Sometimes when a new client walks into my office I can feel their stress right away. Paula had come in because her mother kept pushing her to try Rolfing and felt that that it could help her cope with all the strain in her life at that time (an ongoing struggle over the terms of her divorce and child custody). She had resisted for a long time because she did not see how it would make any difference. Her resistance was palpable – her body was very tense and hurt almost anywhere I touched her. I am very careful in these situations not to tell people that this should not hurt (even though I was being very gentle).
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