amy tan : movement + manual therapist

Tessy Brungardt is a Advanced Rolfing Instructor and is well-known among the Rolfing community as the Rolfer who had helped famous classical pianist, Leon Fleischer, regained his ability to perform after years of suffering from dystonia in his right arm. Through regular Rolfing sessions, he was able to attain sufficient symptomatic relief that allowed him to play with both hands again.

During the workshop she taught in Tokyo, she articulated very clearly Dr Ida Rolf’s basic premises of Rolfing which remains the foundation and logic of Rolfing and its understanding.

1. Human structural organisation in gravity is important. With better postural organisation and movement patterns, the body feels overall better.

2. Bodies can change for the better with the proper intervention.

3. This change will happen throught connective tissue manipulation and body awareness education.

What sets Rolfing apart from many other therapies is the principle of wholism, where it approaches every person’s issue globally as a whole system instead of zooming in to provide local and specific solutions without considering the entire relationship of the body. Any living system is self-organizing and self-regulating. Therefore through Rolfing, we are removing the limitations of the body’s ability to self-regulate and self-organize so it has the possibility to function at its potential.

Read an interview with Tessy about Rolfing for professional musicians.