Recently, I learned how to sew. I am enjoying the process of creating garments from a pattern tremendously. I even got a Bernina sewing machine!

As I am making things in the middle of the night, I often think of other things. Last week, when cutting out a piece of fabric out of an old curtain, I was matching grainline on the pattern to the grain of the fabric. Every pattern piece has an arrow drawn on it to find the matching grain. Grain is the strongest and least stretchable direction of a fabric. The reason why it is important to cut the fabric on the grain is so that the garment hangs properly on the body (otherwise it twists and doesn’t feel right).

I found a metaphor in the grainline idea with my Rolfing practice. When I work with a client’s connective tissue, it is often shifted and pulled out of the grain direction. I apply pressure to help lenghten the soft tissues along the bones to create space and optimal movement. After that, it ‘hangs’ differently. Often, clients perceive the lenghtening and the relief that’s associated with releasing the ‘stuck’ place and internal tension.

Who would have thought there is a connection between sewing and Rolfing!

Tags: sewing, Rolfing, bernina, grainline, grain, fabric

More than four years ago, after graduating from the Rolf Institute in Boulder, I decided to set my Rolfing practice in Santa Fe, where I live. I also decided to open an office in Los Alamos where there were no Rolfers and where I was drawn through my previous scientific background. Both of my locations thrived and eventually, I added an office in Albuquerque in 2009. I have enjoyed working in all three areas. People are different but mostly the same everywhere I go.

At the end of last year, I felt that I needed to drive less and spend more time learning new things. A new opportunity emerged to work at a clinic in Espanola where I can work with other health practitioners such as a chiropractor, Doctors of Oriental Medicine and massage therapists. The environment is such that we learn from each other and approach each patient in a holistic way. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge among the various fields and I am just now learning about all the things I don't know that I don't know. I love it!

I have loved my clients in Los Alamos and I hope to continue working with them. I came as a novice and I have grown into a fully competent Rolfer. I appreciate all the challenges and each and every client who had trusted me with his or her body. Hopefully, I helped to create more wellness in their lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tags: Rolfing, Los Alamos

I recently received a wonderful cranial-sacral treatment from a friend. She has worked on me before but this time, I felt my bones moving.

She offered her help when I complained about a sharp headache. Cranial-sacral therapy is known for its subtle ways of shifting things in the body, both on physical and energetic level.

The treatment was about 30 minutes of light pressure on various parts of my scalp, face and jaw. I have heard about how some people can shift things with a very light pressure but with my Rolfing practice, I haven't accessed such subtlety myself.

I feel jazzed to feel that kind of movement. I've learned in my Rolfing education about the sphenoid bone which is a little bone behind the eyes in the shape of a butterfly. It is suspended by ligaments and in its optimal state, it floats with the cranial-sacral pulse of the cerebrospinal fluid.

For the last year, I have been studying my asymmetrical face. I see it especially when I smile or smirk because my left lip is pulled higher than the other side. I am also noticing asymmetry of my cheek bones. It seems, and my friend agreed, that there was some trauma that changed how my face had developed over the years.

I am not too concerned about the asymmetry but I find it fascinating since I have been noticing other people with similar features. I have been exploring the effect of soft tissue work on the mimic muscles and noticed that they are just like any other kind of muscle. They get tight and pull on things.

Since my cranial-sacral discovery about moving bones, I have been working not only with the soft tissue but at the level of the bones as well. I am finding that the bones will shift if encouraged. I am exploring the different levels of pressure that can make a shift.

Tags: bones, cranial-sacral therapy

Over the years, I have been working with a lot of people with carpal tunnel syndrome. It is mostly people who work on a computer, craft-makers and bodyworkers like myself. Since I opened my office in Albuquerque in June 2009, I have noticed that there are many more people who seek my help with the carpal tunnel syndrome in Albuquerque than in my other locations.

My theory is that Albuquerque has a lot of small businesses. It is still not a common practice to pay attention to ergonomics in smaller or mid-size companies whereas it seems that the large corporations or institutions have learned from their medical departments that ergonomics can save a lot of money on healthcare in the long run.

It is now well known that ergonomic equipment such as a keyboard at the correct height or adjustable chairs can prevent repetitive stress injuries. There are many opinions out there about what is the best ergonomic equipment. I have found that what works for my body may differ from what works for someone else. My body structure is unique to me and I cannot generalize my preference. Some people have a natural preference for anterior tilt in their pelvis and some people tilt posteriorly. Some people are 5ft tall and some are 6ft tall. Why would we expect us all to use the same equipment and have it work for our bodies?

You know you found the right fit when it feels light to be sitting or standing at your workstation. You feel "stacked up," supported, at ease and relaxed when you are aligned. Sometimes, you may feel you are fighting gravity and that may be the time when something needs to lengthen so that your body can return to alignment. At that moment, you may start a stretching or yoga practice. Or, you may get a "facilitated stretching" session, which is what Rolfing is all about.

Tags: carpal tunnel, ergonomics

Clavicle is a bone that connects the shoulder to the sternum and ultimately to the first rib. Therefore, the clavicle is an important junction that gets pulled out of alignment.

Injuries to the neck and shoulder or even "sleeping wrong" can result in the whole area going havoc. There are many muscles that play a role in stabilizing the bones. The relationships between the humerus, shoulder blade, clavicle, ribs and spine are all inter-related. If one bone is out of alignment, they all get influenced.

I've discovered that working with the clavicle is a great way to start taking apart the tensional pattern of the upper back, neck and shoulder problems. When the clavicle moves better with breathing, the shoulder becomes freer and relates better to the shoulder blade and ribs. There is suddenly more space for the neck to emerge and move with turning of the head.

Some people get sore after working with the clavicle and some don't. I have been working with my own clavicles and discovered that my arm is just the right length to reach it! What a great body engineering of the human body! I bet I have discovered why our arm’s and leg’s lengths match Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. So that we can rolf the clavicles as much as we please!

Tags: clavicle, Ribs, shoulder

The reporter Lisa VanDyke wrote this excellent article about my practice and what Rolfing is about. My favorite quote is:

“I see so many people who are disempowered from their bodies,” Povolna said. “If you’re in pain, it doesn’t mean that’s how it has to be for the rest of your life; you can do something about it.”

Local-iQ Article

Tags: local iq, article, Rolfing

In today's sitting culture, repetitive strain injuries thrive. We work on a computer for hours at a time without a break. Over the years of such activity, we develop a pattern of tension in certain parts of the body. The extent of the tension depends largely on our posture and awareness during such activities.

Recently, I've been blessed with friends who have a toddler. While hanging out with them, I've observed little Alex evolving from crawling to walking to running. His spine started as perfectly "straight." As he started to climb onto his feet, his spine started transforming. Within a few months, his spine developed the curves required for proper spinal movement: lordosis and kyphosis.

Beside his spine, I have also been watching Alex's feet. The difference is less dramatic, nevertheless significant. As he was using his feet walking and eventually running, he developed a medial arch that engages when pushing into his toes. We were all amazed when Alex started to stand on one foot while bending the toes of the other. It was a new movement for him and it seemed like he was doing that "on purpose."

There are many reasons that lead someone to have a poor posture. It usually starts in childhood. We grown up running and playing and one day we arrive in the first grade. From then on, we are told to sit still. At this age, the child's body is mostly bones and to sit on hard chairs for 6 hours a day is a challenge. I believe that this may lead some children to "slouch." For some, it hurts too much to sit on those bony sitbones, and for others, their legs may not be able to reach the floor. So, we learn to sit on our sacrums instead.

Perhaps this theory is too simplistic. I, myself, don't remember if my sitbones hurt in the first grade but I do remember the shyness associated with developing my breasts at the age of 12. I can see the transformation in the photographs from an erect child to a hunched adolescent. This is not just my experience; I've heard it from enough clients by now to see the pattern.

When the child "slouches," restrictions form in the ribcage. With each breath (there are about 17,000 a day), the restrictions get reinforced. The more time we spend in a misaligned position, the deeper the distortion of the ribcage becomes. We take on the shape of the activity we spend the most time doing. I always think of the story of the Three Spinners: Thumbsey, Footsey and Lippy. Each one develops the feature that gets used the most.

The best advice I can give myself and my clients is to sit on the sitbones. Actually, the vector of your sitbones should be slightly behind you. It is hard to describe but it feels as if you are leaning slightly forward. You want the widest base of contact with the seat possible.

The simplest, most inexpensive chairs are often the best. The ideal chair has adjustable height so that your hips are slightly over your knees (imagine a marble slowly rolling down your thigh). The cushion is not too cushiony because you want to always be able to feel your sitbones contacting the chair. Keep your feet on the ground and allow your spine to self-support.

Alignment while sitting feels as if you can just rest into your sitbones and not having to work at all. The only muscles that keep engaging are postural muscles called erector spinae. They always have some tone in them but don't feel like they are "working." Look for ease and you shall find it.

Tags: Posture, repetitive strain injuries

I am obsessed about ribs. I find them to be such a fundamental area for everything else around them to work “right.” I have spent the last 11 months working and exploring my own ribs and discovered some amazing things:
1. Chronic shoulder tightness and pain always involves the ribs.
2. Postural issues always involve restrictions in the ribcage.
3. There are 12 ribs on each side. When one rib is restricted, the whole ribcage is affected.
4. Freeing the individual ribs involves working in the intercostal muscles and fascia. Remember, there are 24 ribs with 16-20 inches of circumference. This may take some time to free!
5. We take on average 17,000 breaths every day. Each breath either reinforces the freedom or the restriction of the individual ribs.
Bring on the ribs!

Tags: Ribs, Posture, shoulder, breath, ribs

A lot of people come to me saying that one of their legs is shorter than the other. This condition makes them feel misaligned and off balance. Movement feels strained and “not right” to them. Often, their pelvis feels “twisted.”
Many opinions exist about why the legs have different lengths. There are also many ways to measure a leg and the bones in it. And there are yet more ways how healers, allopathic or alternative, treat this condition. Some practitioners recommend an orthodic (insert) in the shoe on the shorter side, others focus on adjusting the pelvis and spine to help the person be and feel more aligned.
My approach from the Rolfing world is focused on looking for tightnesses in the hip on the shorter side. Often, I find tightness that might have been a result of trauma or compensation for an injury on the same or even on the other side. Sometimes, things tighten diagonally.
With these clients, I test the hips first by comparing the hips’ ability to lengthen by gently pulling on them in various angles. The client can usually feel where the sides differ and what is trying to stretch and lengthen but can’t. I follow their perceptions and open the hip by lengthening the muscles and fascia where they feel it. Very often, they remark afterwards: “It feels like my shorter leg is longer than the other!”
Beside the hip, I have also discovered that the femur plays a large role in how much movement there is in the leg. If the soft tissue is tight around the femur, the femur cannot glide and rotate properly as we walk, run, stand or sit. The femur becomes entrapped by the soft tissue in the thigh and the range of movement of the shorter leg is diminished. That tends to reinforce the tightnesses that are already there and also the pattern of the legs and feet either to point out (externally rotate) or point in (pigeon-toed).
Sometimes, the longer leg can be the problem. Especially with people with osteoarthritis in one of the hips, the movement is altered by the pain in the hip and the person has a limp. It is often the longer leg that doesn’t glide in the hip joint itself that can be the culprit.
In the conclusion, the difference in the leg lengths is a serious issue.  Alignment of the body cannot be established properly unless the legs bear weight similarly . I am not obsessed with symmetry; I look for functionality. Do the legs provide the support necessary for the spine to point up? Is weight distributed similarly on the left and right sides? Is there a glide in the body movement as the person walks? These are the things I look for.

Tags: legs, hips, tightness

I recently received a great session from my beloved teacher and mentor Jan Sultan in Santa Fe. I was joined by Kelle Oien, a friend and a Rolfer, also practicing in Santa Fe. Jan split our time between working with each one of our needs. It was a profound session for both of us.
Jan mentioned that it seems that when he works with more people in the room, the healing energy intensifies. The witnessing of a healing is a healing in itself. We are more connected than we think we are. All the people present are affected by the limbic connection between our brains. It is a strange feeling to be flooded by emotions that are not my own. It helps me be more compassionate and human.
We don’t talk or think much about being connected to people we barely know. In the big picture, we can all be healers and mirrors for each other and help one another release our pain and hurt from the past. Thank you, Jan!

Tags: Jan Sultan

I got four brand new tires and alignment today. It’s amazing what a difference that makes when all your wheels are going in the same direction. Even if one of them was slightly off, driving would become hindered and inefficient.
Same principle applies to humans. When we find alignment in our bodies, our movement becomes flowing and resistance-free. Alignment in the Rolfing sense means the ability to find a position in which all parts are supported from bottom up. In such a place, we rest into gravity as opposed to fight gravity.
When the structures of the human body are differentiated and hydrated, the alignment happens naturally. The tissue is plump and resilient and easily adapts to find the alignment in various positions. For example, when we stand, the side line connecting the ankle, hip joint, shoulder joint and the ear represents the optimal alignment position. When we sit, the sit bones provide the anchor instead of the legs but the same principle of alignment applies.
Most of us find ourselves in various modifications of the “plump line,” depending on our energy and awareness. The best way to find it is by slowly rocking on your feet forward and back and find THE place where all our weight can sink through the center of the feet, hips, shoulders and the head balances on top.
For most of my clients, this state of alignment is a new sensation. It has been too long for them to remember what it’s like to move freely and be relaxed. They learn that they can re-create this sense of balanced body and support and rest in their every day activities,whether they are waiting in line or sitting at a computer. It is a skill to find the sensation of alignment, rest and ease that can be cultivated.
Resting is the key word here. When we rest, we surrender, we relax, we accept what is. This state of being is spacious and expanded and we have a choice to respond from a centered place to the demands of life. It is useful to be able to switch between a state of expansion and contraction but in the long run, prolonged contraction will create chronic tension and eventually pain. Tension is the opposite of sensation. When we are chronically tight, we stop feeling and we lose both the sensations of pain as well as pleasure.
The more we stay relaxed, the more we feel. The more we feel, the more we can return to the gracious state of balance, harmony and alignment. Now, let yourself rest into your body!

Tags: ease, alignment, posture

Sciatica is probably the second most common problem that people come to me for. It is a sensation that may include one or several of these areas: low back, hip, thigh, calf and even foot. Most people experience the sensations more on one side.
There are two kinds of sciatica issues: the ones that are stemming from the spine mis-alignment and second that are more about the sciatic nerve impinged by the soft tissue in the piriformis area or in the thigh.
The sciatic nerve is a thick bundle of nerves that travel the whole length of the leg. It starts as a bundle of nerves coming out of the L5, S1 and S2 vertebrae. Sometimes, the L5 is rotated on the sacrum or the sacrum may be rotated itself. This may cause impingement of the sciatic nerve. The nerve can be irritated or inflamed, causing nerve sensations or numbness to the leg. This tends to be a more complicated pattern because it involves the spine in addition to the soft tissue tightness.
The second kind of sciatic nerve issues are people with chronic tightness in the leg and hip. The soft tissue becomes hard and at some point doesn’t allow the femur to glide while moving or even when sitting. The sensations are usually in the hip and on the back side of the leg. From anatomy stand point, the piriformis muscle of the hip is interesting because in small percentage of the population, the sciatic nerve actually goes through the piriformis. When the piriformis becomes tight, it can trigger the sciatic nerve sensations.
In both patterns, I work with the hip, ie. gluteal muscles, piriformis and the connective tissue on the back side of the leg. Usually, this gives a person relief to move or rest the leg while the femur is free enough to find comfortable position in which it is not “pulled on.” If the sciatic pain doesn’t go completely away, I continue pursuing the spine and how it relates to the sacrum, pelvis and the legs. We work the soft tissue that could be pulling on any of these structures. These may be the psoas or the adductors and many other structures.
For some people, the sciatica can dissipate in their first Rolfing session. For others, it may take longer. Usually, the less amount of time a person has had it, the bigger chance is in resolving it fast. Don’t wait until it becomes a larger pattern.

Tags: sciatica, sciatic nerve, low back pain

The 10 series evolved as a systematic approach to the structural alignment of the body. A single session can address specific issues in the body but cannot accomplish alignment everywhere. The Basic 10 series can do that for most people. Each one of the ten sessions focuses on a particular goal. The work starts with superficial layers and opens up a way to contact the deeper structures which is sometimes called the core.

Here is a brief description of the goals of each session:

1. breath and its many dimensions
2. support of core through feet and legs
3. opening the dimension of depth


These three sessions can stand alone as they complete the opening of the superficial layers. Deeper sessions follow:

4. letting the legs support the core
5. expanding the core
6. allowing the back and legs match the core
7. putting the head on
8-9. furthering anything to help organism be congruent
10. closure of the process

For most people, a week is a good length of time between sessions. It's long enough to integrate the changes and allow them to become "normal." And it's not too long for the tissue to go back to the adaptive patterns that it's used to.

Each session builds upon the work of the previous session. The changes tend to be cumulative; as one area opens, other places try to accommodate the new equilibrium that is being formed.

The results are often surprising for people. As the weeks go by, some notice transformations not only in their bodies but also in their lives in relationships to others and foremost to themselves. The old nagging thoughts become less loud and a new outlook on life emerges. Some deep-seated tensions disappear to give space and energy to the new, more centered state. Being becomes easier and less effortful.

Tags: Rolfing, 10 Series

Rolfing is a hands-on manipulation of connective tissue such as tendons, ligaments and fascia. The main goal is to establish order and alignment so that the body can naturally find ease and support in gravity as opposed to fighting it.

In particular, Rolfing frees restrictions that form as we age and compensate for the injuries that might have happened long ago but didn't quite resolve. These restrictions are often adhesions or fibrous scar tissue that feels denser, less innervated and dehydrated. They prevent full range of motion and thus spreading the adaptation pattern to other parts of the body.

Some Rolfers and Structural Integrators including me, believe that aging is basically dehydration of tissue. It means that fluids cannot get to the particular tissue. One of the causes is often chronic tightness of the area that restricts the blood and lymph flow that is so important in bringing the nutrients and flushing out the toxins. Over the decades of such restrictions, muscles, connective tissue, nerves and organs function sub-optimally. Tissue is no longer elastic and flexible. We become rigid, often both physically as well as psychologically.

As one of my instructors at the Rolf Institute said, the body IS movement. That is what we do every second of our lives; be it playing tennis or just breathing while we sleep. There are many ways to encourage the body moving. I personally find several things helpful:


1. Body awareness
2. Walking
3. Getting rolfed
4. Rolling on a ball and working "the kinks" out myself
5. Hot tubbing
6. Continuum movement
7. Gyrokinesis

All of them help me connect with my body in a deeper way. When I am connected with my body, I am able to recognize when a part of me isn't "happy." It becomes intuitive to adjust and adapt myself to the circumstances. I align my body with my life. Life truly becomes effortless and joyful.

Tags: aging, self-help