Is Rolfing just a type of massage?
No, but it is related to massage. Rolfing does involve hands-on work to the client body, and falls under the massage therapy laws in most states. Currently, Oregon is such a state. Rolfing does share a number of techniques with massage therapy (especially myofascial release), but that is about where the similarities end. Rolfing is a system of looking at the body and applying those techniques to achieve the goals at hand. The goal of Rolfing is to re-align your body in gravity for greater ease and mobility. We also seek to help re-educate the client in their own body usage. No oil or lotion is used in Rolfing, unless absolutely needed to assist tissue contact. You can find more info on the official RISI page “Rolfing and Massage”.
