Testimonials

Jill Boulton - UK

I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't have back pain together with pains in my knees, hips and shoulders. I'd tried many different therapies and exercises over the last 20 years - the one that was helping the most was a chiropractor - I was visiting him every two weeks and that relieved the back pain somewhat but I wasn't getting better - I figured as you got older you just had to put up with the aches and pains.

I'd never heard of Rolfing but was prepared to try anything once - each session was a revelation - I could feel my body changing and feeling more at ease. On the third session when the back pain stopped I was sure it would come back like every time before - but the changes have lasted and I've been pain free for over 6 months now - for me Heath and Rolfing have been a miracle.

Jackie Wake - Scotland

I had bad posture for most of life. My neck used to snap back painfully, when I tried to turn it. Regular treatments from a chiropractor reduced this problem to manageable levels.

Severe daily headaches began in June 06. Later that year, a podiatrist advised I had a limb leg difference of 2.5 inches. My pelvis was regularly un-rotated by my chiropractor, however it would appear the adjustments never held very long. In December 06 I began wearing orthotics, which successfully stabilised my pelvis, reduced my leg limb difference and reduced my headaches to manageable levels.

I had constant tension in shoulders and neck pain. Weekly Sports Injury Massage treatments, over an extended period of time, saw no improvement.

Nov 07 - Introduction to Rolfing

I wasn’t familiar with Rolfing, but I was given to understand that it was something that could help someone with every problem I had. Naturally, I was skeptical, that it could help at all, let alone be a permanent fix, but a friend assured me that a year on, she was still enjoying the benefits from one session.

I signed up for 3 sessions. After the first session, I knew something was different as my body didn’t appear to want to return to the same standing position as before. The second session concentrated on feet. Previously I had been told that my toes would never un-clench, so I was utterly amazed at the end of this session, as my toes uncurled and I could feel the ground underneath them. The difference was so great I could hardly believe they were my feet! At the end of the third session, Heath was teaching me how to walk tall and without tension.

Throughout my life, I had often been told to stand up straight, and lower my shoulders, but when I tried to do this, it felt like I was working against my body, as I tried to force it into a new position. After only 3 sessions of Rolfing:

I wish I had done this years ago and fully intend to complete all 10 Rolfing Sessions. I hadn’t expected Rolfing to be an emotional treatment, but I feel like I have been given a new body, which is more than I ever hoped for.

Anna Souness - UK

I was unsure and a bit reluctant at first because I had never heard of Rolfing and didn't know how it could help me. After receiving 3 sessions, I knew I had to complete the series of ten and was determined to achieve this!!!

I am pleased to say that I have achieved this, and now look forward to maintenance sessions with Heath on future detox retreats. I just love them so much!

Rolfing has helped me to open up and stand tall, be more balanced and comfortable with who I am, and it's Heath's gift and listening skills, his time and effort that has helped me to help myself to achieve this!

Olivia Veloso - Arizona, USA

For a long time I was very worried about my posture. I know that I didn't stand properly and worst of all, when I sat down for a meal I looked and felt like an old woman. By the end of each meal I would be completely hunched over my plate!!! What a sight that was!

I received 10 Rolfing treatments from Health Wilson in the summer of 2004. Heath worked on my body weekly and one of the things that impressed me most is that before every treatment, he always explained each procedure, what to expect and always made time to listen to my point of view. He also took his time to complete each treatments. As each week went by I could not only feel the change in my posture but also on my mental outlook. I started to stand tall and feel more confidence in myself. From my first treatment I also started to sleep well.

All my life I was 5 ft. tall.......and before my Rolfing treatments, I was down to 4"11" short!!! I just had my full medical check-up and to my surprise I now stand 5"1-1/2" ft. tall. I am now 1-1/2 inches taller!!! Heaths Rolfing treatments is the only explanation I can find to my growing taller. My usual aches and pains have disappeared and in the mornings, I am ready to get up and go.

Since then I have suggested to many of my friends and family to receive Rolfing treatments... preferably from Heath. I would always go to someone I can trust and I know that Heath is a professional Rolfer!

Krys

I started the series of 10 rolf sessions as part of a detox programme. When I started, I felt pretty ill and worn out in general. I hadn't done much exercise for a while and when I had been exercising, it had been very much strength / cardio work with the odd bit of yoga thrown in. I wasn't exactly flexible and simple things like walking seemed awkward.

I would see my reflection in a window sometimes and noticed that I didn't seem to stand up straight when I walked – I was hunched over, bending from the hip. It surprised me, because throughout most of my life, people had commented on how wonderful my posture was. That wasn't happening any more. I also had a back pain in the bottom left of my pelvis that was so acute that we bought a specialist mattress to enable me to sleep properly and get out of bed without stumbling for a few minutes like an old lady. When I went shopping, which is a bit of a hobby, I would get a dull ache in my lower back after a short while and climbing stairs somehow seemed un-natural.

When I did do yoga, my body just stopped in certain positions and would go no further. I couldn't feel tension in muscles that needed to stretch, the movement was simply 'blocked'. The only good thing was that after many years of high heels, my body had somehow become used to wearing them and I could wear them all day without issue. And so, not knowing what I was letting myself in for, I started the rolf sessions.

After the first one, I wanted to sit up straight all the time and slouching seemed odd. After 3 sessions, walking felt like floating and going up stairs felt like a normal thing to do. My partner said I'd grown an inch and the change was so quick and so profound that I ditched my high heels – selling some of my beloved shoe collection on ebay and invested in flat shoes only. I decided to test run the new walk and practiced walking for the first 30 minutes of my commute rather than taking the tube to an interchange. I completed the course of 10 Rolf sessions over a period of around 8 months and made sure I walked at least an hour each day in between.

After around 3 months, I was so eager to improve my posture that I invested in some MBT trainers (specialist shoes that imitate an uneven surface and therefore improve your core stability and ultimately your walk). At the time they were great, but Heath tried them and found that the pivot action of the trainers made you 'jerk' rather than 'flow' through your movement. So the Rolf experience continued, some sessions gave me the odd bruise, some sessions made me think Heath was an odd-ball and some sessions made me a bit sore for a few days! Each visit made a noticeable difference to my body. Now that I've completed all ten and had a few months of 'rest', I can safely say that the rolfing has made a huge positive impact on me.

Physically, I felt I had started down the slippery slope to old age and now the following hold true:

I still catch my reflection in a window from time to time and I'm definitely walking upright – even with a heavy back-pack on, my gait looks fluid – like the digital images of walking skeletons we see on science programmes. I can't believe how 'jerky' my walk had been until I see how it is now….and I have to agree with Heath that once you're walking in a relaxed manner, the MBTs are a hindrance, so eBay will be seeing another sale pretty soon.

My plans on the Rolfing front are to have a period of around 6 – 8 months rest to acclimatise the new walk into daily life, then I'll be returning for another set of sessions to fine tune anything that has been misaligned by daily life, heavy bags, office chairs and the occasional disco frenzy. In the meantime, I'm working as an ambassador for Rolfing – so far my partner and two friends have decided to do the sessions because of the visible difference they've seen in me.