Customer Reviews

Balancing Your Body: A Self-Help Approach to Rolfing Movement

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Having read about and tried a lot of psycho-body-therapy techniques, I was very impressed to find something this different and efficient. Using relaxation as the primary vehicle of exploration, amazing results occur - fx improving movement flexibility more that "hardcore" streching. Mary Bond guides one to experience ones body in a new, more rich and subtle way. Unlike many related books, this one offers lots of concrete knowledge and advice, Mary Bond is not afraid to share her insights. I cannot recommend this book highly enough - it's simply brilliant.

The exercises on this tape focus on connecting with one's body, then re-educating one's body to move as nature intended, using gravity as an ally rather than a foe in attaining good balance. First one learns to breath deeply, fully, and effortlessly--which in itself can have a profound impact on every facet of one's life--but that's just the beginning! Gradually one works through the entire body, using one's newfound breath as a tool to attain both deep relaxation and efficient movement (one is not possible without the other). While the exercises themselves are short and simple, you'll begin noticing changes in the way you feel and move almost immediately. There is nothing "New Age" about this tape: It is based on sound anatomical and physiological principals. Yet, in a manner of speaking, it ties together many ideas & techniques popularized by the New Age movement . . only here you see how the fit together and make logical, practical sense, such as the visualization exercises alluded to by the last reviewer. An excellent tape all around!

MY REVIEW IS FOR THE BOOK ONLY!

Some Tai-Chi masters say that you should strive to do Tai-Chi so well that you don't do it anymore. Mary Bond's book BALANCING YOUR BODY is a western approach to this ideal. This is a method of exploration, discovery and action to achieve dynamic balance and harmony in a constantly changing internal/external environment. My personal situation precludes formal exercise in definite locations or with groups. Of the extensive search that I've made, her methods are the most interesting and potentially the most useful. However it goes in practice, I will always thank her for educating me to the difference between symmetry and balance.

If you've been out of touch with your body, it's hard to know how to get connected. The exercises in Balancing Your Body give you a great starting place to find out what's going on inside, nurture yourself, and build balance and posture. The instructions are easy to follow and Mary's gentle guidance put me right at ease. I use many of these exercises as movement lessons for my clients and recommend this book highly.

Anita Boser, Certified Hellerwork Practitioner and author of Relieve Stiffness and Feel Young Again with Undulation

This is a typical relaxation tape. It has little to do with Rolfing. I assume that Rolfing was put in the title to help sell the tape. It is very misleading. If you want a soft Yoga voice asking what color you thigh feels like, or what your back would say if it could talk, then buy this tape. But if you are looking for something about Rolfing, this isn't it.

This may be an excellent book for professional Rolfers, but not for people wanting to heal themselves. As a matter of fact, Rolfing has to be experienced first in ten lessons, as I learnt in the excellent book called "Rolfing structural Integration: What it achieves, How it works and Whom it helps". This is the book I warmly recommend to lay people like me, who simply want to learn about Rolfing and see if it could help them with their problem.