Thomas Walker
Certified Advanced Rolfer®
Certified Rolf Movement® Practitioner
Faculty, Rolf Institute of Structural Integration®
RCST - Registered Craniosacral Therapist
I discovered Rolfing® in 1980 while recovering from back surgery. The surgery allowed me to walk again but I often still had severe pain. Rolfing alleviated my ongoing pain, by resolving old injuries (football) and compensations which lead to my crippling back pain and eventual surgery.
This experience, as an athlete and ski coach, and an ongoing interest in the human body and movement, lead me to begin my Rolfing training in 1985.
I received my basic certification in 1987, finished my Advanced Rolfing Certification in 1993, and received my Movement certification in 2002. As a member of the Rolf Institute® faculty from 2004 to 2022, I had the privilege of teaching classes to students from various parts of the world.
I completed my foundation training in Biodynamics with Michael Shea in 1998 and am certified as a Registered Craniosacral Therapist (RCST). I also have over 1400 hours of training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and have spent the last 25 years integrating the Rolfing paradigm of structural integrity into the biodynamic perspective.
Rolfing involves an assertive/direct approach to the myofascial system. Because of my Biodynamic training, I am now able to more easily help bring balance and organization to the body with a much more comprehensive, integrative approach than with Rolfing alone.
I get more done with much less effort.
The Rolfing paradigm alone is inadequate in helping to resolve the whole body impacts of trauma. The biodynamic model has provided me with many more tools for not only helping with the physical trauma, but also helping to normalize the autonomic nervous system's response to trauma. It is particularly rewarding to help people to resolve severe trauma and to work with those who thought they would never be comfortable in their body again.
The principles of Biodynamics are derived from natural and spiritual laws. Deepening into the principles of biodynamics has provided me with the greatest emotional and spiritual growth of my life.
To experience Wholeness, is to experience oneness.
As a native Coloradan, I’ve spent most of my life in the mountains and now live in Steamboat Springs, CO. My passions include biking, skiing, rafting and hiking. My most rewarding work is teaching manual therapists how to more easily help the body rediscover its inherent grace, order and freedom of movement.
Thomas Walker, a faculty member for The Rolf Institute®, talks about his journey to incorporate a biodynamic understanding of embodiment and treatment into the Rolfing model. Listen to Episode 22 – Thomas Walker – Rolfing, Biodynamics, and the Quest For Greater Fluidity.
Gale Loveitt
Certified Advanced Rolfer®
Assistant Teacher - Rolf Institute of Structural Integration®
My first experience with Rolfing® was through my work as a professional seamstress. By trading sewing for Rolfing I received my first Rolfing series. As the series progressed I experienced profound shifts in my self-awareness and self-esteem. I came to recognize that my physical body was actually beautiful, in ways I could never see before. The depth of this shift planted a seed, and I determined then to help others become more comfortable and functional in their bodies.
I completed my basic Rolfing training in 1990, and finished my advanced Rolfing certification in 1997. I have been an Assistant Teacher in every phase of the Basic Rolfing training at the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute®. My foundational training in Biodynamics, with Michael Shea, was completed in 1998, and I have over 1400 hours of training in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. Since starting my study of Biodynamics I have spent over two decades melding the principles and integrity of Rolfing with the patience and subtlety of biodynamic touch.
Early in my practice I realized that I wanted/needed to know more about the head. I took a bio-mechanical cranial workshop a few years into my Rolfing practice, but I could find no way to use that information in my practice, though I did discover that I could feel subtle movements in the body
Years later I had an opportunity to go to a presentation about Osteopathic cranial work by a renowned Cranial Osteopath, Dr. James Jealous,DO Many things he spoke about in his presentation resonated deeply in me and I recognized that the work Dr. Jealous described was the work I wanted to learn to augment my Rolfing training.
It took a few more years to find a cranial training that met our criteria for the work we wanted to learn. We trained with Michael Shea, who is a brilliant teacher. A bonus of learning from Michael was that he had been a Rolfer, and he brought a familiar background, view point and language into his trainings, which helped me to begin integrating biodynamic cranial touch into my Rolfing practice.
A huge turning point came for me when I realized my client’s complaint was completely resolved by doing the very subtle “listening hands” work I was practicing. This was the true impetus for my long and continuing journey of softening my touch, changing my intention and attention, focusing on fluid expressions and ease and patiently waiting as my clients body reorganizes.
As I have refined my contact skills and presence, always exploring ways to work with my clients that honors and supports their own Inherent Healing process, my work has become more comprehensive. My hands, damaged in my first years of heavy handed touch, continue to heal and, with a gentle touch, the work I do has a wider end result in easing the difficulties my clients bring to my table.
I believe the knowledge and skills that Thomas and I have been refining and deepening into over the years are of tremendous value to folks who use their hands to bring healing to others. As well, our clients benefit from the comprehensive support and organization that biodynamic touch invites from the body.
Our intent for the classes we teach is to offer the path to understanding how to most effectively address the very sensitive, self-healing aspect within our clients and how to practice our healing arts without overriding our client’s inner wisdom and inherent health. My work as a healer has been a wonderful blessing and a simple vehicle for me to bring help and support to my community. I believe the work we teach is valuable and useful in so many situations, that I want to share this simple work with as many folks as I can. We look forward to sharing this work with you.