Refreshed and Remodeled

Last night I got one of Barry’s famous “Rolf-age” sessions… that’s part Rolfing, part massage, and as far as I know, it’s patented Barry Goss (and we made up the “Rolf-age” label, too).

I’m getting Rolfed professionally on Saturday, by Melanie Lancaster in Ashland, as Barry gets a session with her husband, Zeb Lancaster.

In fact, I’ve been Rolfed by Zeb twice myself… but this time he’s coming in specially for Barry on a Saturday, and we didn’t want to ask him to do back-to-back sessions. So I asked if his wife was available at the same time, and it worked out perfectly.

What does Rolfing do? Here’s the official word from Rolf.org:

Rolfing® Structural Integration is named after its founder Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Dr. Rolf began her inquiry more than fifty years ago, devoting her energy to creating a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organized the whole body in gravity.

Dr. Rolf discovered that she could achieve remarkable changes in posture and structure by manipulating the body’s myofascial system and eventually named her work Structural Integration.

“Rolfing” is the nickname that many clients and practitioners gave this work, and it is now a registered service mark in 27 countries.

Rolfing structural integration has the ability to dramatically alter a person’s posture and structure. Athletes, dancers, children, business professionals, and people from all walks of life have benefited from Rolfing. People seek Rolfing as a way to ease pain and chronic stress, and improve performance in their professional and daily activities. It’s estimated that more than 1 million people have received Rolfing work.

Research has demonstrated that Rolfing creates a more efficient use of the muscles, allows the body to conserve energy, and creates more economical and refined patterns of movement. Research also shows that Rolfing significantly reduces chronic stress and changes in the body structure. For example, a study showed that Rolfing significantly reduced the spinal curvature of subjects with lordosis (sway back); it also showed that Rolfing enhances neurological functioning.

But the way Barry does it (and he’s not a professional, but after over 50 Rolfing sessions definitely knows what he’s doing), he mixes the hard, constant pressure of Rolfing with the oil-enhanced rubbing of a Swedish massage.

Yes, it’s the best of both worlds… and incredibly relaxing.

Typically I wake up several times during the night, but last night I slept like a baby for the first time in months; out like a light for a full eight hours.

(Actually, I very rarely get eight hours of sleep in a row, and as a result I tend to run out of steam in the afternoon; but the beauty of working at home is the ability to take a power nap any time it’s needed.)

Then today I went to get my hair cut. Barry and I are going to Las Vegas for a mini vacation next week (with some business ventures thrown in), and I wanted a fresh look.

It’s shoulder length now — and I do cut it that short every so often, because it grows quickly — but this time I also got some long layers to show off the fire-engine red streaks I put on the underside yesterday.

But it’s not so much about the look.

Since life changes are always required when we want to achieve something — and if they weren’t, we wouldn’t be achieving, we’d be stuck in a rut — sometimes it’s good to make a change just for the sake of making a change.

Why? Because change takes us out of our comfort zones.

And comfort zones keep us stuck… but we want to stay there, because they’re comfortable.

In order to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable (if you can get your head around that mind-boggling concept), changing up things that don’t really matter much is a good way to stretch those muscles.

So today I feel refreshed from both the Rolf-age and the haircut — and a bit remodeled too. Since we’ll be going to a real Vegas show, and checking out the night life, I like to be able to do a bit more styling and playing with my hair than I do at home.

Really, it’s just a small change — and it will be back the way it was in about two months. But that just gives me more opportunity to play again, and experience another change in the quest for expanding my own comfort zones.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

You might also like:

1. Don’t Forget to Breathe…
2. Oil Me Up… Relaxation Inside and Out