About James
Becoming a Rolfer was the end of my quest for a one-word job title. I grew up on a farm, and didn’t ever consider being anything other than a farmer. I loved the annual rhythm, reaping what you sowed and seeing the results of your labour in a really hands-on way, where no two days were the same.
Through my 20s I had fairly random jobs. I landed a sweet job selling Christmas trees, but they laid me off on Christmas Eve. I became a stockbroker but the end of the dotcom bubble was the end of that job. I cooked for people, but service made me grumpy.
Along the way I did Yoga teacher training with Brian Cooper. Brian recommended Dr Rolf’s book; I’d just bought the book so I looked like the class swot. I don’t ever really make a decision to do something like Rolfing. I just move towards it gathering info, until I reach the point where I say “oh fuck it”.
I went on an amazing intro course called Rolfing® Spektrum. I really liked the Rolfers I met: they were interesting people who were passionate about their work. I think we all take our bodies for granted; we are so familiar with the outside but ignorant or at least not conscious of what’s inside. I learnt so much that week, things that seemed obvious but were startling. You know when you learn something and say, “that’s so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?"
Some of the things I learnt on Spektrum were:
At about this time I was coming to the end of the 10 sessions with Rolfer Sam Sykes in Leeds. I was travelling back to Edinburgh, waiting for a train at York Station, and I started to see people with new eyes: people all dealing with the same challenge of living with gravity. Some people were really fighting gravity, rigid with tension. Others were rounded and soft like gravity had won. I thought, these people need Rolfing - then I said “oh fuck it."
I feel lucky - Rolfing never feels like work to me. I get to see progress and change like I did as a farmer, and I don’t have to worry about the weather.
Through my 20s I had fairly random jobs. I landed a sweet job selling Christmas trees, but they laid me off on Christmas Eve. I became a stockbroker but the end of the dotcom bubble was the end of that job. I cooked for people, but service made me grumpy.
Along the way I did Yoga teacher training with Brian Cooper. Brian recommended Dr Rolf’s book; I’d just bought the book so I looked like the class swot. I don’t ever really make a decision to do something like Rolfing. I just move towards it gathering info, until I reach the point where I say “oh fuck it”.
I went on an amazing intro course called Rolfing® Spektrum. I really liked the Rolfers I met: they were interesting people who were passionate about their work. I think we all take our bodies for granted; we are so familiar with the outside but ignorant or at least not conscious of what’s inside. I learnt so much that week, things that seemed obvious but were startling. You know when you learn something and say, “that’s so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?"
Some of the things I learnt on Spektrum were:
- The things that support our posture, the feet that give us foundation & the senses in the head that give us lift.
- How to talk about peoples bodies in a positive way and why it feels great to hear.
- How good Bavarian beer is.
- I started to feel how sensitive our sense of touch can be and what you can communicate through touch.
- How to move with less tension, to become more graceful.
- More anatomy than I could fit into my head.
At about this time I was coming to the end of the 10 sessions with Rolfer Sam Sykes in Leeds. I was travelling back to Edinburgh, waiting for a train at York Station, and I started to see people with new eyes: people all dealing with the same challenge of living with gravity. Some people were really fighting gravity, rigid with tension. Others were rounded and soft like gravity had won. I thought, these people need Rolfing - then I said “oh fuck it."
I feel lucky - Rolfing never feels like work to me. I get to see progress and change like I did as a farmer, and I don’t have to worry about the weather.