A body that remembers its order

— Mónica, Barcelona

For several years I've had back problems. Far too often — one or two times a year — I find myself unable to live a normal life. A few months ago a friend discovered rolfing and kept telling me I had to at least try it. She put me in touch with Ferran. I tried to feel everything I could feel. I walked in with very limited movement. The day before, a doctor had told me he couldn't understand why I couldn't walk, given the severity of the multiple contractures I had. My pain was a 7.5 out of 10. Ferran examined me and got to work. With very gentle, delicate, and respectful movements, he began reminding my body of its natural position. I felt as if my body were a white birdcage whose bars were made of elastic material — yielding to the pressure of Ferran's hands, but with an absolute certainty that no matter how much they stretched, they would never break. When he moved to work on the front and back of my thorax, the sensation changed. Inside my chest there was a red sun — like the rising sun some karate practitioners wear on their headbands — and its rays were opening a path, breaking apart everything that was wrong and translating pain into a feeling of relative freedom. I still carry that sun with me, permanently and alert. From there the sensation moved to my head, while Ferran's hands continued working there. I could see a kind of blue sphere — my head — being shaped, as if it were made of something like clay, with the capacity to return to its original form, or almost, because everywhere I felt change. Nothing was the same. There was no more pain. When I got up from the table I felt tilted — yet through a photo Ferran took of me it became clear I had never stood straighter. I left the session with 0.1 out of 10 on the pain scale, with practically normal mobility — I say "practically" because I felt strange: taller, wider, and breathing with a noticeably greater lung capacity. Words and sensations that, ultimately, fall short of what my body was reminded of. There is only one more thing I can say: THANK YOU! To my friend for staying alert, and to Ferran for his invaluable help.