While in Zurich, she also took the opportunity to study homeopathic medicine during weekends in Geneva.
Driven to find health solutions for herself and her two sons, she spent many years exploring alternative healing methods including homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, yoga, the Alexander Technique, and Korzybsji’s work on states of consciousness. Throughout her explorations, Dr. Rolf was grounded firmly in the scientific point of view, but also acknowledged the value of solutions arrived at through intuition.
She observed that lasting improvement and overall sense of well-being, required examining the effects of gravity on our bodies. She believed that imbalances in structure placed demands on the body’s pervasive soft tissue network – muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments, creating compensations throughout the body structure.
Dr. Rolf asked a fundamental question: “What conditions must be fulfilled for the human body’s structure to be organized and integrated in gravity so that the whole person can function in the most optimal and economical way?”
Answering this question became the central theme to her life’s work, and led to the founding of the system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education called Rolfing® Structural Integration. One of her greatest contributions to the field of bodywork was the discovery that gravity, as an organizing element, is uniquely important for body structure, movement coordination, spatial perception and human expression.
Dr. Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. spent her life exploring the healing potential held within the human body.
Dr. Rolf (1896 – 1979) earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1920. During the following 12 years, she worked at The Rockefeller Institute in the Department of Chemotherapy and later in the Department of Organic Chemistry. During her time at the Institute, she took a leave of absence to study mathematics and atomic physics at the Swiss Technical Institute in Zurich. Interestingly, this university is one of the top technical schools in the world, with 31 Nobel Prize winners including Albert Einstein among its graduates. While in Zurich, she also took the opportunity to study homeopathic medicine during weekends in Geneva.
Driven to find health solutions for herself and her two sons, she spent many years exploring alternative healing methods including homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, yoga, the Alexander Technique, and Korzybsji’s work on states of consciousness. Throughout her explorations, Dr. Rolf was grounded firmly in the scientific point of view, but also acknowledged the value of solutions arrived at through intuition.
She observed that lasting improvement and overall sense of well-being, required examining the effects of gravity on our bodies. She believed that imbalances in structure placed demands on the body’s pervasive soft tissue network – muscles, fascia, tendons and ligaments, creating compensations throughout the body structure.
Dr. Rolf asked a fundamental question: “What conditions must be fulfilled for the human body’s structure to be organized and integrated in gravity so that the whole person can function in the most optimal and economical way?”
Answering this question became the central theme to her life’s work, and led to the founding of the system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education called Rolfing® Structural Integration. One of her greatest contributions to the field of bodywork was the discovery that gravity, as an organizing element, is uniquely important for body structure, movement coordination, spatial perception and human expression.
“This is the gospel of Rolfing: When the body gets working appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through.Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself." ~ Ida P. Rolf
To pass along her work to others and make the education process accessible, she developed a series of ten sessions now called the Ten Series. She also coined the term Structural Integration to define her new methodology. It is only in later years, that her name has become synonymous with the methodology and process now more widely known as Rolfing® Structural Integration.
Since her death in 1979 at the age of 83, The Rolf Institute® of Structural Integration and its affiliated organizations including the European Rolfing® Association e.V. have continued to share her work by certifying Rolfers™ and Rolf Movement® Practitioners, supporting research, and building upon her inspiration.
Dr. Rolf left behind a vital method applied by more than 2000 Rolfers worldwide, and she continues to be recognized today, as a pioneering leader in the fields of soft tissue manipulation and movement education. Dr. Rolf’s profound inquiry into how to enhance the whole person by organizing the body in gravity has inspired generations of bodyworkers around the world.
For a detailed chronology of her life and key events in the development of Rolfing® Structural Integration, see Dr. Ida P. Rolf – Chronology.
Since her death in 1979 at the age of 83, The Rolf Institute® of Structural Integration and its affiliated organizations including the European Rolfing® Association e.V. have continued to share her work by certifying Rolfers™ and Rolf Movement® Practitioners, supporting research, and building upon her inspiration.
Dr. Rolf left behind a vital method applied by more than 2000 Rolfers worldwide, and she continues to be recognized today, as a pioneering leader in the fields of soft tissue manipulation and movement education. Dr. Rolf’s profound inquiry into how to enhance the whole person by organizing the body in gravity has inspired generations of bodyworkers around the world.
For a detailed chronology of her life and key events in the development of Rolfing® Structural Integration, see Dr. Ida P. Rolf – Chronology.