Certified Rolfer Dr. Eric Maklan got into Rolfing, a form of bodywork, the way many people do. He was in pain and wanted to find something that could fix him.
Rolfing manipulates and reorganizes the fascia, or connective tissue, to affect the body's structure and posture. By applying pressure, Rolfers move the body into alignment to help clients achieve maximum health, Maklan explained. Benefits include increased energy, better sleep, and feeling less pain and being more comfortable in your body, he said.
Maklan isn't sure what caused his pain, but said he felt it mainly in his neck, though it emanated all over his body, no matter what position his body was in, and he had difficulty moving his right arm. He tried physical therapy, massage and acupuncture, but nothing was working.
He'd been sitting in a chair for four or five days, in severe pain and barely able to move, when a friend mentioned there was a Rolfer in town. Maklan decided to try it.
As the Rolfer worked on his body, it seemed that he was focusing on areas unrelated to his pain, Maklan said. But when the Rolfer told him to stand up and move around, and then worked for a moment on one more point on his body, Maklan said he felt the whole pattern of pain throughout his body melt away.
"One session had me hooked," he said. "I thought it was incredible and wanted to learn as much as I could."
Maklan trained for about a year at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado, the only institution that trains certified Rolfers. He then practiced for five years with a group of other Rolfers at Midline Integrative Bodywork in Santa Cruz, California.
He was considering volunteering full time at Isha Institute of Inner-sciences, a retreat in McMinnville, Tennessee, focused on overall well-being, when he drove through Chattanooga. He fell in love with the city, and started his own practice, Rolfing Chattanooga, in the Business Development Center in February of this year.
Maklan said he's the only certified Rolfer in the city that he's aware of.
Created by the late Ida Rolf, who received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, the practice was initially called structural integration, though her followers later started referring to it as Rolfing. Structural integration typically involves 10, 75-minute sessions, known as the Rolfing Ten-Series.
Maklan said around two-thirds of his practice involves whole-body structural integration through the Rolfing Ten-Series. While he feels the Ten-Series is beneficial for everyone, not everyone is able to make the time or financial commitment it requires, he said, so he also offers one-hour integrative bodywork sessions that focus on one isolated area.
"A lot of people do the Ten-Series multiple times," he said. "They get hooked on the way it feels."
People won't have a monumental experience during every session, Maklan said, but they usually do notice a difference fairly quickly, and after a few sessions, people typically know whether it's something they want to continue.
Rolfing Chattanooga is at 100 Cherokee Blvd., Suite 2011, and can be reached at 228-0886. For more information, visit rolfingchattanooga.com.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.