Energetic Aspects of the Rolf Line

As a practitioner of Structural Integration, I have spent decades bringing order out of disorganization in the connective tissues of the human body. What most fascinates me about Structural Integration is the exploration of the gravitational field as a beneficial force. Dr. Rolf referred to this possibility when she stated:

Rolfing postulates on the basis of observation that a human is basically an energy field operating in the greater energy of the earth: particularly significant is that energy known as the gravitational field. As such, the individual’s smaller field can be enhanced or depleted in accordance with the spatial relations of the two fields…. 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…and gravity becomes the therapist. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 8.)

In my Structural Integration trainings, I learned about the importance of organizing the body segments. I understood how gravity could be an unrelenting detrimental force if major body segments were not lined up properly, but the question of how gravity could be an ongoing beneficial force eluded me. It seemed that Dr. Rolf was referring to something more than body segments being lined up properly.

Dr. Rolf was a brilliant woman. She was a biochemist who was engaged in numerous fields of interest, including atomic physics studies in Zurich, Switzerland. I think she knew of the energetic potential of Structural Integration as a transformational process.  Organizing body structure and clearing stress and strain from the connective tissues is paramount for the flow of beneficial life-force energy. When that energy is enabled to flow more freely, a more evolved and aware human being may emerge. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 120.)

The Torus:

The ancient Chinese Taoists who studied universal life-force energy called that energy Qi. They said that there are two main sources of energy on our planet, that is, heavenly energy and earthly energies. Our bodies are surrounded and penetrated by these energies. The force of these energies is electromagnetic and arises out of the gravitational fields in which we live. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 11.)

This beneficial life-force energy flows around the body in a doughnut-like shape called a torus. In 1918, German physicist Max Planck received the Nobel Prize for his discovery that the universe releases light and electromagnetic energy as little packets of wholeness, which Planck called quanta.

The energy of the quanta moves in a specific pattern that mathematicians call the pattern of the torus. The shape of the torus is a three-dimensional doughnut-like shape with a central column down the middle.

In the film Thrive: What on Earth Will it Take? the energy of a torus is described as follows: “Energy flows in through one end, circulates around the center, and exits out the other side.” This pattern can be seen in the structure of an atom, in the cross section of an orange, in the magnetic field around the human body, around the Earth, and so on, all the way to the galactic level in the shape of spinning galaxies. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 18.)

The Rolf Line:

We can become aware of these electromagnetic energies when we experience our Rolf Line. Imagine a Line that begins in the center of the Earth and runs all the way to the heavens. That same Line runs through the center of one’s feet and legs, up the front side of the spine, through the center of the neck, and out the top of the head as it continues into the heavens. Breath activates this Line in a way similar to Qi Gong. Through this Line, we can experience energetic renewal and personal empowerment by consciously connecting with the larger energy fields of the heavens and Earth that surround us. We call this type of awareness, “Being on our Line.”

In 2007, I read Betsy’s Sise’s excellent book, The Rolfing Experience. Within it, she had reproduced an unpublished paper by our teacher, Emmett Hutchins, titled Structural Integration: A Path of Personal Growth and Development. His words described the free flow of electric core energy through the body when blockages in the physical and energetic levels were removed. It spoke of the possibility of the personal electromagnetic field of a body being reinforced by the field of the earth. In doing so, a transcendent state of integration between human and cosmos may emerge accompanied by an awakening of extraordinary powers of mind and body.

The 2006 IASI Symposium:

In Bellevue, Washington, at the first IASI symposium, I raised my hand to answer the question Rosemary Feitis posed at the end of her opening remarks. Her question was, “What is Gravity?”

It was a rhetorical question; I don’t think she intended anyone in the audience to respond, yet there I was, in the third row with my hand starting to shoot up! “Oh my God, I thought! Please help me with this one!” My little body was shaking like a leaf! 

She called on me and I slowly stood to address her question. Looking around the banquet room, I saw a sea of intelligent, thoughtful faces. I took a breath, found my head and feet, and began to address them all.

I spoke of how having a Structurally Integrated body has helped me experience the movement of life-force energy in my body. Energy flows into me through the bottom of my feet and the top of my head. It feels like showers of Love and Light that connect me with a sense of home and link me into a greater field of universal energy.

I described how my body would tingle as every cell was bathed in this Light. I contended that these flows of energy emerge from the electromagnetic field that arises from the gravitational force, and that our bodies can become conscious conduits of them, and that Structural Integration assists this process. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 9.)

It turned out that my words were a perfect segue into the next presentation, which was by Dr. James L. Oschman, biophysicist and author of Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance. He immediately began describing his ideas on the “Living Matrix,” where virtually all of the connective tissues of the body are composed of liquid crystalline-like formations, being capable of the semi-conduction of tiny fast moving particles such as electrons and protons. When they are hydrated, they can transmit and conduct electromagnetic energy at quantum speeds and enable the organism to function as a coherent, coordinated whole. (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 10.)

The movement of Life-Force energy in the body:

That was the first time I heard Dr. Oschman speak. And what a revelation of science that was for me!  His studies of the semi-conductive, body-wide connective tissue, which he referred to as the “Living Matrix,” helped me to understand what was happening in my own body. Many dots started connecting for me during his presentation! 

I believe it is our birthright to have a human body that can be supported, sustained, and nourished by the fields of energy that surround us—if only we know how to access them and allow them to flow through!

As Dr. Rolf said, “Rolfers make a life study of relating bodies and their fields to the earth and its gravity field, and we so organize the body that the gravity field CAN reinforce the body’s energy field. This is our primary concept!”

Our bodies are continually in the presence of this life-enhancing energy of gravity. By consciously drawing the electromagnetic energy into our bodies through our Line, the systems of our bodies are enhanced.

Dr. Valerie Hunt, a biophysicist, author of Infinite Mind, referred to the light and electromagnetic waves that Planck discovered when she spoke about how this life force energy enters. She stated, “External electromagnetic energy penetrates the body through acupuncture points and flows through the meridians into the whole field.” Connective tissue seems “to dictate the flow of electromagnetic energy throughout the body at the finest level,” said Hunt. “Apparently, for all systems to be ‘go,’ a rich electromagnetic field must be present.” (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 18.)     

The Body synchronizes with the field of the Earth:

The Earth has a rich electromagnetic field too. Scientists have determined that on a subatomic level, the surface of the Earth is covered with a vast reservoir of energy created by the movement of tiny subatomic particles or waves of free electrons that have a negative charge—in other words, electrical currents. Clinical studies show that the physiology of the body synchronizes and responds to the various frequencies in this energy field.

In the Foreword of the Earthing book, James Oschman explained that walking, sitting, or standing barefoot on the ground for a half an hour or so will activate an electrical exchange between the Earth and our bodies that will restore and maintain the human body’s most natural electrical state by optimizing our physiological functions and the health of our bodies. He said, “The Earth is like one gigantic anti-inflammatory, sleep booster, and energizer all wrapped up in one.”

When connecting with the Earth energy, my body feels a subtle tingling sensation or warmth that rises up through my feet. Oschman surmises that the free electrons of the planet’s electrical currents enter the body through the bottom of bare feet and are distributed body-wide through the liquid ground substance of the connective tissues. Their negative charge will neutralize the positive charge of free radicals. This wipes out the inflammation created by free radicals! (See Structural Integration and Energy Medicine, p. 19.)

I have also found that I can synchronize my body with the electromagnetic frequencies and just invite them to flow through me with intention!  Those particles and waves also organize around intention!  You don’t have to have your bare feet on the ground to experience their subtle, beneficial movement through your body.

Energies of Gravity as a Beneficial Force:

Another key scientific researcher of fascia is the Director of Research of the European Rolfing Association, Robert Schleip, Ph.D.  I was fortunate to attend the Plano, Texas “Fascial Fascination Conference in 2006 where Schleip and Oschman both presented. 

“The connective tissue matrix is the interface between our metaphysics and physiology,” said Schleip. I was pleased that he encouraged practitioners to channel the expansive good energies of gratitude, love, and appreciation into the connective tissues of our clients as we work with them.

My studies and work as a Rolf Practitioner have led me to understand that manual therapies that release strain in the connective tissues and help organize body structure may support a very strong bio-magnetic field in the body.

Many thanks to the work of Dr. Rolf and Guimberteau, Oschman, and Schleip, who have helped me connect the dots in order to understand the movement of life-force energy in my own body.

I can now strongly affirm that with adequate minerals, proper hydration, and organization of the Living Matrix of connective tissue, the electromagnetic field of my body has become enhanced and the energies of gravity do flow through me as a beneficial force!