A note about Covid
As a society, we are still dealing with Covid. We have measures that mitigate the impact of a single infection for most people, but there are still significant health risks – the deleterious impact of multiple infections on body systems, as well as the roll of the dice over who gets Long Covid, which is radically life-altering. For these reasons, I'm very conscientious about doing my best to keep myself and my clients protected and have these policies in place:
- Sessions are masked, ideally an N95 or a KN95 mask (at minimum a surgical mask). If you cannot find one, I can provide one.
- For a mask to do it's job, it needs to have a tight seal. Please watch the 2-minute video about mask-fitting, and shape the nose piece of your mask appropriately before entering my office.
- If you have been unmasked recently on a flight or at a large gathering, please wait a week and get a negative Covid test result before coming in.
- Let me know before your session if you have possible or known exposure to someone with Covid, even if you are testing negative. I will do the same.
- I have other mitigation measures in place at my office, including air filtration, ventilation, and far UVC.
I'm happy to have a conversation about any of this and appreciate your cooperation and care.
Welcome to the website / blog of Anne F. Hoff...
I'm a Certified Advanced Rolfer® and advanced practitioner in other bodywork modalities such as craniosacral and visceral work and nerve mobilization. You can read more about all of those on the Bodywork page. My office is in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle close to Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, Wallingford, and Greenwood.
I work at the nexus of mind-body-spirit, but tailor my work to what you need and want. Many of my clients come in for body issues - pain and posture - and with nearly 30 years of experience in bodywork I've gotten pretty good at sorting those things out. The title “Whole-Body Integration” reflects that I combine Rolfing® Structural Integration (SI) with craniosacral and visceral work and nerve mobilization. These are all different layers of the body, and you might not know at what level(s) the issues reside, but my training gives me skill to follow patterns through the layers. This gives the potential for profound and lasting change through all layers of body structure, not just the musculoskeletal system. When there is a trauma history, I also incorporate knowledge and skills from Somatic Experiencing®.
When clients have an issue that hasn't been resolved despite massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, standard Rolfing SI, etc., it is often because the key to patterns is in the deeper cranial and visceral layers, or in tethered nerves, so issues that won’t resolve with Rolfing sessions alone can often be sorted out with the addition of these other modalities. That said, the worldview of Rolfing SI is my primary paradigm for the body, and I work with other modalities through this lens.
Another level of integration is how the mind - emotions - and body interface. Many people intuitively know that their body tension relates to stress or emotional patterns. This interface is what called me to Rolfing SI in the first place, back in the days of the human potential movement. It's not necessary to go into this territory to do effective work for pain and posture, but if you have an interest in the connectivity of mind and body, or emotions and body, or can relate your body issues to other life circumstances (e.g., traumatic events), it may be fruitful territory to inquire into that with awareness, sensitivity, and appropriate timing as we unwind old body patterns. To be clear, my work as a bodyworker is not psychotherapy, nor a replacement for that work when it is needed. I always encourage appropriate professional support for any issues you are dealing with if there is any mental or emotional overwhelm. I have a separate private practice in psychotherapy as I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate, so if you are more interested in somatic psychology than bodywork, you can read about my psychotherapy practice.
A further level of transformation is the potential available to all human beings as we realize and actualize our true nature through "spiritual" work, or the maturation and development of human consciousness. What we and the world consider a "human being" to be is limited by our upbringing and the narrow bandwidth of the conventional worldview. How we experience ourselves in our bodies is generally related to how we experience ourselves as an ego self. Most people know times when they have felt more deeply connected to being – i.e., some sort of spiritual experience – and how profoundly relaxing that is to both mind and body. I've deeply explore this realm as a student and teacher of the Diamond Approach, and if that interests you more than bodywork you can visit my Diamond Approach teaching website.
I love my work and am constantly fascinated by the intricacy of the human body, psyche, and soul, and the processes of transformation that move us beyond our current limitations. I also am passionate about networking and sharing information and resources, so besides my webpages I share on my blog writing, news on the body, and other resources. If you are curious about how your body works structurally, why you have pain or poor posture, what unites body-mind-spirit, who to go to for help with your body issues, where to find information resources, how to meditate, or what a spiritual path is, I hope that these posts and pages will be useful guides on your journey.
"Rolfing" and "Rolfer" are registered service marks of the Dr. Ida Rolf Institute®. "Diamond Approach" is a registered trademark and/or trademark of The Ridhwan Foundation in the U.S, Europe, and various other countries throughout the world.