Programs Overview
Why Fascia?
As a bodyworker, you’re already well-versed in the healing power of touch. With Rolfing® SI, you can provide a deeper and more holistic therapy that can change lives. In response to strain, fascia (connective tissue) is laid down to protect the body - a process of thickening. Rolfing SI is a manual therapy that can reverse this process and restore ease and mobility, realigning and balancing the body through lengthening and repositioning the fascia.
Graduates find that Rolfing® gives them:
- skills to dramatically improve functional movement and performance
- tools to ease chronic pain & stress, helping clients feel better in their bodies
- strategies to correct long-term musculoskeletal issues and improve posture
- a healthier bodywork income within a fast-growing discipline
- satisfaction from the long-term enhancement of client health and well-being
Overview of Rolfing® SI Program for Certified Bodyworkers
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 to, for Rolfing practitioners worldwide. As a licensed and/or trained bodywork professional, the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® offers certification in Rolfing® SI with credit hours for a reduced study period, to duly recognize your valuable prior education and industry experience.
At a glance:
- designed for bodywork professionals who are licensed or have extensive training in complementary therapies
- regional training program taught in-person and online with self-study
- 600 hours over 3 tuition phases
- 19 weeks duration with a 3-week break between phases
- faculty-student ratio limited to 1:10
- 131-hour certification credit for 250 hours of bodywork training + 50 hours of post-graduate massage experience (or comparable clinical experience)
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.
As a licensed and/or trained bodywork professional, the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® offers certification in Rolfing® SI with credit hours for a reduced study period, to duly recognize your valuable prior education and industry experience.
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 patterns
- The ability to differentiate through touch
- Practice building techniques
- Professional ethics
At a glance:
- 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)
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 that apply. These include a minimum of three years in practice and achievement of a set number of Intermediate Continuing Education credits.
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:
- 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 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
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.
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
Clinical Work with Community Clinics
Students in Clinical Application of Rolfing® Theory perform Rolfing® Structural Integration and Rolf Movement® Integration on two Community Clinic clients. Working under instructor supervision, students are challenged to put into practice all that they have learned in the training. Students develop relationships with their clients, assess their clients' actual and perceived needs, and create and execute personal treatment plans.
Students report that the individualized attention they receive from instructors in the Clinic, plus the "real-world" nature of this client contact, is often the high point of their Rolfing® training at the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute® and is essential in preparing them to be successful, professional Certified Rolfers®
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.
