Tina, my personal experience with Rolfing was it was so
excrutiatingly painful that it did utterly nothing beneficial for me
at all. Childbirth was a breeze compared to that rubbish. It belongs
strictly in the category of the "No pain, no gain" mentality of which
I subsequently base no faith in whatsoever. That being said, perhaps
the practitioner was not all he was cracked up to be either, despite
coming highly recommended.
However, I have derived excellent results in enhacing my well being
(and allignment etc) (and therefore my singing) from many other
methods, the most beneficial include The Alexander Technique,
Feldenkreis and Yoga. If something is wrong you can't go past good
physiotherapy or a really well recommended chiropracter. (I don't
have much faith in chiropracty personally anymore, but I know many
others who swear by it.)(Accupuncture/Accupressure also was of
immense benefit for very specific things, like spasmed muscles, for
me, too.)
I have found that Yoga is excellent for breathing, body work and
meditation. (But then I find many eastern philosophical/martial arts
disciplines are. My students have benifited from things as abstruse
as Karate.) The combination of learning "mastery" (ie, familiarity
and/or control) over these areas is essential to "freeing the natural
voice" which co-incidentally is the title of a brilliant book by an
American lady called Kristin Linklater which was practically a bible
in acting classes back in the early eighties. I am a big fan of
the "Natural Voice" as it were.
As children of "western ways" of thinking, the exposure to
the "eastern concept" of ALLOWING things, like your voice, to happen,
rather than our MAKING the voice happen is always a revelation to
most of my students and has always yielded positive reults.
Just about anything that helps you to "KNOW yourself" better, be it
physically, spiritually or mentally, in any way shape or form is not
only good as a general way of living better, but ultimately, I feel,
is necessary to be a good or great singer.
Rolfing does mean pain, it may be your cup of tea, but find out as
much as you can about it and the practitioner and your alternatives
before you spend any money on it would be my (hopefully humble)
advice.
~Michelle
P.S To Mike, I don't know how you managed it, I would rather have
died than go back after the tenth treatment, it was SO agonizing. It
didn't teach me much except how to control myself from taking out my
anger from pain on the person inflicting it. But then my
accupuncturist gave up putting needles in me as he couldn't stand the
pain that crossed my face and did accupressure instead. He felt it
was retrograde to inflict that much pain and suggested I may be
peculiarly sensitive. Childbirth was tolerable by comparison though.
Just. LOL
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