My Rolfing® Structural Integration Journey

by Victoria L. Huss

I remember vividly that day in 2001 that I sat in the exam room in my grubby construction clothes. I had been swinging a hammer for eight hours every day as a laborer on a bridge-building crew. Two months into the job, my hands had stopped functioning properly. I was terrified. This was only supposed to be a transition job until I saved up enough funds to return to school to figure out what it was that I truly wanted in life. Through tears, I begged the doctor to help me—I needed my hands. A child of a dairy farmer, I grew up knowing my value through hard work. If I could not work, I was nothing.

I continued on…plugging through life and not listening to my body. I switched from a job in the field to a job at a desk. I squinted for long hours under fluorescent lights in a windowless office. I wore uncomfortable shoes and scratchy clothes that suffocated me on the drive home on a hot summer’s day. I had it all: job security, retirement savings, full health care coverage, three weeks of paid vacation and sick leave. I even had respect in my job. But no benefit nor status insured against the loss of my soul. I was dying on the inside while waiting for my life’s calling.

My body screamed for attention. The tension in my neck and shoulders and pain in my lower back sidelined me from dancing and moving freely. I could no longer…work. Depression set in.

I did what I was supposed to. I used the benefits that were supposed to take care of my health. I listened to my doctor as well as I could through the recommendations of my health insurance plan. I did physical therapy. I tried chiropractic. I swallowed pain pills. I scoffed at surgery. The conventional route to finding a cure for my pain failed me, and I was a partially disabled and fully miserable 32 year-old woman.

It was a fluke that I discovered Rolfing® Structural Integration. I had heard rumors that it hurt but that it was helpful for hopeless cases like mine. I decided to give it a try. Before my first session, my Rolfer™ asked me if I was ready for change. My pain was forcing me to change. But little did I know what ‘change’ actually meant.

The first session was really interesting. It wasn’t as painful as I thought and I found that I could breathe with more ease. After the second session, I found my feet and began to relax into my body instead of struggling to hold it up. By the third session, I knew I was on to something. My back pain eased and I found greater flexibility, bodily awareness and increased mobility. I finished the rest of the ten sessions and aligned my body. In the process, I transformed my life.

It is three years later from the day that I realized that I had to change. I am now a Certified Rolfer™ and have found my calling. I now work in a sunny window-filled office. I can open a window for access to fresh air. I work barefoot and wear comfortable clothes. I listen to my body and I positively affect people who choose to heal their bodies naturally outside the institution of conventional medicine. I work with my hands. I am joyful. I am forever changed.

What change are you ready for?