Children move with the freedom to jump up or roll around without fear of injury, movements taking them in many directions—up, down, around and even upside-down. Youth has a feel of fluidity and juicy resiliency.

Older men and women tend to shuffle, the head tilted down and forward, and the eyes focused downward toward the ground because they are fearful of falling. The rib cage is stooped forward and a rhythm of cautionary movement propels the person in one direction only.

Rolfing Structural Integration practitioners look at the movements people make and restrictions in the body that may create the feel and look of aging, which has more to do with how the body breaks down and can still be changed, rather than the number of years lived. The fascia connective tissues respond to injuries and repetitive emotional and physical postures over the years by tightening, twisting and changing shape, which ends up restricting the easy movements we equate with youth and agility.

Posture is not something to be forced into place. Rolfing practitioners know how to work holistically with the fascia throughout the entire body in a sequential method to bring back naturally youthful mobility and movements.

Source: Valerie Berg, certified advanced Rolfer and member of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration faculty in Boulder, CO. For more information on Rolfing, call the Rolf Institute at 303-449-5903 or visit Rolf.org.