THE ART OF ROLFING®

By Laurie Notch, Managing Editor

It’s weird how connections are made. While working on a fundraising online auction for a local community concern, I got a call from a woman wanting to donate a service to put up for bid. When I asked her what the service was, she answered, “a Rolfing ® session.”

“Rolfing? What’s that?” I queried not letting on what the word actually suggested in my mind. She began to explain it as corrective massage that works the myofascial tissues in the joints and muscles. Immediately after obtaining her name, Christina McChristian, and contact information, I set about to digging up all I could about Rolfing ® (including how to spell “myofascial”) and learned how Ida P. Rolf (1896-1979) invented the practice designed to correct skeletomuscular imbalances by separating layers of tissue that “stick” to muscles that have been pulled out of position by strain or injury), a biochemist turned physical therapist. Of course, just reading about it was not enough.

I called Christina and told her I was a writer and publisher always on the hunt for interesting women’s stories. She invited me over to her office for a free Rolfing ® session, and I surely got more of a tale than I could have ever bargained for. Lo and behold, Christina is not only a licensed, world-class Rolfer, she is a real world traveler and adventurer! Here is how the interview went (as I got royally Rolfed):

How long have you been doing Rolfing ®? Since 1999. I was working in Maine 2 ½ years ago. And then I went sailing. I thought I’d go to the South Pacific for several years but only managed 2 years out of Maine down in the Caribbean and up the Atlantic.
Did you learn to sail here in Maine? No. I’m originally from Bellingham, Washington. I grew up on the west coast and was supposed to take a trip down to South America. Then I went to San Diego and paid to work on my first sail boat. I cruised around Panama. I knew nothing. I was by myself. I think the guy liked to get you to pay for his expenses. We traveled up the eastern coast of Central America where we got chased by gun boats in Nicaragua. We had one big storm in a 33-foot Irwin. We ended up out of water, downed engines, in this big storm. We contacted a cargo ship, full of Asian mariners. They threw us a line but our boat couldn’t take the haul. They sent over their lifeboat which was as big as our boat! Then they helped us out, and we made it to Florida.
Did you go anywhere else besides Central America? We went up the Nile in uncharted waters. We were the only out-of-the-ordinary boat on those waters at that time. I spent years sailing but got out of it due to health problems. But in my travels, I met lots of wonderful natural medicine doctors. I never expected to heal the way I did.
What was your health problem? I had health issues that scared me due to an autoimmune disorder. I was used to being unhealthy since birth. No natural immunities. Once I went homeopathic everything changed. I did acupuncture and Chinese medicine among other treatments to get my body back in harmony. Once back on track, the body healed and it was amazing. In ‘92 – ‘93 I didn’t know anyone doing the kinds of therapies I do now. I studied massage before learning Rolfing.
What is Rolfing ®? What Rolfing does is work with the fascial tissue that grows around the bones and connects muscle to sinew to organ. You feel it, but ideally you want to reach a point not to feel the pain. It’s about changing habits and outlook. After doing Rolfing, my scoliosis cleared up. I had unbelievable changes in my body, but I didn’t know how to approach it. At this time, I was in a void. My marriage had ended and my dynamic lifestyle was gone. I supplicated to the universe to give me guidance. I knew my change could only come with proper diet and therapy. Then I saw an ad for a healing arts program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In spite of the people telling me it was expensive, no housing, etc., I landed in Santa Fe and found a house 3 blocks from school. Talk about the synchronicity of how things fall into place! There I studied polarity therapy and massage.
What is polarity therapy? Created by Randolph Stone, it’s energy work of Ayurvedic and Asian techniques. It’s about moving the energy to achieve balance -- a combo of a lot of different modalities.
How did you come to be in Maine? I was hired as a property manager for a Texas Billionaire who had places in Maine. I thought, “What will I do up there?” but as it turned out, I met the most amazing people: granite carvers, inventors, creative folk who led simple lives but possessed interesting talents. I wound up setting my own massage and Rolfing® practice and met with great success.

Needles to say, I was much more intrigued by Christina’s stories of fighting 30-foot waves off of Bermuda and riding barn-sour mules in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt than what her skilled hands were doing to my poor body wracked and knotted by endless hours hunkered over a computer keyboard. As I lay face-down on the massage table I felt the burn of the Rolfing® technique. Christina worked the stiff muscles in my neck, shoulders, back, and legs -- quite the penetrating massage! I’ve been returning faithfully every week for more much-needed corrective massage and a dose of thrilling storytelling.

207-710-3000

"Rolfing is a powerful tool, and a very important tool for me to have for my patients. People who have suffered from chronic pain for 20 years will be amazed at how their pain goes away."

- Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, Board-Certified Internist and Head of a Fibromyalgia Research Clinic in Annapolis, MD

“Form and function are a unity, two sides of one coin. In order to enhance function, appropriate form must exist or be created.”

–Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D.

Christina McChristian Certified Rolfer

Wellness Therapies

Christina was certified by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado. She is also a registered massage therapist and polarity therapist.

* Photo of Christina by Laurie Notch