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Audio Files and Transcripts From Classes with Dr. Rolf Big Sur Lecture/Demo |
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Ida Rolf Audio Tape Transcript AUDIO FILE Tape A6 Side 1 MP3 File (aprox. 10.8MB) TRANSCRIPT Postural Exercise/ Line Philosophy (0:07 student) Dr. Rolf, so if I understand correctly, in terms of our work here, the abdomen should fall back on inspiration, and spine lengthen. (tape break) (0:23) You have seen that with all movement there is expansion in all directions, and breathing is movement. Now I also say to you what somebody said to me once many, many years ago when I started studying yoga exercises, and it wasn’t true with them, but it is true with this; he said, if I were bound in a chair, tightly as possible, I would still get more exercise-, I could still get more exercise than the guy that’s going out and playing a game of tennis. Now I say to you that this is certainly true for you people, because look at what is happening with your breathing. Now this is what happens in response to the physiological evocation of normal function. And what every other teacher, as far as I can make out, in this area and all through California, and through New York, and through India, and through 75 other worlds probably is saying to you, is that you go in there and you begin to use breathing; You breath this way, you breath that way, you breath some other way. (2:00) Now this is another place where you people are going to have to go in and use what you have seen, what you have known, and really go to town and tell these guys what bloody fools they are. (2:24) Now there is Yoga breathing; breath retention, breath exhalation, breath inhalation. It is intended for certain specific effects on consciousness. This is something different! You see, the whole problem of these confusions arise because people don’t try to discriminate between their goals! They just hear somebody saying, “if you do this you have a wonderful trip.” And so they are off on a trip, and they don’t know where the trip is going, and they don’t know what they are getting out of it, and they don’t know to what extent they are tearing down what they paid good money to have somebody build up! ((3:10) Now, lets hear what Mr. Schutz has to say– (3:22 student) I’d like to check out one theory I have. Breathing I get a very similar feeling to what I was getting the other day when we were doing the rocking and leaning back (3:30) That’s as it should be that’s exactly-, the rocking and leaning back is an exaggeration of the breathing movement exactly. It’s an exaggeration which makes it possible for you to feel the change and feel the difference. (3:48) He says, “Fundamental to almost all rockages in the body is breathing.” Ok. “[Cal] feeling is accomplished through cutting off breathing.” That statement’s Ok. “Breathing is how one enters the world, takes what he feels he deserves, lets people in, gives out his feelings and whatever else is inside of him, and exchanges his feelings with others.” Now this is a pretty broad statement, and I’m not damning it, but neither am I saying, ‘Yea, I know this is so.’ It’s a nice, metaphysical almost, statement. Ok. (4:34) “Physical aberrations occur by not breathing deeply, constricting the chest, constricting the throat, using the tongue to block full breath.” And I don’t think he means using the tongue, because using implies a certain conscious use of it, but he means blocking the breath through some sort of habitual placing of the tongue. That’s ok, not a problem. (5:11) “Because of the immensely important emotional meaning of breathing, the aberrations are many.” That’s Ok. (5:20) “I’ll describe the ideal breathing pattern, then the types of aberrations of it, there psychological meaning, and some methods of trying to overcome the breathing blocks, and release the feelings below.” And right there he’s beginning to trip himself up fairly badly. (5:40) “I’m not sufficiently familiar with either the physiology or psychology of breathing, so I will be quoting a number of people whose views seem consistent with my experience, and whose seem [are guarded ]. The centrality of breathing is recognized by W Reich and Lowen, in [bironegenics], and in yoga. In yoga the breath called prana, not an exact translation but close, is a key to both physical and spiritual activity. (6:00) Pranayama is the science of breath control. The importance of prana, also known as universal energy, is given in this quotation from the great sage [vasshitsta] in his yoga [vasshitsta], on the meditation between the mind the body and the prana., quote, “oh Rama, for the motion of the chariot, which is the physical body, the god has created the mind and prana – vital breath – without which the body cannot function. When the prana departs the mechanism of the body ceases and when the mind works, prana or vital breath, moves. The relation between the mind and prana is like that between the driver and the chariot; both exert motion. One upon the other.” Mr.[vasshitsta] knew something about what he was talking about. (7:15) “Therefore the wise should study regulation of prana, or vital breath, if they desire to suspend the restless activity of the mind and concentrate. The regulation of breath brings all happiness, material and spiritual, for the acquisition of kingdoms through supreme bliss. Therefore, oh [rama] study the science of breath.” There he neglects to know what he’s talking about. (7:40) “Different accounts of normal breathing vary,” says Schultz, “But this is the best one I’ve been able to put together. The mechanism of breathing involves a body from the shoulders and collar bone down to the bottom of the pelvis.” Ok. “Total breathing in should begin at the abdomen and in a flowing way come all the way up to the collar bone.” Now what does he mean by the abdomen? Does he mean the diaphragm, or does he mean 6 inches below the diaphragm? You see he is talking about the breathing that comes with a reversed pelvis. And he hasn’t distinguished this. (8:30) “Breathing out reverses this wave. Breathing in, inspiration begins with the diaphragm, a large dome [shaped] muscle under the ribs that divides the lungs and rib cage; the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity. As the diaphragm contracts it pushes down on the abdominal viscera – stomach, liver, intestines – pushing them outward as far as the abdominal muscles will allow.” Now you see, this is the reversal exactly of what you people are feeling. And of what Schutz felt too, when he was in the class. But this he’s forgotten, because he’s been playing with Lowen since then apparently. (9:20) You see he hasn’t differentiated the fact that there are two breathings. There is the breathing with the abdomen-, with the pelvis this way, and the breathing with the pelvis this way. And some of you people’ve got to have lunch with him and fight [and dime] about what this is all about, than it will get around. (9:41) “At the same time contraction of the diaphragm, at the same time see if this is so, forces the ribs upward and outward.” This just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t make sense. (9:57) “This leads to fore motions of the ribs.” This he heard in this room, “They expand from side to side, front to back, up and down, and each rib turns upwards like a veniation blind.” Ok. No objection (10:15) “[You’ll think of] the ribs and diaphragm expand the two elastic lungs. When the lungs are expanded a vacuum is created in the lungs, and the air from outside rushes in.” (10:31 student) It’s not what happens (10:33) It’s not good, and it shouldn’t be in a book that’s going to get as wide a circulation as this. ‘cause this book is really going to sell like mad. Yea, there is just enough garbage pail in it that it is going to sell like mad. (10:50) “These movements occur at chest breathing. For the total breath the shoulder and collarbone must be raised.” Have you ever raised-, you see this? Become lifted, Ok. (11:13) “In yoga breathing all three types of breathing are combined; the abdominal or deep breathing fills the lower and middle regions of the lungs. The chest breathing fills the middle and lower portions of the upper region, and the shoulder or high breathing fills the upper portions of the lungs. Further, yoga breathing stresses exhalation; breathing out.” Now this statement is 100% correct, and it is one of the reasons, vital reasons, why Yoga breathing works so well. (11:47) If you are doing Yoga breathing out in a cold winter day, you will find that it takes you 60 breaths, no matter how good you are, you will not get it done in much less than 60 breaths, ‘till the air begins coming out cool. It takes you 60 breaths of good exhalation to really change the air in those lungs. All the rest is residual breathing of residual air. (12:19) “Cleaning out the old foul air is essential in breathing, so exhaling should be twice as long as inhaling.” This is not too bad. When you do nothing but inhaling, practically no exhaling, that’s the time you get one of these oxygen jags going you see (12:41) “When this ratio is mastered, yogis try to learn to hold the breath properly by which they mean a ratio of 1:4:2 for the time spent inhaling:holding:exhaling. This ratio varies somewhat with different yogis.” It sure does. 1:2:4 with most of them. (13:00) “Hence, ideal breathing in which the entire capacity of the lungs is utilized, in which the full benefits of the breath can be obtained, and in which used air is fully expelled, involves beginning with the diaphragm, forcing the abdominal viscera out, then chest breathing to expand the ribs in 4 ways, raising the shoulders,” By the time the guy does this, you know, he can’t do any work. God knows how he supports himself (13:25 student) He’s describing one of the pranayamas, which has that three way-, it’s a nomadic counting thing. You know (13:31) I know that, but you see, this isn’t what he’s saying. It isn’t what he’s saying! If he was saying, “In special breathing to obtain certain changes in consciousness the breath is done this way,” I would not quarrel with it. But for one thing, to take and breath in for one count, to hold the breath for 4 –four numbers – and to breath out with 2 is looking for trouble. (14:10) That isn’t the way it’s done. it’s done 1:2:4, not 1:4:2. I know a guy that did just exactly this on the top of the steps at Columbia University, and he was picked up quite a mush down at the bottom of the steps, because you cannot hold the breath that way ‘til you’re trained to do it. And it shouldn’t be in a book that’s intended to go to the public. And it’s dangerous. (14:31 student) I’m very critical of any kind of this training in books (14:34) It shouldn’t be done! (14:36 student) Because every bozo and his brother is going to try it, and- (14:38) That’s right. And this kind of training should be done mouth to ear as the old description was. Mouth to ear, when they’re ready to get it, when they’re ready to use it, then you teach them. And this is what’s wrong with this whole damn civilization here. Everybody’s twice as good as everyone else, and therefore they’re the best judge, and they are not. They have to be trained by somebody that knows what’s coming up. (15:11) “Probably the best instruction on this type of breathing is from a yoga teacher. The process is described in a yoga book referred to below; [ve-shan-day-de-nanda]. Any muscle tension will throw off this breathing pattern.” True. “In order to breath this rhythmically and deeply a large number of muscles from the lower abdomen to the neck must all function together without restriction. Tension in any one of them will interrupt the breathing flow in a specific way. Various breathing blocks are described well by Lowen in the “Trail of the Body.” I will draw generously from him in the following account.” (15:55) “One feeling,” we might just as well go on with this. It isn’t that far along, because it’s important to see what happens when you try to mix several different systems all in the same bowl and stir it up (16:12) “One feeling many people have is that their energy supply is inadequate. If a man’s self concept includes this idea than life demands can lead to a panic feeling. Panic closely related to the inability to breath. These increased life demands can center around any area of energy, such as work output, emotional responsiveness, or sexual activity. To some people inhaling has several negative connotations. It sometimes takes in ones environment, including the odors of other people, or perhaps the fowl air, and perhaps at a deeper level, the fear of being invaded by others. Some people feel that the sound accompanying deep breathing is animal like or uncivilized, and associated with a sexual act, or severe anger, so that unresolved problems in that area can be expressed through holding back deep breathing. Breathing in deeply is often related to taking what you deserve. If you feel worthy of your fair share you can take all the air you need, if you have internalized the notion that you are selfish or greedy, or that taking your share will deprive others, you may be reluctant to breath deeply. Another feeling that prevents full inspiration, is that of wanting to be invisible. A person’s childhood involves a fear of punishment may have found survival by playing dead through being as inconspicuous as possible, hoping that no one would notice, and therefore not punish him. Or perhaps what may have been more threatening, he wanted to avoid someone simply watching him, paying attention to him. The physical pattern of playing dead – think of hiding in a closet – is holding the breath, tightening the muscles and not moving. Strong feelings of not wanting to be observed would also lead to shallow quiet breathing. I have awakened several times lately, during the writing of this book with a soreness in the roof of my mouth. This soreness goes away inevitably when I start to breath deeply. My association to this is that I don’t want anyone to bother me or make demands on my time because I’m absorbed in writing. Perhaps if I don’t breath heavily they won’t notice me; a reversion to a common childhood pattern. A failure to recognize this would probably leave me with much soreness around the upper respiratory tract, and continuous feelings of this type would lead to some chronic respiratory ailment.” (18:35) Ok. The rest of this is talk, talk. Oh. Here’s some that’s not talk, talk. Maybe you should listen (18:49) “Since breathing is so central and blocks of such enormous variety occur in this system it is valuable if breathing blocks can be overcome. Recalling the therapeutic model used in Rolfing is helpful here.” He’s got to recall it, you know, he hasn’t got it built in. “There are some blocks that can be gotten through by simply providing a person with support and direction. This will be sufficient to allow the person to consciously relax the tension, and in the case of the respiratory muscles, his breathing will be free. At the other extreme are blocks that represent such deeply repressed and frightening material that a long intense coarse of therapy, both physical and psychological, is required before the tension can be let go. In the middle are those blocks which may yield to a combination of outside direction and pressure in the context of a supporting environment, like a workshop. Steve [Stroud] and John [Hyde] have worked on a method for physically breaking through breathing blocks in this middle range that is in a very experimental stage, but shows much promise, and has resulted in several dramatic breakthroughs. It also has sufficient dangers that I defiantly don’t recommend that you try it. Steve and John brang a group to a 6 foot square tub in our natural hot baths, and asked a person to start breathing deeply while in the tub until he is hyperventilating. To intensify the experience the person is often asked to then get into the cold tub, and perhaps go back and forth. Very often there is an involuntary outburst of feelings of sadness, crying, laughter, mixed laughter and crying, screaming, feelings of terror, involuntary vibrations in various parts of the body, often immobilizing the mouth. Probably the vibrations occur at those points in the body that have been chronically held. The responses are similar to those of Rolfing the whole respiratory system at once.” (20:59 student) Could you read that once more? (21:00) No! This is what Hector did when he put his fist up Mr. Owen’s diaphragm the other day. He Rolfed the whole respiratory system at once, but it was a different feeling (21:14 student) including the heart (21:15) Including the heart (21:22) “Although feelings of terror, fear, and upset occurred during these [experiences], there was almost a uniform feeling of relief and euphoria when it is over” (21:31 student) Well I’m not surprised. I’d feel bloody good to get out of that kind of a thing too (21:40) “A person is working while he is in this state, or if that is not feasible the material that came up is used and worked on in later meetings of the group. This is one advantage of a workshop setting. Obviously such an effort could not be used if a person were not to be seen for a whole week after having this type of revelation experience.” (22:04 student) I don’t know that-, I’ve done that, and I’ve been there when that’s been done. I don’t know that that’s so much an approach to the mechanics of breathing, but rather an attempt to bring a person from the usual rigid rational way of thinking – (22:18) patterned breathing into an un-patterned breathing (22:21 student) to an irrational level, and through the irrational of both emotional and physical to breakthrough, is what I saw. (22:28) I agree with you. But I- (22:33 student) It scares the hell out of me hearing it in a book though (22:34 student) it’s a pretty heavy trip (22:37) Well you see, I would say all these trips are pretty heavy trips and this is what worries me so much. This is the sort of thing that these publishers are everlastingly pushing me into doing. And I dig my heels in and I say, “No, I will not do this.” And they say if you just put in enough warnings in your book that it should only be done by a competent person, if you will just say how dangerous it is, if you will just honestly give the experiences where it has worked, and tell of the experiences where it doesn’t work. You’ve seen any experiences where it doesn’t work? have you see what’s going to happen when I say, “this always works”? (23:22 student) a man’s going to say [to his wife, “lay down”] (23:24) This is just garbage pail stuff. Schutz is making-, I’m not battering Schutz’s book, I’m planning, a whole modern way of handling this proposition. You just take everything you know and you dump it into black words on white paper, and you publish it, and you get paid for this thing. And this should be the function of a teacher. (24:00) You see by letting a person break through and encouraging him to let the full play of his feelings flow without stopping, with the knowledge that there is someone there competent to depend on, a person can often make great strides in breaking through areas of blockage. But there is the crux that someone is there to competently depend on. (24:20 student) But that’s almost a footnote, it sounds like (24:23) That’s almost a footnote, and these people who have never studied physical bodies are not competent to deal with the problems that can arise. And I’m not saying, not studied Rolfing, I am saying that there needs to be a condition on the job. And I mean that (24:42 student) It’s very simplistic anyway. A person isn’t like that. Big breakthroughs don’t mean a hell of a lot, I feel. I’m really troubled by that kind of thought – (24:48) what I am troubled buy is dumping all these sharp tools out in the middle of the floor among the 3 year olds (24:58 student) Well it’s like do it yourself surgery. I’ll write you a book in how to take out your appendix. (25:05) Of coarse the support and follow through is vital. This one I really love. “I notice that I’m starting to repeat myself in order to reassure you and me that this method is alright.” Ok. “Suffice to say that breathing is central to all opening counter methods. it is an excellent place to work on removing blocks, and the hyperventilation method looks extremely promising, but I don’t feel I know nearly enough about it.” (25:39) So, what would you people say to Mr. Schutz about breathing? (25:45 student) It’d be a lot better to have something simple about ordinary everyday breathing [the raw way] (25:52 student) I’d say come back to the maestro’s studio (25:58) What Shutz has done there is what I’m always telling you people about. He has taken the Rolf Method, and he’s taken the [Lowen] Method, and he tries to make a hash out of them. And he doesn’t understand that the one is counter-indicated by the other, and vice versa. This is what he doesn’t understand. And what he-, he’s coming into the advanced class, and I shall most certainly try in the advanced class to make these people understand that breathing is a function of the way the body is organized. And that if you can approach it from two ends, either breathing can be the function of the way the body is organized, or disorganization of the body can be the function of the conscious control of breathing. (27:12) now as I said before, I have no qualm with Yoga Methods of breathing, if they are done under competent supervision of a really qualified yoga teacher who knows what he’s doing in terms of the physical bodies he’s dealing with; In terms of what he knows he’s trying to get. (27:36) If you want to completely disorganize your legs, sitting in the lotus position for 8 hours a day for God knows how long, in order to get a change in your consciousness in your head, this is Ok with me. But to sit around doing the parlor trick of the lotus position to show off to the other kids, and not knowing what in hell you’re doing anyway, this is not alright with me. And I certainly don’t want to hear and see people in the role of teachers not understanding what’s going on. (28:17) If you want to control breathing in order to change consciousness, and you really understand what changing consciousness means, which most people don’t, this is alright with me. But it is not alright with me to put directions like this in a book with no indication of what is involved in these various methods. This is not all right with me. Any man has a right-, well, he has a right to do this too, and it doesn’t have to be alright with me. (29:16) What I am calling to your attention is that breathing follows on body structure, and everyone of you who has seen a first hour has seen it. Breathing will take a certain pattern if the pattern of the pelvis is one way, and it will take another pattern if the pattern of the pelvis is another way. This is what I have to say, and this is what I would like for you people to repeat as a rosary every hour on the hour for 2 days, and then go out and preach it in terms of what you are talking about. You don’t need to get a soap box, but I do mean when you hear all the nonsense that you hear in this area, to know where to put your two feet and take a stand and say, “This is the way it is, and this is the way I know it is.” Because these people don’t know. Some of them are bright enough to know that they don’t know, but most of them aren’t. (30:35) (break time gossip) (31:23 student) that book made me so mad when I read it, that thing, I couldn’t- (31:26) It doesn’t make me so mad. Parts of it really are very good for the level of people that it’s intended to reach (31:23 student) That book made me so mad when I read it (31:28) It does make you so mad. Parts of it are really good for the level of people that it’s intended to reach (Tape Break) Postural Exercise/ Line Philosophy (31:35) I have said that there were two ways of approaching the problem of structure, and or posture, in the body through something that might be designated as exercise or allied “doings”. They stem from two different schools, they stem from two different ways of understanding a body, they do two different things, they none of them do what the structural integration as you’ve seen it here in this room has done. they none of ‘em can do that, neither of them are designed, really, to do that. They are valuable only because people insist on wanting to know whether there aren’t some exercises that they can do. And every time you tell them “no”, this being a do-it-yourself age, everything from the [flying] to the dishwashing themselves, you let them down in a great big thud. (32:57) It has become practical, and it’s practical on a basis that by this method you can get to a lot more people at the same time. It has become practical to take these two methods of handling-, of working with bodies, which you get as I say can be called “exercise,” and adapting them to work with bodies (33:41) The problem is that with the people that like to work this way, there is so much confusion. They do not understand really what they’re doing. They do understand that they make changes. They do understand that if they take pictures before and after, these pictures will show changes. (34:04) Now in this room this morning we had a very-, a magnificent example of the fact that you can take pictures before and after, and see a lot of change. I didn’t look at Al’s picture before 1, I didn’t look at it before 1 back in [auditing] to see what changes there was from that picture to this morning. But you see, within that general contour change, which people, including uninformed practitioners – Rolfers - look at and say, “See. It’s changed.” Behind that [passé], there is a non-change going on, and sometimes a change for the worse going on. (35:02) A person who is not sufficiently sophisticated with these methods looks at change, and because of his change, it must be good. tain’t so; some times it’s bad. Sometimes it’s very bad. and this is the sort of thing that goes on here (35:26) Now as I said to you this morning, you’ve been looking at Al, and seeing how much change has been made, and yet when you really go down and you look into the thing deeply and honestly and conscientiously, and not kidding yourself but saying, “the man is still in trouble, why is he still in trouble?” You find it. (35:54) Now could Al have been helped at all by either of these coming up methods? No, he could not. (36:01) Now be sure that you understand this. These methods have various values. They’re something like medicine. A doctor, a good old-fashioned doctor, used to give medicine as much to keep the patient reminded of him, and getting this suggestion that, “Oh my dear good Dr. Jones is giving me this medicine that will make me well” Stuff as it was because he thought it was really going to do something. And in this sense, people who have been through the 10 hours of Rolfing, and go into these methods, have something that has a certain value by virtue of the suggestions implied in them. Let us not belittle this idea. It’s part of the reason why psychotherapy groups are so good too, you know. It’s the suggestive value, and you go to them once a week and that makes you well. (37:12 student) Grandma knows best (37:15) Grandma knows that, believe me (37:23) There are as I say these 2 different approaches. Now the 2 different approaches can be characterized in the following pattern I think. The one has to do with the lines, the awareness of lines, the creation of lines, the changing of a body by virtue of the use of the lines. And the other is characterized-. This is almost a “being” technique, in the terms that we were using of doing and being the other day, and the other is characterized by a doing technique. You do it stuff, but you do it in the proper positions. and things come out. (38:21) now the line situation gives you lightness and grace and understanding. The doing technique gives you sometimes more change, or not always. Sometimes, especially in peripheral parts of the body an honest structural change that is of the more superficial parts of the body, you get structural change; but it gives you a body which is on the whole heavy. (39:16) You saw me use it with Al the other day, and you saw how it forces certain straightness's in and as it forces certain straightness's in they have to be compensated by other non-straightness's at that period. And you saw how this worked. And you remember that Al, for those of you who have forgotten, you remember that Al came off of his 6th hour complaining about his feet. He did think that by this time, at the end of the 6th hour his feet should be straight, and they shouldn’t be falling all over on the side. And I said, “alright, I’ll show you how we can straighten the feet.” We went down there, and we did these foot exercises, and we got him quite a decent pair of feet at the expense of throwing the whole rotation up again into the torso. And 6th hour had taken it out of the torso and put it into the feet. And for demonstration purposes I took it out of the feet and put it back in the torso. (40:30) And you see if you know enough of-,[ ] that you can plan this way back and forth. now when I give you a bad time, that’s the way to get rid of me. (40:50) Now that line situation we started to work with the other day, and I think we’ll continue to work with that a little bit right now. as a matter of actual fact we were working with that a little bit this morning when you were looking at this whole [breating satcha ] because you see that line situation really is the map that directs your entire activity in this work. You are making it possible, you are doing the changes, or establishing the changes, which make possible for the human being to be built around and to operate around this set of lines which determine the three-dimensional space that we live in. and as you get that body oriented into those three-dimensional lines you have this goal for which we’ve been reaching out. (42:25) Now you have to remember that you never get a closed-in goal. There is no such thing in a living biological system as a closed-in goal. As soon as you get somewhere, something else starts happening. Some other adjustment starts occurring. Some other change comes. If it isn’t anything else it’s the normal procedure of aging. And I do not mean the abnormal procedure of falling apart. (43:08) So you see you always had that open ended goal in front of your eyes, your minds eyes, and you’re always moving towards it, and you never really get to it, and really latch onto it for ever and ever. Life isn’t that way. (43:28) You talk about symmetry in the body, you have to have symmetrical balance in a body if you are going to create these lines and have them permanent, but how do you really get symmetry in a body which is organized with a heart on one side and a liver on the other side? How do you get symmetry in a body where most of your work is done with your right hand? Except that to a certain extent you separate girdle from core. But you can’t take out that heart and that liver away from that core and still have a guy that operates. (44:15) You see you’re dealing with a system which isn’t symmetrical to begin with, and nothing you can do will make it symmetrical. But you can behave as though it were symmetrical, just as we saw with Eric, yea, with Eric the other day. You could make it behave as though it were symmetrical. You could get a hold of that-, one end of that core and have it act as though there were no a-symmetry of curvature. And don’t ask me why and how because I just plain don’t know. I know that, and I know how to get there, but I don’t understand, in a real sense of the word understand, I do not understand how this acts. (45:20) so we’ll deal with those lines today, or tomorrow we’ll go on, or maybe later this afternoon, we’ll go on to some of the truer exercises, which just take the strains that are within the body and punch them around.. and someone somewhere along this afternoon, is going to say to me, “did you ever hear of madam [Mansendiek ].” Whose going to give me that question? Probably that man is (45:47 student) Madam who? (45:51) [Mansandeik]? Yes! [Mansandiek]. She was a very great pioneer, Madam [Mansandiek]. She was a German women, fresh from the hills. She came from Germany, she came over to this country, and she had the guts, and this was back in the 1920’s perhaps, she had the guts to take this idea of corrective exercise all the way up to the physical education department of [Vander] university and get an institute there. Now that’s more guts than I’ve got. So I admire the woman (46:44) She was a typical German. Some of you have seen the pictures we have around here that I-, no you haven’t I don’t think either, but I called a German top Sergeant. She was this kind. “You[can’t do it! [25]!” “you can’t do it! How many times can you do it? 25 times! 125 times” this in comparison with the old gal that says to you, “if at first you don’t succeed, get the hell out of there; run away.” this is just the difference. (47:15 student) [ buck private]. First class (47:23) Now Madam [Mansandiek], make no mistake, she was a very good woman, she knew her work, she knew the ideas of the times, up to her times. She brought them in, she applied them, she got them known. They’re not my ideas because any and all such attitudes do nothing but shift strain. You take the strain out of here, and you put the strain into there. (48:01) I have had many, many of her students, and I know what I’m talking about, believe me. And she could and would show them that she had changed the curvature of the back, but she couldn’t and didn’t show them that she put it maybe into the rotation of the pelvis, because those people didn’t talk in terms of rotations of the pelvis. (48:30) And if you don’t ask me whether I know Madam [Mansandiek], somebody is going to ask you whether you’ve heard of her. There are still books around. I never heard of her death, but she must be dead within the last 5 years or so, because she must have been going on well along into the 90’s when last I heard of her. And she came to a rather sad, moneyless end in a little flat in Chicago. Again, it’s the same old story. She had been a great pioneer in her day, but that’s where it ends. (49:15) Anyway, lets get going. Lets for today take those beds and move ‘em outside, or inside, or some side, and get us some room (49:47) Take the opportunity to feel yourself standing straight. And then go from standing straight to really getting in a line. Which means that the top of your head goes up and the back of your waistline goes back. And Al [Drucker] I would be interested to hear any comments from you on what you feel is the improvement of your ability to find this (50:24 student) I just feel more length in my-, in the back of my cervicals, all of them. It’s a lot easier for me to just do this kind of thing without jacking up, without sort of aberrating my whole bottom, like it used to do (50:45) Now, many of you yesterday I sort of evoked this little flat line that runs across the pubes. But I notice that Hal doesn’t have it today. That Al doesn’t have it. And this is interesting because what it means is simply that we’ve changed. [fibulating ] (51:20) Now did you feel that in order to do this you bring the flesh around this way? (51:27) Now you see, all of this had to do with the same story that I’m telling you; That in the normal body, all movement widens the back. Do this all of you, and feel this. You’re back wraps around you. And you see in all the aberrated random patterns, this business has happened. Again, I do not know why this is. Perhaps it is something to do with an animal ancestry, where you have this canopy of protection wrapping around you. And it isn’t this kind of thing, where you go along with this kind of a thing. The back gets glued to the place where it can’t widen. (52:24) But normal movement requires widening all through the structural elements in the back. Ok. Now. What’s the matter with you ? Who do you think you are? Get your arms hanging at your sides. Get yourselves so that you know where your groin is, where your psoas is. Don’t bend your knees that much Al, and bring your knees together. Who is that guy?[hey, you know that trouble is going to be alright ] Eric, parallel your feet more. That’s it. Bring your heels just a little apart. There. That’s right. Now getting to that groin structure, feel that you’ve got it. [Al bring] with your hands. Sit. Sit. This is where I’m talking about, way down here. Sit. Sit. Sit. Alright. Now stay down. Now come up. Now sit by [catching in here/your heel], and keep your knees-, that’s right. Now the knees are close together and they go straight ahead. (53:54) And you see, what you are doing is defining those three lines; up with the opposite down, out with the opposite in, forward with the opposite back. 954:10 student) Say that again. 3 lines (54:20) Up, in, and down. 954:30) You’ve almost gotten it. Only don’t come so out of it that you’re throwing it all away again. 954:40) Out, the feet up again, [go] with the opposite back. (54:57 student) Dr. Rolf, I find that, I let things widen back here and go forward, the knees tend to go in. is this-? (55:01) No, stop the knees going in and have those knees go forward (55:05 student) And still stay widened? (55:07) Oh they’ll stay widened all right. No problem about that (55:15) You get your head up Hector! Up!...whoops!woops! (55:28 student) Pinocchio (55:31) Feel your hands at your sides, and do some more of this straight out, and straight in (55:44) Now it’s a letting it rather than a doing it. It’s a different level of consciousness. (55:57) Now look how Don’s doing it. Don [Schmit]. (56:07) Do you feel that you’re lifting your arms. Yea? You’re lifting them. The direction is that they go straight out and they go straight in. hold it. Go straight out. That’s right. And they go straight in. that’s right. And straight out, and straight in, and straight out, and straight in. (56:41) Now you will all tend to do these nonsensical liftings and shovings and heavings and all of this unless you put your imaginary white cardboard sheet at your back and you draw your straight lines. now do this and feel the difference; your understanding of the problem. 957:20) Now there are one million other visualizations that you can get about how to get your arms going straight out and straight in, but I don’t know of any other one that does the job. (57:39) You don’t come straight in. There. Now go straight out. draw your line. Straight in. draw your line. Straight out. Its your line. Straight in and draw it. Now, do you feel how that changed your movement? your drawing, your sense of the drawing (58:00 student) Mm hmm. Yea. (58:04 student) I feel like I’m pulling out right here (58:04) You feel that you’re pulling out there and pulling it? (58:07 student) No. that I’m pulling out [all over the latissimus ] (58:12) How many of the rest of you know that this is what you’re doing? 958:20) You’re not putting your arms there, your not getting your arms up. you still are. You still are (58:25 student) Pushing with the latissimus? (58:28 student) When she was holding me that’s what I was feeling (58:31) Draw a straight line with that pencil. Don’t let it wiggle, and don’t let it wobble, and straight in, and straight out, and straight in. (58:50 student) That’s what it felt like. When you were holding me it felt like the latissimus (58:52) It was (58:54 student) how could it be? (58:56) It is. It was. It is. And this is what you are doing, and when you do it that way you are translating the movement of the arms from the small muscles within the arms to the big muscles within the trunk. The pectorals pulls them in, the latissimus takes them out. And the deltoid is not doing one darn thing except resting; taking Sunday off, and the biceps are taking a week off. And the responsibility goes into the big muscles that god obvious designed to do work, or he wouldn’t have made them so big. Now this is nothing mystical. It’s easiest to think of in a mystical pattern, but it’s not mystical. (1:00:04) Now almost come out, and not quite. Hold it. Right there. Now back [and go from here ] Straight out. (1:00:20 student) It really has to be on the midline before it moves doesn’t it? Or it won’t do [nothing] moving back (1:00:24) It has to be on the midline sure. It has to be a balance between the latissimus and the pectorals. Now. Follow this line of thought further, and recognize that I mean what I say when I say you cannot balance a body with your hands. A practitioner cannot balance a Rolfee’s body as Schutz calls it, with his hands. The Rolfee has to balance it with his head, as you are calling our attention to right now. He has to do it by virtue of making his movements in a certain pattern. (1:01:18) It’s coming Al. You’re having more trouble than Eddie and the rest, but you do understand what I’m talking about. Now keep going until you feel this. And as I say always have this white paper behind you. Come on baby, put your [pencils on], and put your [ other shoulder]on, and take your ramus that way, and [ ] (1:02:18) Fine. do you feel it? The pectorals and the latissimus (1:02:24 student) The latissimus in back… (1:02:35) What’s all this going on? [ ] teacher gets away! (1:02:40 student) The latissimus pectorals (1:02:45) The latissimus pectorals (1:02:48 student) Well that sure isn’t in my head yet 91:02:50) It’s not? (1:02:52 student) I can’t see how a muscle can push out, all I can see is the push in (Tape End) |
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