The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

An updated report on a pilot project

By Robert Toporek
Certified Advanced Rolf Practitioner

This eBook was designed by RyanPutnamDesign.com

TeamChildren.com

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families
An updated report on a pilot project

Four generations of the same family.

The word posture in its physical sense has been commonly

regarded as a static alignment of body parts, one above the
other, rather like stacked suitcases or boxes. Posture, in its
broader sense, is the momentary, ever-changing balance of
body components in space as they relate to the force of
gravity... at any given instance and in any given position.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

The Promise of Rolfing Babies, Children and Families

An Updated Report on a Pilot Project
By Robert Toporek

First edition copyright 1981

Revised edition copyright 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
The word Rolfing is a Service Mark of The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration.
Published by
www.teamchildren.com
Originally printed in the U.S.A. by Delaware Valley Printers, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004.
Designed by
Ryan Putnam
RyanPutnamDesign.com

Please contribute financially

On these pages, you will see the amazing results
children experienced as a result of their Rolfing sessions.
Further research and documentation are essential.

It has been an enormous privilege for me to have worked on this project,

and to pass these findings on throughout the world so that babies, children
and their families everywhere can benefit from this extraordinary body of
knowledge. This revised edition is a pictorial and anecdotal account of the
first study, the results of which are extremely promising, and an update from
my 35-plus years of Rolfing.
One of the goals of this eBook is to reach out to as many Rolfers as
possible so that they begin to discover the benefits of Rolfing babies, children
and families. Another goal is to encourage them to study with me so that
as Dr. Rolf passed the baton to me, I too may pass this incredible body of
knowledge onto others.
A final goal is to make Rolfing available to babies and children diagnosed
as developmentally challenged so that Rolfing sessions may be given as a first
resort, not a last.
And to raise substantial funding to expand our efforts.
Disclaimer: The purpose of Rolfing is to better balance the body around a vertical line in the field of gravity so that gravity
begins to support the body rather than to tear it down. This is done through touch and education. Rolfing is not involved
in treatment or diagnosis of disease, nor does it substitute for medical treatment when such attention is needed, desired
or required. One who performs Rolfing does not treat, prescribe or diagnose an illness, disease or any other physical or
mental disorder. Nothing said or done by one who performs Rolfing should be misconstrued to be such. Whenever there
is any suspicion or indication of physical or mental disorder, it is imperative that a physician be consulted before you begin
Rolfing. Any relief from physical or emotional symptoms is coincidental, and is not the basic goal of structural integration.

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Introduction
In my original Rolfing practices with
adults, I was primarily working on fixing
something: poor posture, chronic pain,
stress, etc. The goal of these Rolfing
sessions was to release old traumas,
physical and emotional, stored in adult
bodies.

Robert with Dr. Ida P. Rolf, founder of Rolfing.

In a discussion with Dick Demmerle, (my original teacher, mentor and

Dr. Rolfs son) we began to contemplate the possibility of preventing these
maladies from the start. We theorized that Rolfing babies and children had the
potential to produce tremendous results in the growth and subsequent lives of
these individuals.
The first part of this eBook is a reproduction of my original monograph. The
second section will cover the body of knowledge that we have developed from
the hundreds of babies and families who have been Rolfed by me since 1978.
I first began Rolfing the Demmerle children and soon Rolfed children as part
of my practice.
A few years later in December of 1977 I was told that Dr. Rolf wanted to
embark on a project in Philadelphia focusing on the effects of Rolfing babies
and children. It was my duty to raise money for the project, find the children,
and essentially manage the entire program.
Dr. Rolf worked with many children in her lifetime and all of them exhibited
some abnormality. She saw curved backs, crooked legs, protruding bellies,
and heads tilted forward. Dr. Rolf knew that the structural imbalance in early
life was the basis for such adult complaints as chronic backache, neck pain,
and other manifestations of physical or emotional stress.

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Introduction
In Dr. Rolfs view, stress is caused by imbalance: when there is imbalance,
the structural support components of the body operate inefficiently and
with unnatural strain. This strain causes more than aches and pains; it also
accelerates aging, the wear and tear of the body through time. Imbalance
saps physical and emotional energy and reduces ones sense of well-being.
Physical injury, emotional trauma, and/or poor posture cause many peoples
bodies to become inefficiently organized. Over time, patterns of muscular
misuse become deeply ingrained within the connective tissue. This serves

Dr. Rolf believed that to change

structure
was to change function,

to lock the body into a structural misalignment that either perpetuates old
symptoms, leads to new symptonsor both.
Dr. Rolf realized that a childs posture is more than an aesthetic concern;
it is a visible indication of how the connective tissue is molding itself into its
unique pattern of muscular use or misuse.
In her teachings, Dr. Rolf emphasized that all behavior, physical or
emotional, is expressed through the musculoskeletal system. Our vital organs
function in the grip of the musculoskeletal system. Our emotional state is
also expressed through it. We are all familiar with the stooped shoulders that
signal self-defeat, the bowed head of shame or embarrassment, and the
physical tension of anger or fear.
6

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Introduction
Dr. Rolf believed that to change structure was to change function, and she
demonstrated this in her work. In other words, to a great extent, our structure
determines our behavior.
Proper posture in a healthy organism,
Dr. Rolf explained, might be thought
of as a resting state, a capacity and a
preparedness to respond appropriately
and efficiently to a wide variety of
stimuli.

Here gravity becomes,

in effect, a supportive force
rather than a destructive one.

When a human body is organized symmetrically around a vertical line, it can

cope more efficiently with the force that gravity exerts. That is, the vertically
integrated body can make use of gravity to enhance balance as it performs
its countless routine tasks. Here gravity becomes, in effect, a supportive force
rather than a destructive one.
Dr. Rolf knew that Rolfing benefited children. She also
understood the necessity of documenting the changes in these
children: how they looked, how they felt, and how their lives had
been affected-and not just immediately after the standard series
of sessions, but after a year or more had passed as well.
The lives of the children involved are just beginning to
unfold. In some cases, the course of psychological and
physical development is already obvious. Information
supplied by their parents supplements and confirms our
own first-hand observations.

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Introduction
We trust this account will serve to dramatize the value, and promise of
Rolfing children, and the need for your support in continuing this work with
children.
We will be adding to this monograph. Since the beginning of the project I
have personally Rolfed over 300 babies and children and now more than 4,000
men women and children have improved their posture, relieved chronic pain,
turned stress into energy, and have lived extraordinary lives.
My son had his first session the day he was born and has had Rolfing
sessions throughout his life. A number of other babies have also been Rolfed
with in the first few days of life. These Rolfing sessions have made a profound
difference in the neuromuscular development of these babies. Some of the
children I have Rolfed you will meet in upcoming editions as they talk about
how they were Rolfed as teens, grew up, had babies of their own and have
had their babies and children Rolfed.

Robert began rolfing his son Bryan at an early age.

Robert rolfing Roxi Hughes, 3 months old.

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

One purpose of Rolfing is to better balance an individuals
body around a vertical line in the field of gravity so that gravity
can support the body rather than tear it down. The result of this
better balance is an enhancement not only of physical wellbeing, but also of emotional and spiritual well-being.
Prior to her passing away Dr Rolf saw a bigger vision for
Before
After
Rolfing babies and children. She noticed the balance in our
bodies and our bodies relationship with gravity was reflected in behavior
states since self expression was intimately involved in muscular tone. Balance
was a resting state; a capacity and preparedness for responses of all kinds
depending on the nature of the stimulus. Imbalance then was the movement
or impulse to move when it returned to balance. However, she noticed many
responses never do complete themselves there for leaving our bodies and
lives in what is called habits and patterns.

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

Dr Rolf saw Rolfing as an opportunity to consciously evolve our
evolution. She wrote the following just before she passed away.
Rolfing: The VerticalExperimental Side to Human Potential

Like so many teachers, some of them

very close to home, I complain that people
do not seem to understand my basic goals,
the fundamental purpose for which Rolfing
has been developed. In an effort to lessen
this type of frustration, I offer the following
summary of Rolfing developments, purposes,
and ideas.
First, let me reiterate what I have often
said before: I as an individual am not
primarily interested in the relief of symptoms,
either physical of mental. To hear Rolfees
tell of their wonderful, unbelievable
symptom alleviation, it is hard not to accept
this assessment as a goal. However, I am
interested in human potential, and human
potential per se neither includes or excludes
the palliation of symptoms.
As of today, Rolfing is accepted as being
one of the most basic; on of the most reliable
means of developing whatever potential is
latent in any given human, psychological as
well as physical. By what route did Rolfing
reach this particular eminence? We assume
that human beings are, as a species, evolving
toward verticality. What are the intellectual
considerations which can speed us on our
way toward understanding the value of this
verticality?

There can be no argument that the bony

structure is less subject to capricious change
than soft tissue. Rolfers have heard me
say over and over that the bones, per se,
however, are not the basic determinants of
body structure. Bones are where they are
and as they are to separate and stabilize the
softer tissues which, in point of fact, play the
more significant role in physical organization.
Nevertheless, bones are fundamental,
relatively stable elements of structure. As we
observe the blueprint of the bones, it becomes
increasingly apparent that the softer tissues
need to be in certain patterned relations to
each other for the bones to perform their role
most effectively as separating and relating
elements.
Now, the $64,000 question which I asked
many years ago, and to which I am still
seeking the answer, is this: What kind of
organism will develop if these body parts are
appropriately related? What happens when
the soft tissue and related bone structure
actually function in the positions in space
which their architectural design suggests as
most appropriate and which contributes most
effectively to establishing the vertical? The
vertical in mans structure is the outcome of
his proprioceptive, sensory appreciation of the
gravity pull of the earth.

10

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

Whether consciously or unconsciously, he
feels this pull and responds to it. This is the
subtle concept: the intellectual formulation
arises out of the sensory awareness. Mans
appreciation of the vertical evolves from his
sense of the gravity pull of the earth.
We as a generation have begun to take this
touchstone into all parts of the world of ideas,
evaluating the validity of a concept in sensory
terms, in the light of information from our
senses as well from our intellects.
Up to this point in time, humans have
always developed and still live within the
gravity pull of the earth. They must make
their peace with this energy field, whatever it
really is. To the extent that they fail to make
peace and mistakenly carry on a war, gravity
wins every time. The energy of this field
can enhance or dissipate the energy of the
individual man. You cannot change the energy
field, but you can change the man.
The question remains; to what extent
could Rolfers create a small population
able to live within the gravity field without
an ongoing, everlasting war, without the
constant expenditure of precious human
energy merely to carry to life within the gravity
field? If we could create such a population,
what would be its characteristics? I am not
interest solely in physical structure, although
that is really of basic importance especially
in terms of physiological well-being. What
will be the psychological characteristics, the
behavior both of the individual and of a group

composed of such individuals? How would

these more vertical individuals compare with
the random, less conscious humans who tread
the surface of the earth today?
Is it perhaps too far-fetched to wonder
whether one of the tap-roots of human
aggression and its underlying fear may be the
continuous sense of insecurity which random
humans unconsciously feel with reference
to their environment-the gravity field? This
emotional response is called forth very early in
life, probably with the first attempt at verticality
(standing), and certainly with the first walking
steps. Many psychological and behavioral
aberrations arise from causes less basic than
this.
Be that as it may, I see no means of
gaining an answer to this suggestive and
really important question in the abstract. The
answer will come when we can create such a
population and observe it through a long-term
period. At this pint, we are justified only in
looking with satisfaction at the reports coming
in from people who have experienced some
approach to the integrating vertical. The
appropriate integration of the bodies of man
in the gravity field a is long-term evolutionary
project. Not even the first page has been
turned yet. It is possible that we are seeing
the first conscious attempt at evolution that
any species has ever evidenced.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

Blackwood, New Jersey

March, 1977

11

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

Socrates said, Know thyself. We must know ourselves in order that we
might know the world because the world begins in ourselves. It cannot be
overestimated how important it is to children to understand this concept. Their
lives are just beginning to unfold. We forget that childhood is charged with
concerns and traumas which the adult has survived and can only dimly recall,
or perhaps has suppressed completely.
Control, confidence, and understanding of how ones body truly works- its
limits and its strengths, a trust in its essential fluidity and resilience-there are
the aspects which give us confidence about the operation of the one organism
we are closest to: our individual selves.
Rolfing children addresses these concerns at an early age to give children
ease with their own bodies and to allow them to develop the confidence that
they carry their own state of grace within them. There is no way to separate
the physical child from his mental and spiritual self.

Four generations of bad posture may have been

corrected with rolfing from the start.

12

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

A child who slumps mentally and emotionally,
contrasted with a child whose body is balanced
and moves gracefully and confidently all reflects
an inner grace and confidence. However, as
conscientious parents can be all too painfully
aware, not all children carry their bodies so
well. Thus, we have come to read those timid,
tense, or distorted bodies as dramatizing needs
which are not otherwise being communicated.
Parental concern is to produce a balanced child.
Rolfing is an immediately effective means of
addressing this objective.
Rolfing involves manipulation of the major muscle groups and the
connective tissue, which is called fascia.
This manipulation is designed to bring the bodys soft tissue to its
anatomically efficient position. The induced changes are eventually made
permanent by the more efficient patterns of movement which results. The net
effect is a significant decrease in the amount of stress experienced in the body
during both normal and strenuous activities.
In order to understand Rolfing, it is
important to consider the nature if fascia. The
word fascia comes from Latin and means
bands. Fascia forms a continuous network
throughout every part of the body. It is a
fibrous connective tissue that surrounds
muscles, blood vessels and nerves.

13

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

Deep fascia, as the name suggests, is found
deep inside the body. It surrounds and attaches
itself to the various interior structures of the
body: to the membranes that cover the bones,
to the membranes that envelope each primary
bundle of muscle fibers, and to ligaments,
vessels, nerves, bursae, lymph nodes, viscera,
joints, and cartilage. In the limbs, it thickens
and serves to hold the tendons in place when
the muscles contract. In the muscles, it forms walls and separates the major
muscle groups. It functions as a system of protection, padding, insulation,
separation, and support for various body tissues and organs and the nerves
and vessels that run through them.
Fascial tissue responds to physical and emotional trauma by shortening
and thickening. Over time, this has the effect of pulling the body out of its
balanced vertical alignment. An unbalanced body will compensate to combat
the downward pull of gravity, and this drains additional energy. The resulting
distress is cumulative; the body becomes more and more out of balance as
time passes.
Consider the example of a child who falls
on his knee. Though this is not a serious
injury, it causes pain for several days. To
ease the discomfort, the child favors the leg.
Neighboring muscle groups are used to support
the changed pattern of weight bearing. The
fascia in the distressed areas thickens or sticks
together to support the increased load on these
muscles.
14

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

A lifetime of such bumps and knocks causes a body to
lose its vertical alignment and natural grace.
Emotional trauma has a comparable effect. A child who
is often yelled at and criticized may carry his head tipped
downward as an emotional response to the hostility he
has experienced.
Over time, the head hanging reaction becomes
chronic; the muscles in the back of the neck become
enveloped with thickened fascia. The child develops and
changes, but the head tends to remain in the set position. Not only does the
imbalanced posture become set, but the associated emotional feelings of
inadequacy become locked up in the musculature as well.
The average person of any age suffers from aches, stiffness, and
musculoskeletal imbalance, and the amount of discomfort increases and he or
she ages. We maintain, however, that the key factor here is not so much age
as the force of gravity. We know that this force which operates to press down
on the body can be used to support it as well.
Imagine the body as a stack of segmented blocks: head, shoulders, thorax,
pelvis, and legs. When these blocks are aligned correctly, a straight line can be
drawn, beginning from the top of the head, which will touch the ear, shoulder,
pelvis, leg, and ankle. In this optimal vertical alignment, gravity will work
to support the body. This is because the weight of each block is close to a
common, central (vertical) axis. Hence, each block rests on the one below it.
In such a resting state, far less energy is needed to support and to move the
whole set of blocks.

15

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Why Rolf Children?

In a body that is out of alignment, each of the blocks does not rest on the
one below it. For example, for a person who habitually hangs his head, the
force of gravity pushes down on the head. If it werent for the muscles in the
back of the neck that initially compensate for this condition, the person would
always look as if he is about to fall over.
People expend a great deal of extra energy to deal with such imbalance.
The purpose of Rolfing is to correct physical imbalance so that the body
blocks are automatically aligned within the field of gravity. When this is
accomplished, the person has increased energy available for use in more
creative and joyful ways.
Standing squarely on your own two feet, having your feet planted firmly
on the ground, having your head on straight, and feeling supported by
gravity are not just clichs to us. They are the objectives of our professional
efforts with our clients.
And, especially when these clients are children, there is often observed in
them a thrilling realization that at last, and perhaps for the very first time, they
understand what straight means and is, as they being to assert control over
their bodies and their lives.

16

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Jo

Jos mother reports that before Jo was Rolfed she was the baby of the family, not
only chronologically but psychologically as well. After her Rolfing sessions, however,
her mother described her as almost another child. She says that Jo is more grownup, has developed a stronger sense of self, is cheerful, and that she is putting more
structure and definition in the way she handles her physical world.

As you can see, before her first session, Jo stood with her knees locked back, making her
appear bowlegged. Later photographs show dramatic improvement.
Jos mother insisted that we mention the effect Rolfing has had on Jos creativity. She says
when Jo was born, I knew that this child would be a
creative spiritual child.
Since her Rolfing has flourished in this regard.
Rolfing seems to have given her a centerdness she
never had before. This has increased her ability to direct
her creative energies. Her creativity, her mother reports,
has developed in may areas. She plays the violin, sings,
dances, appears in plays, and does art work.

We are not truly upright, we are only on our

way to becoming upright. This is a metaphysical
consideration. One of the jobs of a Rolfer is to
speed that process along. We want to get them
into the place where gravity reinforces them and
is a friend, a nourishing force.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
17

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

J.C.

Before he was Rolfed, J.C. had a protruding stomach and stood hunchedover. Significant improvement in these areas can be seen in the photographs.
His mother states that he seems more in control of his movements and that,
whereas he frequently complained of headaches before his Rolfing sessions, he
never complains of them now. She also reports that there is a positive shift in
J.C.s self-image, as evidences by the pictures.

The human body is not static; its plastic,

and that plastic quality enables a persons body
to be realigned into a more optimally functioning
and feeling human being. Rolfing accomplishes
that realignment.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
18

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Liz

Prior to her Rolfing sessions, Liz felt she was overweight and she was not
pleased with her posture. She complained that her stomach stuck out. Notice
also how her head hangs forward. Immediately after Rolfing, and as much as a
year later, you can see a notable improvement in her posture. Her head is more
erect and her stomach is flatter.

As Liz is maturing into adolescence, her mother was concerned not just about her daughters
slumping posture, but also about her difficulty with being emotionally open and expressing herself.
Liz seemed to worry a lot.
The most important recent report from Lizs mother
is that, besides the big improvement in Lizs posture,
she also says she could see a big overall change in
her. She has become much more open, loving, and
helpful; she is full of enthusiasm and even worries a lot
less. In short, Liz has become a joy to live with.

The word posture in its physical sense

has been commonly regarded as a static
alignment of body parts, one above the
other, rather like stacked suitcases or boxes.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
19

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Reginald

Like his brother J.C. (shown previously), Reginald

evidenced a chronic slump and a protruding stomach
before Rolfing. After ten sessions, the change in
Reginalds posture was quite noticeable. The protruding
stomach is gone and , according to his mothers report,
his stance is much more erect.

The aggressive pose that Reginald presents in the

photograph taken before Rolfing belies the anxiety,
fear, and mistrust his mother sensed in him. After he
was Rolfed, his mother noted that he had more self
control and was less destructive. Most significantly,
she reported that he was less antagonistic and less
deliberately annoying.

We are not truly upright, we are only on our

way to becoming upright. This is a metaphysical
consideration. One of the jobs of a Rolfer is to
speed that process along. We want to get them
into the place where gravity reinforces them and
is a friend, a nourishing force.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
20

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Ann

Ann and Chris are sisters. At the time of their sessions, their parents had
been divorced for some time and they lived with their mother. Ann is the
older of the two, though physically smaller, and her mother reported that she
kept her thoughts and feelings much more hidden. Both girls, she said, were
uncomfortable with the size of their bodies. Ann felt she was too small and
Chris felt she was too large. In addition, they both expressed concerns over their difficulty in getting
along with each other.

Posture, in its broader sense, is the

momentary, ever-changing balance of body
components in space as they relate to the
force of gravity... at any given instance and in
any given position.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
21

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Chris

After Rolfing, according to their mothers accounts, Ann became

considerably more open and straightforward, and both she and Chris
became more comfortable with their bodies. Now the two sisters are., in
their mothers words, the best of friends. Chris reports that her baseball
game improved after
Rolfing, that she can run faster and her swing is more
accurate. There was a dramatic realignment in the
girls family too. Shortly after their sessions they both
went to live with their father, whom they had difficulty
relating to prior to their Rolfings.

We are not truly upright, we are only on our

way to becoming upright. This is a metaphysical
consideration. One of the jobs of a Rolfer is to
speed that process along. We want to get them
into the place where gravity reinforces them and
is a friend, a nourishing force.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
22

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Teddy

Notice the change in the structure of his chest after ten Rolfing
sessions. Notice also the changes in how his body blocks are aligned.

Teddys mother reported that Teddy had suffered from serious

allergies and asthma since early childhood. She suspected his
problem was as much psychological as it was physical. This was underscored by Teddys body
tension. He held his body like a steel coil, his mother told us. After being Rolfed, Teddys wheezing
stopped and his allergies cleared up. He has become
involved in bicycle racing now that asthma is not a part
of his life.

In a healthy organism, proper balance might

be thought of as a resting state; a capacity and
preparedness to respond appropriately and
efficiently to a wide variety of stimuli.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

before

after
23

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies

Shanna

Shanna is a special case. She was not a part of the

original Childrens Project, but we have included her in this
report because the changes she underwent after Rolfing were
dramatic. Shannas case demonstrates the potential of Rolfing
in working with children who suffer from symptoms of serious
diseases.

As an infant, Shanna had been diagnosed

as having cerebral palsy. None of the
conventional therapeutic techniques had
substantially relieve her symptoms, so, when
Shanna was 14 months old, her parents
approached me about Rolfing.
I Rolfed Shanna over the normal series
of ten sessions, which were completed in
four and one-half weeks. During this time no
significant changes were made in her medical
treatment. Conventional therapy was, and
still is, being pursued in conjunction with the
Rolfing. Her parents felt this was important to
her overall treatment.

before

after

Rolfing has to do with gravity. Not chemistry,

not medicine, not the idea of individually fixing
this or that. Gravity is the one and only tool we
use. I think my experience justifies making this
very broad assumption: gravity is the only tool
that deals with chronic situations
in the body.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

24

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Case Studies
It is not our contention that Rolfing
cures people who have serious
diseases. However, Shannas case and
certain others do indicate that Rolfing
holds considerable promise, and
should be seriously considered as an
adjunct to other treatments.
At least one pilot study by medical
researchers has indicated that Rolfing
benefits some persons suffering from
cerebral palsy. More research is
needed, however, before we can have
a clear picture of Rolfings possibilities
for improving the lives of people with
special problems like Shannas.

A Rolfer works with gravity; he

understands the gravitational pull
in everything that a human being
does, 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year, from the moment he gets out
of his mothers womb. From that
day until the day the undertaker
catches up with him, gravity does
not take a vacation.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

25

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Please contribute financially

On these pages, you have seen the amazing results these children experienced as a result of
their Rolfing sessions. Further research and documentation are essential.
Unfortunately Dr Rolf passed away shortly after the completion of this project and most Rolfers
have never had the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge accumulated with this project. I am
now committed to train as many Rolfers and teachers of Rolfing and structural integration the power
of this work.
Please help us make this monograph available to as many people as possible.
Contribute financially. Your contribution may be tax deductible. Click Here to donate.
TeamChildren is an IRS approved non profit organization.
Your contribution will write a new chapter about what is really possible in early childhood growth
and development and help us rapidly expands the benefits of Rolfing to many, many more babies
and children.
Please send your contribution to:
TeamChildren
960 Rittenhouse Rd
Audubon PA 19403
Or visit our web page TeamChildren.com
Please let us know if you have any case studies to contribute to this project or wish to take a
class or participate in future projects.
[email protected]

26

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

Ida P. Rolf was born in New York City
in 1896. In 1916, she graduated from
Barnard College and was hired to do
research at the Rockefeller Institute (now
Rockefeller University) in New York, where
she continued her education. She received
a Ph.D. in biochemistry and physiology
from the Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons in 1920 and spent several more years working in
the departments of chemotherapy and organic chemistry at the Rockefeller
Institute.
Dr. Rolfs interest in Structural Integration-or Rolfing- came about through
her search for solutions to personal and family health problems, for which
conventional methodologies had proved of little value.
The technique that Dr. Rolf developed
during her years of study and practice
first received wide professional exposure
through demonstrations and workshops
that she conducted at Easlen Institute in
California during the mid 1960s. She then
established the Rolf Institute in Boulder,
Colorado. She spent the last years of
her life in Blackwood, N.J. refining her
methods and teaching them to other
Rolfing practitioners.

27

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Robert Toporek
Robert Toporek studied with Dr Rolf extensively
from 1975 till her death in 1979. He organized
and managed most of her final classes,
supported her administratively, traveled with
her to various board meetings and conferences,
was influential in having psychology today do
an extensive interview with her, and assisted
her in a somatic conference in Los Angeles.
Robert is one of the leading pioneers in the world standing for the
possibility of Rolfing fro every new born, baby, child, and their parents. In
1997 Robert created a Rolfing clinic on the sidewalk in one of Philadelphias
most dangerous neighborhoods. For three years he organized other
massage therapist and body workers to come on a weekly basis to give
children in this neighborhood a relief from the daily intense stress they
lived with. Robert has expanded his work with babies and children and
is now a leading worldwide advocate for the integration of high tech
with high touch to cause a breakthrough n early childhood development.
Robert is also the author of the New Book of Baby & Child Massage.

One individual may experience his losing fight with gravity as a sharp pain in the back,
another as the unflattering contour of his body, another as constant fatigue, and yet another as an
unrelenting threatening environment. Those over 40 may call it old age, yet all these signals may be
pointing to a single problem so prominent in their own structures and the structures of others, that it
has been ignored; they are off balance. They are all at war with gravity.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

28

The Promise of Rolfing

Babies, Children and Families

by Robert Toporek

Project Methodology
In the Spring of1978, Dr. Rolf, Ron Thompson, Cathryn Ellison,
Carol Gold, Andy Crow, and myself gathered in Philadelphia. During
the next four weeks we worked with nine children and five babies.
Except for the babies, who did not receive all ten sessions, each
child went through the complete basic Rolfing process.
The standard ten sessions were completed over a period of three and onehalf weeks in order to eliminate growth as a factor in the recorded changes.
Photography and interviewing were used to document the results of
the project. The photographs and interviews in this study were taken
before and immediately after three and one-half weeks of Rolfing. Some
were taken again one year later, and in some cases, three years later, to
document the ongoing and lasting changes introduced by the Rolfing
process. Although not all fourteen subjects are shown in this report,
the results shown on the following pages are not exceptional cases;
they re representative of the children who participated in the project.

29

Acknowledgements
Many people have made contributions
to the preparation of this monograph and
to the project it describes, and a number of
acknowledgements are in order. Hundreds
more have contributed to the project as
it has expanded over the years. If we do
not specifically acknowledge you here rest
assured that we know who you are.
I am very grateful to the following Rolfers,
Ron Thompson, Phyllis Singer, Cathryn
Ellison, Carol Gold, and Andy Crow for sharing
with me the work of Rolfing children and
documenting the results of the project.
Acknowledgement is also in order for the
contribution of the children and parents who
participated in the project and the extensive
follow-up. I want to especially acknowledge
Alice Matusow, Alan Silverstein and the
Goldsteins for their support. Their cooperation
in the face of endless scheduling difficulties
enabled us to finish our work within the critical
time frame established for it.
I particularly would like to thank the
children who participated in the project and
allowed their pictures to be used in order that
others benefit from Rolfing.

I would like to thank Joe Golden and the

Delaware Valley Printers for their patience,
persistence and good will in bringing this
monograph into print; Elliot Curson for the
one simple instruction that bought me out of
confusion and into order; Debbie Brandt,
Rochelle Dorfman, Howard Coffin, and
Steve Passin for their contributions to the
text. I would especially like to thank Kathy
Kuhl for her assistance in the design of the
monograph and for the warmth, beauty, and
professionalism she brought to this work and
to Meredith Gatschet for the completion of the
work.
I would also like to express my gratitude
to Dr. Mike Phillips for his help and insistence
on rigorous scientific research. Special
acknowledgements are in order for Marilynn
Hall and Adrienne Carlee for their continuous
support of the project from beginning to end,
and to Connie Shuster for keeping our work
place organized. Without the typing of Roz
Burak and Margie Frank, especially during
emergencies, I wouldnt have known what to
do. Thanks.
To all my friends and clients in Philadelphia
and elsewhere who have aided me and the
project financially, morally, and in countless
other ways, I thank you.

30

This monograph is dedicated to Dr. Ida P. Rolf who trusted me to

organize, manage and continue this project, Werner Erhard for training
me in the distinctions of enrollment and registration conversations and
the distinctions he has created around personal transformation, to Easlen
Institute and my friend Dick Price who first introduced me to alternative
thinking and created a platform for Dr Rolf s work to be realized.
I want to acknowledge Dick Demmerle and his family for their
love, support, warm beds and meals and to Dick and Bridgette for
taking me under their wing and trusting me to Rolf their children.
The parents and friends who have supported me throughout, to
Suzanne Squires for her financial generosity and to my house mates that
made it all happen. Marilyn Hall, Adrienne Carlee, Karen Cauley.

Dr. Ida P. Rolf

Robert Toporek

31