ColumnS

neck and the head is to teach your client

to engage peripheral vision. To evoke
peripheral vision, ask your client to look
to the horizon, or use imagery to evoke a

Ask the Movement Faculty

sense of the far distance. You can also work
with the sense of hearing. Ask the client to
hear sounds in the distance like the hum
of distant traffic or the sound of wind in
the forest. Such perceptions evoke spatial
Addressing Functional orientation and cause the head and neck
to float up and out of the thorax. Evaluate
Inhibitions in the Thoracic Spine the impact of this piece of perceptual
information on the relationship of your
By Ashuan Seow, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, Rolfing® Instructor, client’s thorax, head and neck, and consider
Rolf Movement Practitioner®, Rolf Movement Instructor-in-Training whether you now see the possibility of more
movement through the thorax.

Establishing Support

Q I’d like to learn how to work with the relationship between the upper
thoracic area and the neck and head, especially with forward-head stance
individuals. I’d like to learn how to evoke movement in the thoracic spine when
for the Thorax
If nothing happens or if your client is
perplexed by this approach, you may need
a person is not moving much in spite of having the structural capability. to consider whether the client has a sense
of support or even an awareness of support
being available. Support is a prerequisite for

A This question brings to light the four

structures considered in our Rolfing
paradigm: the physical, psychological,
schema, evoking new pathways through
sensations and neuromuscular firing
patterns. Sensations are pure information,
movement. To act in our environment we
need a direction or vector, or object of desire
or necessity. But, in order to apprehend the
perceptive, and coordinative structures. u nt a r n i s h e d by t h e co m p l ex i t i e s o f object we have to accelerate towards it. This
Integration is as good as the extent to which individual psychology, something we can requires the impetus of the upper gravity
each of these is addressed. never know. 2 During the client’s “altered” center or G’. To be able to accelerate, G’
state within the context of a Rolfing must receive support from the lower gravity
When a person has the structural capability
session, a window of opportunity exists center or G.
to move, yet is not able to do so, then
for him to experience a new “felt sense”
we must consider that the restriction is If such support is missing, you can establish
of neurobiological information that he
an “inhibition” rather than a “lesion.” it by teaching “suppor ted sitting.” In
can then draw upon for processing and
Inhibitions lie within the perceptual, supported sitting the knees are slightly
integration. Through this experience,
coordinative and psychological structures. lower than the pelvis on the seat, and the
history and psychology are transformed
Research has shown that the psychobiological soles of the feet are in full felt contact with
through the rewiring of neurobiology.3
or psychoemotional aspects of the person the floor. In this posture, the weight of the
are linked to neurobiology, which underlies torso falls slightly in front of the ischial
our “beingness.” Most Rolfers are not Using Tonic Function
tuberosities. This puts the lumbar spine in
psychologists, but because inhibitions to Address Thoracic
neutral position.
are neurobiological, they can be very Inhibition
efficiently addressed through working with Once your client is able to sit with good
Our senses are the mediators of our tonic
perception and coordination. The magic lower body support, ask him to let his
function. The relationship between the
of working with these structures is that thorax fully rest into the pelvic bowl or
upper thorax, neck and head has to do with
they evoke change in the psychological pelvic floor or the lower dan tien. To the
the function of orientation. The vestibular
struc ture as well. When we wor k in client, this may feel as though his chest is
system organizes the head and neck in
these structures we affect the historical collapsing. Both you and the client must
gravity while the suboccipital muscles
or psychoneurological aspect of the body fully allow this before the next stage of the
inform the vestibular system about the
known as body image, as well as the body’s process can unfold. Proceed very slowly to
relationship of the head with the rest of
implicit neurobiology, called body schema. help your client fully embrace a new sense
the body. A primary mode of orientation
Change in neural patterning demands a of support. If the client holds back, nothing
is the visual sense. When we overuse focal
change in psychology.1 new can emerge.4
vision, we diminish our use of peripheral
We perceive the world through a veil of vision. Doing this causes global grabbing, When the thorax can fully rest and be
our history, and this carries the psycho- shortening and stiffening of our physical supported by the pelvis, the client may
emotional underpinning of our body structure, and inhibits efficient tonic experience a lot of letting go, expressed
image. So when we work with perception function. as ever-deepening exhalations. You may
we reframe history; and when we work want to encourage your client’s sounds or
One way to evoke better palintonic
with coordination we renegotiate body sighs. Track the nervous system, watching
relationship between the upper thorax,

4 www.rolf.org Structural Integration / September 2008

 ColumnS
for gestures or breathing impulses that Working with that the front of this vertebra can open.
indicate what wants to happen next. Prevertebral Inhibitions Initially you will feel that the restricted
Again, go slowly. Suggest awareness of vertebra will actually push back into your
the coccyx reaching down and the pelvic To work more specifically with opening hands during inhalation. Help the client
floor widening. As your client inhales, the front of the spine, I have found Hubert become aware that he is pushing back.
suggest that the front of the lumbars open Godard’s concept of the “characterological Then teach him to feel the possibility of the
forward. Gradually assist that opening to k n o t ” t h e m o s t e f fe c t i ve a p p ro a c h . vertebra floating up and forward by using
travel up along the whole spine, vertebra Characterological knots are functional your hands to gently nudge the vertebra
by vertebra. You can do this in stages, inhibitions that occur along the prevertebral anterior during inhalation. Do this process
stopping to breathe and feel where you are spaces of the spine. These inhibitions, passively at first, while actively engaging
several times during the process. When this although functional, may become lesions your client through imagery. Use language
is successful your client will feel open and in the long term.6 If I had to name specific that resonates with your client.10
spacious, with a sense of rest that is yielding physical structures to focus on in Rolfing,
I would say the longitudinal ligament and Once your client can sense the vertebra
and allowing.
related myofascia. When dysfunctional, rising, you will trigger further release
Nex t, you evoke suppor t from G’ by these areas remain closed instead of and opening of the prevertebral space by
inviting awareness or presence into the opening during inhalation. They may also gently vibrating the involved vertebra
hands. Hands and arms are functionally close when a person relates to “the other.” while simultaneously lifting it up and
(perceptually and psychologically) related “The other” may refer to another person, forward. Repeat this through two or three
to the thorax. You may have your client to an object of attention, an activity, or a breath cycles, and then check passively for
place his hands on his thighs and ask him situation in the individual’s environment. the responsiveness in the vertebra. You
to feel the whole surface of his palms and may have to repeat the process again, but
fingers contacting the thigh, awakening To u n d e r s t a n d t h e wo r k i n g s o f t h e eventually the vertebra will be restored to
the sensations by perhaps feeling the characterological knot, it is useful to normal function. Then, it’s time to bring
texture of the clothing. You could suggest distinguish between the actions of grasping your client into gravity, transitioning into
experimenting with the idea of his fingers and reaching. For example, we may grasp sitting, then standing, as you would in any
reaching out slightly or imagining his for air instead of opening and welcoming session. When the client comes into the
fingers growing longer. When your client the air – and thus life – into our lungs. upright position, you can expect to see what
senses his hands opening, he will feel When we grasp, we do so because we are you had hoped for, a freer and more elegant
that his thorax wants to open and lift withholding some part of our selves. Our process of orientation in gravity, as well as a
simultaneously, the impulse to inhale along psychology prevents us from yielding to reduction of the forward-head habit.
with the impetus to accelerate – reaching the momentum of the impulse to receive
and harmonize with “the other,” or with Functional inhibitions of the upper thoracic
up and forward.
life itself.7 The physical structure, mirroring area – or any other region of the body
Remember, the success of your work with the psychological, also holds back, and the – are deeply embedded responses. These
perception depends on your pacing: do not resulting inhibition of normal opening and unconscious and habitual patterns, which
overload your client with new perceptual reaching out results in a grasping activity. may be historical or cultural in origin,
information. Less is more when you work In this way, the characterological knot limits are not restrictions in the tissues, but
with subtleties. the spine’s capacity to fully extend.8 are rather holdings or attitudes of our
psychoneurobiology. Whereas lesions are
You may have to do this work in bite-size To work with the characterological knot, effectively addressed through the structural
pieces over a few sessions. Because you have your client in the supine position. Slide approaches of Rolfing, patterns within the
are working with body image, which is your hands under the back along both sides psychoneurobiology are best approached
subjective and embedded in personal of the spine,9 and find the spinous process through the perceptive, coordinative and
history and beliefs, your client will be of each vertebra starting at L5. Then, by psychological structures from which the
vulnerable. He needs to feel safe enough leveraging at the transverse processes, initial inhibition arises.11
to go to this new place in himself. Some gently elevate each vertebra one at a time
clients must also be encouraged to value to find the most restricted vertebrae in each Within the scope of this column I have
the slower pace required for body image of the spinal curvatures – lumbar, thoracic been able to suggest only a few ways to
transformation. Our society is so much and cervical. You will usually find restricted work with perception and coordination.
about “doing,” about “getting on with vertebrae at the transition points between However, if you can let yourself be guided
life” or “getting on top of things,” that we curvatures. For example, you’ll commonly by your client’s present experience and
are prone to prematurely push and force find a restricted vertebra where the lumbar your own quiet presence, you will find
ourselves out of present experience. We lordosis transitions into the thoracic yourself creating perceptual cues, imagery
ordinary beings seldom fully embrace the k y p h o s i s a ro u n d T 8 / 9 / 1 0 . H owe ve r, and suggestions that are uniquely personal
moment, be it joy or tragedy. So, when because human beings are complex, you and pertinent to your client’s needs.
you are addressing function at this depth, can expect surprises. “Each time you climb to a higher vantage point
be present as a witness and as a midwife:
Having found the restricted areas, work as the range of your vision is enlarged and your
track and contain your client in loving
follows: during the inhalation, invite the understanding of your entire situation is altered.
presence.5
client to have a sense that the vertebra can You see things from a more encompassing
float up (forward) as he inhales. Suggest perspective, which allows you to be less

Structural Integration / September 2008 www.rolf.org 5

 ColumnS
concerned and anxious, and enables you to relate 6 M o n i c a C a s p a r i , “ T h e Fu n c t i o n a l McHose, Caryn and Kevin Frank, How Life
to your environment in terms of how it really Rationale of the Recipe.” Rolf Lines, March Moves: Explorations in Meaning and Body
is rather than how you imagined it to be from a 2005. “Long-term inhibitions often become Awareness. Berkeley CA: North Atlantic
more limited point of view.”12 lesions, which may appear at the site of the Books, 2006.
inhibition, or somewhere distant from it.”
Morgan, Marilyn, The Character Book. 2nd
Endnotes 7 Ashuan Seow and Garron Billick. The Edition, 2001.
1 Louis Cozolino, The Neuroscience of Living Dynamics of Movement. Unpublished
Myers, Tom, Anatomy Trains: Myofascial
Psychotherapy. New York: W. W. Norton, manuscript.
Meridians for Manual and Movement
2002, pg.147. 8 Notes from Hubert Godard’s Advanced Therapists. Churchill Livingston, 2002.
“The brain’s ability to take our physical Movement Training, Maristela, Brazil,
Pert, Candace, Molecules of Emotion: The
experience and use it metaphorically is the 2005.
Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine. Scribner,
basis of imagination. Bungee jumping may 9 Candace Pert, Molecules of Emotions: The New York 2003.
serve as a metaphor for falling in love. The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine. New
child’s experience of emerging from under Seow, Ashuan and Garron Billick, The Living
York: Simon & Schuster, 1997, pg. 188.
the covers into the light of day provides Dynamics of Movement. From Martial Arts,
a sensory-motor metaphor for religious “But it turns out that in addition to the Rolfing and Dancing to Life. Unpublished
enlightenment later in life.” classical neurotransmitters, all of the known manuscript.
peptides, the information molecules, can
2 Louis Cozolino. The Making of a Therapist: Siegel, Daniel J, The Developing Mind: How
be found abundantly in the autonomic
A Practical Guide for the Inner Journey, New Relationship And The Brain Interact To Shape
ner vous system, distributed in subtly
York: W. W. Norton, 2003, p. 135. Who We Are. New York: Guilford, 1999.
different intricate patterns all the way down
“Many times while making an interpretation both sides of your spine. It is these peptides
to a client, I am struck by how much it and their receptors that make the dialogue
applies to me, as if I have tossed them…a between conscious and unconscious
ball that turns out to be a boomerang. When processes possible.”
this happens, I wonder, ‘Who am I thinking 10 Monica Caspari and Ashuan Seow, class
about, my client or myself? Do I see him, notes for Movement Certification 2005,
or am I seeing a projection of myself?’’ I Sydney Australia.
may never be entirely sure. Given the way
our brains process information, we can 11 As h u a n S e ow, “ R o l f i n g St r u c t u ra l
never know others unalloyed by our own I ntegration -The Neural D ynamics” -
inner worlds. Everyone we know is partly teaching notes.
a reflection of ourselves.”
12 S w a m i R a m a a n d S w a m i A j a y a ,
3 Louis Cozolino, The Neuroscience of “Creative Use of Emotion,” Pennsylvannia,
Psychotherapy. New York: W. W. Norton, Himilayan Institute of Yoga Science and
2002, pg.18 “Instantiations are sculpted by Philosophy of the U.S.A., 1976.
experience and encode all of our capabilities,
emotions, memories, and dreams. …Once Bibliography
these neural patterns are established,
Caspari, Monica, “The Functional Logic of
new learning modifies the relationship of
the Recipe.” Rolf Lines, March 2005.
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talk of building and rebuilding the brain, Cozolino, Louis J., The Neuroscience of
neurons are our basic building blocks and Psychotherapy: Building and Rebuilding The
neural networks are the structures that we Human Brain. New York: Norton, 2002.
sculpt and resculpt.”
Cozolino, Louis J., The Making of A Therapist:
4 M o n i c a C a s p a r i , “ T h e Fu n c t i o n a l A Practical Guide for the Inner Journey. New
Rationale of the Recipe.” Rolf Lines, March York: Norton, 2004.
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Damasio, Antonio, The Feeling of What
5 Ron Kurtz, Body-Centered Psychotherapy: Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of
The Integrated Use of Mindfulness, Non- Consciousness. London: Vintage, 2000.
Violence and the Body. California: LifeRhythm
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“Posture, facial expressions, gestures,
Kurtz, Ron, Body-Centered Psychotherapy:
movement habits – all these have meanings.
The Hakomi Method. The Integrated Use of
In short, all experiencing is embedded in
Mindfulness, Non-Violence and the Body. CA:
and organized by images and beliefs, that
LifeRhythm Pub., 1990
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6 www.rolf.org Structural Integration / September 2008