# Rolfing Source: https://spiritfold.com/Rolfing Published by the Australian Spiritual Alliance on Spiritfold, licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. **Rolfing** is a form of bodywork that combines hands-on work on the fascia (the connective tissue that wraps muscles and organs) with guided movement and movement education. Its aim is to improve the body's overall alignment and the way it moves.[1] It is named after its founder, Dr Ida P. Rolf, and is also known as Rolfing® Structural Integration, Rolf Movement® Integration and Myofascial Structural Integration.[1] ## Description ### The idea behind it Rolfing grew from Dr Rolf's view that a person's physical and psychological wellbeing is best when the body's structure and movement are aligned and integrated with gravity. She saw gravity as a lifelong stress on the body's alignment, one that can lead to soft tissue imbalances, inefficient movement patterns and dysfunction.[1] Practitioners therefore aim to improve the body's structure and function by manipulating and stretching soft tissue, mainly the fascia.[1] ### The Ten-Series It was in response to this view of gravity that Dr Rolf developed the classic Rolfing series, a set sequence known as the *Ten-Series*: - sessions one to three work on the surface layers of connective tissue[1] - sessions four to seven work on the "core", between the base of the pelvis and the top of the head[1] - sessions eight to ten work on "integration", relating the parts of the body to each other and to gravity.[1] The number of sessions can vary with the person's progress, and practitioners and training institutions also use other formats, such as single sessions, shorter series and movement sessions for individuals or groups.[1] Rolf Movement Integration, a form of movement education, is part of the series.[1] ### A session A Rolfing session typically lasts a little over an hour. It may include observing and assessing posture and movement; hands-on soft tissue work; joint mobilisation; active participation by the client, such as stretching and resisting; movement education; and self-care to practise at home. Rolfing is usually given in private clinics, with treatment tables, chairs, floor mats and space to move.[1] ### What the evidence says The evidence for Rolfing's effects is very limited. For the Australian Government's 2015 review, no eligible trials were found, so it could not judge whether Rolfing works. A 2024 evaluation for the government's Natural Therapies Review found six small randomised trials with 216 participants in total, of children with spastic cerebral palsy and of people with low back pain, fibromyalgia or tight hamstrings. All were at high risk of bias, and the evidence was of very low certainty for every outcome, so the effects of Rolfing for these groups are unknown. The reviewers concluded that current evidence does not support using Rolfing for these conditions, and that larger, well-designed trials are needed.[1][2] ## Scope ### What it includes - Hands-on work on the fascia and other soft tissues[1] - Guided movement and movement education[1] - A series of sessions, often following the Ten-Series[1] ### What it is not - "Rolfing" is not a general name anyone may use: it is a trade mark reserved for practitioners trained and certified by The Rolf Institute. Other institutions teach the same approach under other names (see Traditions and lineage).[1] - It is not a proven treatment for any health condition (see What the evidence says).[1] ## Traditions and lineage In the 1960s Dr Rolf informally set up the Guild for Structural Integration, from which The Rolf Institute® arose. The Rolfing® name is a trade mark that only practitioners trained and certified by The Rolf Institute may use, but other institutions also teach the approach. The International Association of Structural Integrators (IASI) certifies several professional bodies and schools as meeting its standards for Structural Integration education and practice, and sets out a definition and scope of practice for its members.[1] ## Context ### Within Spiritualism Spiritfold has found no published source linking Rolfing with Spiritualism. ### In Australian Spiritualism Spiritfold has found no published source linking Rolfing with Spiritualism in Australia. ### A Spiritualist perspective Rolfing is a structured, hands-on method with its own founder, series and training institutions, and it sits entirely outside Spiritualism. A Spiritualist teacher would have no quarrel with it, and would simply regard it as one of many ways people choose to care for their bodies. Spiritualism does teach personal responsibility, and that includes how we look after the body we live in during this life. Someone who finds a practice like Rolfing worthwhile is free to use it, and nothing in our principles stands against it. The line to hold is between bodywork and spirit healing, because a person who comes for one has not agreed to receive the other. A Spiritualist who is also a Rolfing practitioner should keep the two apart, never suggest that spirit is guiding the work unless they are openly offering healing as such, and leave questions of diagnosis and treatment to health professionals. ## Rolfing in Australia ### Private health insurance Since 1 April 2019, Rolfing has been one of 16 natural therapies that private health insurers can't cover.[3] The Natural Therapies Review 2024 looked at the evidence again. Its Chair, Professor Michael Kidd, recommended that seven therapies become eligible again, but did not recommend Rolfing.[2] ## Safety and good practice The 2024 evidence evaluation didn't assess harms,[1] so Spiritfold cannot yet point to independent information on Rolfing's safety. A learner should not read this gap as evidence that Rolfing is free of risk: it means the question has not been answered by the review. ## Related modalities - [Massage](https://spiritfold.com/Massage) - [Bowen therapy](https://spiritfold.com/Bowen_therapy) - [Alexander Technique](https://spiritfold.com/Alexander_Technique) - [Feldenkrais Method](https://spiritfold.com/Feldenkrais_Method) ## References 1. Sanders, Sharon, Anna Scott, Mina Bakhit, Zoe Michaleff, Justin Clark and Paul Glasziou. *Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Rolfing evidence evaluation – Main report*. Institute of Evidence-Based Healthcare, for the National Health and Medical Research Council; approved 30 June 2022. Published by the Australian Government Department of Health as ["Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Rolfing evidence evaluation"](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-rolfing-evidence-evaluation) (accessed 11 October 2026). 2. Kidd, Michael. Letter to the Minister for Health and Aged Care, 16 February 2025, with *Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Report and recommendations*. Australian Government Department of Health, [published 27 March 2025](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-report-and-recommendations) (accessed 11 October 2026). 3. ["Natural Therapies Review 2024"](https://www.health.gov.au/topics/private-health-insurance/reforms/natural-therapies-review). Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Last updated 1 June 2026 (accessed 11 October 2026). ## Further reading - Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. ["Natural Therapies Review 2024"](https://www.health.gov.au/topics/private-health-insurance/reforms/natural-therapies-review). Australian Government. - Sanders, Sharon et al. [*Natural Therapies Review 2024 – Rolfing evidence evaluation*](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/natural-therapies-review-2024-rolfing-evidence-evaluation). National Health and Medical Research Council, 2022.