I’m Shannon Middleton and I’m an advanced certified rolfer and movement education therapist.

Ida Rolf, the founder of rolfing, had a vision for this practice. She lived in the early twentieth century and was one of the first women to get her PhD in biochemistry. She was kicked in the chest by a horse when she was 12, and her dad, who was a wealthy import industrialist at the time, took her to the best osteopath around which at the time was a vision impaired man who couldn’t actually see the body! He actually hired her later on in life to read books on osteopathy to him, but because of h...

Ida Rolf, the founder of rolfing, had a vision for this practice. She lived in the early twentieth century and was one of the first women to get her PhD in biochemistry. She was kicked in the chest by a horse when she was 12, and her dad, who was a wealthy import industrialist at the time, took her to the best osteopath around which at the time was a vision impaired man who couldn’t actually see the body! He actually hired her later on in life to read books on osteopathy to him, but because of his influence she ended up having ideas about the body and molecular structure and anatomical science that were radically different. Her main idea was that the body is plastic; it can molded and shaped at any time. I want to keep in line with Ida Rolf’s vision when she says, “leave the bits and pieces to the doctors, I want to think about the evolution of the body and of you as a person.” You might be stuck in your cocoon and can’t do it, or you might have something physical or even emotional holding you back in life. Whatever it is, getting in touch with your body so that you can overcome all your different hurdles is my vision. Rolfing to me is all about potential. Who are you supposed to be? What is your potential supposed to be? I love rolfing because I will never stop growing and learning. Every person that I deal with is his or her own uniquely individual experience, and that’s what makes it beautiful. When I choose someone to work with, or vice versa, I am choosing to be responsible for them.