I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the 10-series versus custom sessions, so I thought I’d get into it in a little more detail. First of all, hey, cool that you’re interested in getting Rolfed at all. Congratulations. That’s awesome. Maybe you’ve never been Rolfed before or maybe you’re an old pro who has dozens of sessions under their belt. Either way, you might be wondering if you should do custom Rolfing sessions, or the Rolfing 10-series. In order to answer that question, we first need to understand what the 10-series is, and why anyone might go that route versus individual, custom sessions. Let’s get into it.
In short, the Rolfing 10-series is a full body tune-up, broken into 10 individual sessions. It’s a formula for going through the whole body, piece by piece, with the goal of bringing more balance, more space, more ease, and more fluidity of movement to all of you. We start with three Surface or Sleeve sessions, continue onto four Core sessions, then wrap everything up with three Integration sessions. Each of the first seven sessions has a specific “territory” or area of the body in which we’ll be working. So in the first session we focus on the rib cage and in the second session we work on the lower legs and feet, and so on through the body. The 10-series was designed by Dr. Ida Rolf herself and I could wax poetic about how beautiful and intelligent and life-changing the 10-series is, I really could. I think everyone should try the 10-series at some point in their lives. I just find it to be a cool way to go through the body.
That being said, the 10-series is not appropriate in all circumstances. Because the 10-series is a full body tune-up, it’s not great at addressing specific, chronic issues. It was designed for people who feel good, and want to feel great. But if you’re struggling to live your life because of your back or neck or shoulder or knee pain (or any other pain), I want to address that first, before we consider the 10-series. If you just got into a car accident, I want to address that first, before we consider the 10-series. If you have weekly migraines, I want to address that first, before we consider the 10-series. I think you get the picture.
In all of these circumstances, I’d suggest we go with custom sessions, at least to start. That way we can focus on your specific issues on that specific day, instead of being constrained by the formula of the series. Custom sessions are usually the fastest way to pain relief, so if you’re hurting, we should go that route.
The other thing to consider is the commitment. Since the 10-series is basically one giant session broken into 10 pieces, it’s not the sort of thing you want to start if you’re not going to finish. I wouldn’t want to open up your front and not your back, or your top and not your bottom. Know what I mean? So before you start the 10-series, you should ask yourself if you can commit the time, money, and energy to 10 sessions, with anywhere from one to three weeks between sessions. If it’s too much to commit to the 10-series, there’s still a lot we can accomplish with a handful of custom sessions. And you never have to do the 10-series. We can do years and years of custom sessions and I’ll never, ever have a problem with that.
So, when someone asks if they should do the 10-series or custom sessions, what I really want to know is, how are they feeling now, in general? And what are they hoping to get out of their Rolfing experience? Are you looking to solve one, nagging problem? Let’s do a custom session or five and see where we can get to. Or do you want to improve your overall health, balance, flexibility, and posture? In which case, may I recommend the 10-series?
If you’re still not sure, let’s chat about it. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have and discuss the pros and cons of either route, given what I know of your history and situation. Feel free to call, text, or email me so we can figure out a good plan for you. Regardless, I love that you’re getting Rolfed. Good job, you!
