About The Ida P. Rolf Method
Ida Rolf observed and wrote her PhD Thesis about the nature of fascia. She documented chemically the fact that with the passage of time (or aging), the addition of any kind of stress (postural, physical, mental and even emotional or trauma induced) fascia thickens, dehydrates & looses elasticity. The more we train (or overtrain), the more we ask of our bodies to deliver at a high level in surfing, skiing, running, doing pilates or yoga – or in just plain living – the more our fasica looses elasticity, in the process of which we loose flexibility, comfort and power.
Ida also observed that with properly applied pressure, fascia lengthens, loosens, rehydrates and regains elasticity. This state change which her techniques enable, are long lasting.
Meet John Baier
Master in the Traditional Art of Rolf Structural Integration
John Baier
I had my first Rolf TEN Series 44 years ago. I was a runner, skier & avid windsurfer at the time and suffered constant lower back problems. Rolfing improved my life dramatically, and ever since I have always settled somewhere close to a practitioner of Ida’s work.
Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve had dozens of TEN Series and hundreds of Rolf sessions. By the time I started my training 22 years ago, Ida’s work was already a mainstay of my life, and I knew the Rolf TEN Series progression by heart.
In 1996, I began my training with Don St. John in the North West Hellerwork School in Seattle, and completed the auditing portion of my training at the Rolf Institute in Boulder Colorado in early 1997 under Jan Sultan.
Continually seeking the most revered and admired teachers directly trained by Ida Rolf, I decided to complete my training in 1997 at the Guild for Structural Integration in Boulder, Colorado. Auditing with Peter Melchoir and practitioning with Emmett Hutchins, I consider both of them to be the two of the greatest Rolfers who ever lived.
Dr. Rolf appointed Emmett and Peter the first teachers of her work, and they originally founded the Rolf Institute together with Dr. Rolf in 1971. Ida Rolf died in 1979, and The Guild for Structural Integration separated itself from the Rolf Institute in 1990 to focus solely on Ida’s traditional methods.
Emmett Hutchins & his life partner Richard Stenstavold became my mentors & close friends till Richard’s passing in 2012, and Emmett in 2016.
I was honored to serve as a board member of the Guild for 5 years.
Since 1998, I have had my practice in the Zuma Terrace Building in Malibu. I practice Rolf Structural Integration because I love this work & it changed my life. I have been blessed to watch Ida’s traditional manual therapy methods change peoples lives for the better over the last 21 years right here in Malibu.
I would also like to acknowledge the influence of Thomas Coker on my development as a practitioner. In 1996, Tom shared with me his hand-written notes from his training with Ida and took me through a TEN Series exactly as she personally taught it to him stroke by stroke in 1975.
Many thanks to the other practitioners that have taught me so much along the way but especially Larry Furman, Ken Wells, Chris Slate, Lucy Bissell, Charles Saviano, Harvey Ruderian, Dan & Linda Bienenfeld, and Martha & Tom Marshall.
The testimonial section of this website is a great opportunity to hear from other people their experience and to understand the value of Structural Integration even better.
Hope to see you soon for a single session or better yet, a life changing TEN Series.
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT!
Contact John today and schedule an appointment to discover Structural Integration for yourself! Book Now!