Programs Overview
Why Bodywork?
With Rolfing® Structural Integration, you can access powerful tools to change lives and help people feel better in their bodies. This holistic form of bodywork offers you a rewarding and lucrative career with flexibility and freedom, and the opportunity to do insightful work that focuses on somatic (body awareness) therapy.
Graduates find that Rolfing gives them:
- Satisfaction from insightful and holistic therapeutic work
- Opportunity for healthy income within a fast-growing discipline
- Independence as a practitioner with your hands as your primary tools
- Positivity from changing lives and enhancing health and well-being
Overview of Certification Programs
At a glance:
The Rolfing® SI Certification Program is the core learning program for the discipline of Rolfing Structural Integration, based on the foundational teachings of Dr. Ida Rolf. This comprehensive program delivers the fundamental knowledge and skills to those wishing to become Certified Rolfers® and sets the benchmark for the high standards we hold, for Rolfing practitioners worldwide.
- Accredited training in Boulder, Colorado
- 731-hour certification training program
- 28 weeks duration
- 3 tuition phases, each requiring self-study
- 3-week break between each phase
- Faculty to Student ratio is limited to 1:10
You will learn:
- The principles of Rolfing® Structural Integration
- Anatomy, Physiology, and Kinesiology from the perspective of Rolfing® SI
- How to conduct a complete Rolfing® Ten-Series and Rolf Movement® session
- How to recognize structural and functional patterns
- The ability to differentiate through touch
- Practice building techniques
- Professional ethics
Learn about Rolfing SI Certification
Learn about the shortened program for transfer students
At a glance:
The Advanced Rolfing® Certification Program is designed to deepen the working practitioner's knowledge and skills of structural integration. The major goals of Advanced Training are to allow you to design your sessions for the individual and immediate needs of your client without having to resort to a recipe at any level - allowing you to be more effective as a Rolfing® SI practitioner.
Student graduates who hold the required SI certification from either the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® or an approved IASI school, and can satisfy the necessary prerequisites may apply. These include a minimum of three years in Rolfing practice and achievement of a set number of Intermediate Continuing Education credits.
- for Certified Rolfers® and SI-certified practitioners from IASI recognized SI program
- 168-hour course
- 24 x 7-hour days that may be arranged in one of several formats
- members must commence Advanced Training 3-7 years after their initial Rolfing® SI certification (or after 9 years if completing Rolf Movement® Integration Certification)
You will learn:
- a principle-centered decision-making process
- a systematic approach to mobilizing all the major joints of the body
- an exploration of the viscera and the internal cavities of the body
- a deep comprehensive approach to evaluating the whole person
- a development of touch integrating direct/indirect and energetic techniques
- how to accurately sense from a distance
- an understanding of the therapeutic environment in the context of Rolfing® SI
At a glance:
Rolf Movement® Integration (RMI) Certification is a fundamental and valuable complement to both foundational Rolfing® SI and Advanced Rolfing® Certification. The RMI program teaches practitioners to utilize a combination of touch and verbal instruction to guide the client toward greater ease and freedom of movement.
RMI students deepen their holistic understanding of how bodies function in gravity and learn to support the client’s own body awareness and ability to integrate changes to their environment. Rolf Movement has far-reaching applications to sports, physical training, yoga, dance, theater, ergonomics, child development, and public speaking.
- for Certified Rolfers®, Phase III Rolfing® students and graduates of an IASI-recognized SI program
- offered in a choice of two formats - Intensive or Workshop
- Intensive: 3 x 10-day or 6 x 5-day intensive modules - taught in Boulder, CO
- Workshop: 30 workshop days (225 hours), 3 days of which can be an independent study project/mentorship - taught in various US regions
- Recommended time for completion is six years
You will learn:
- an understanding of the Ten Series logic and framework through embodied explorations of coordination, perception, and expression
- theoretical knowledge and practical applications of RMI
- Rolf Movement® exercises that coincide with each goal of the ten series.
- an ability to see and understand the body in motion
- a cultivation of the qualities of touch and language
- how to deepen presence and resonance in clinical relationships.
- how to strategize and build a series of 3 Rolf Movement Sessions
- how to apply RMI theory, principles, and embodied explorations to lead group classes
Learning Pathways
Learning Outcomes
The certification programs at the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® focus on five areas of knowledge and skills. Students must demonstrate that they understand these school wide learning outcomes and the skills and knowledge inherent within them. In order to complete their specific program, students be assessed using The Rolf Institute Assessment Rubrics.
