Rolfing Structural Integration in Boulder, Denver & Castle Rock

Rolfing® Structural Integration is a specialized form of hands-on, fascia-focused bodywork designed to restore balance, reduce pain, and improve how the entire body moves in gravity. At Aligned Body Integration, Scott offers a therapeutic approach grounded in deep fascial work, movement education, and nervous-system awareness, helping clients experience long-lasting structural change rather than temporary relief.

Whether you’re navigating chronic pain, recovering from injury, improving athletic performance, or simply wanting to feel more aligned in your physical body, Rolfing helps you reconnect to ease, strength, and fluid motion.

What Is Rolfing® Structural Integration?

Rolfing® Structural Integration is a form of bodywork that reorganizes and balances the body’s connective tissues—called fascia—which surround, support, and shape the whole body. Developed by Dr. Ida Rolf, Rolfing aims to realign and balance the body so you can move more efficiently and comfortably in everyday life.

Fascia is a continuous, three-dimensional web that surrounds muscles, bones, nerves, organs, and joints. When it becomes restricted from injury, posture, repetitive strain, emotional stress, or chronic tension, it can alter your body structure, movement patterns, and even how you breathe. Rolfing works by manipulating fascia, releasing long-held restrictions, and restoring more natural alignment.

This approach is very different from traditional massage therapy. Rolfing is not focused on short-term relaxation — it is a therapeutic, long-term approach to structural balance and improved function.

How Is Rolfing Different from Massage Therapy?

While massage therapy often addresses local muscle tension or relaxation, Rolfing works with the entire body system by:

• targeting connective tissue and fascia, not just muscles

• releasing deep patterns that influence posture and movement

• improving body alignment, upright posture, and mobility

• integrating movement education into the session

• addressing structural imbalances rather than symptoms

• guiding the body toward long-term change

Rolfing practitioners use a combination of deep tissue manipulation, soft tissue manipulation, specific manual techniques, and positional work to improve how the body organizes itself.

Clients frequently report improvements in flexibility, better posture, reduced pain, increased mobility, and a deeper sense of connection to their physical experience.

Many people ask whether Rolfing is the same as myofascial release. While they share similar roots — and early myofascial release was developed by practitioners trained in Rolfing concepts — Rolfing Structural Integration works with the entire fascial network to improve whole-body balance. Myofascial release focuses on local soft tissue manipulation, while Rolfing integrates those techniques into a broader structural framework that supports alignment, movement, and long-term change.”

The Science Behind Rolfing

Modern fascia research has shown that:

• fascia is richly innervated and responds to manual pressure

• restrictions in fascia can contribute to chronic conditions

• releasing fascial tension may alleviate chronic stress patterns

• connective tissue plays a major role in movement efficiency

• fascia surrounds and organizes body segments and joints

Rolfing’s emphasis on restoring structural balance and improving movement aligns with contemporary findings in biomechanics and somatic therapy.

Although not a replacement for physical therapy or medical treatment, Rolfing is considered a complementary therapy that can support healing, function, and overall wellness.

What Does Rolfing Do?

Rolfing aims to:

• release tension

• alleviate pain and chronic conditions

• improve mobility

• correct misalignments

• enhance fluid motion

• support upright posture

• improve athletic performance

• reduce compensatory movement patterns

• restore natural balance through the entire body

Clients often describe the results as feeling:

• lighter

• more grounded

• more aligned

• more aware of their movement

• more connected to their breath and body