Clients’ Rolfing Journeys

I was lucky to have found Beth’s Rolfing®during my career as a professional ballet dancer. She is an incredible Rolfer™  and healer. Beth’s work enabled me to always perform at my peak and aided in injury prevention. I believe one of the reasons my career was long lasting and successful was for Beth’s Rolfing®.

Now, when most retired dancers are plagued with things such as bunions, chronic back pain and hip and knee replacements, my body is pain free. Beth was also instrumental in the rehabilitation of two herniated discs in my low back. When doctors said I would never dance again, Beth’s Rolfing® helped have me back on stage within a year. I can not recommend Beth’s Rolfing® enough. Beth is professional, a lovely all round person and the best Rolfer™ !

I had my first Rolfing® session about 45 years ago, and have been dedicated to it ever since. It changed my life-giving me flexibility, upright posture, and ease of motion far greater than that of my peers. It also has helped me, after various injuries and athletic strains, to heal and regain/exceed my pre-injury abilities.

Now in my 70's, I clearly see the benefits of a lifetime of Rolfing® sessions. I've retained a terrific range of motion, upright posture, and grace of movement that allow me to enjoy daily life and thrive.

Beth Franzese has been my Rolfer™ for almost 30 years. I credit her with my success - she has the ability both to quickly diagnose and smartly resolve the issues that time inflicts on the body. Strongly recommend Rolfing® - and Beth - to anyone.

"As an acupuncturist working in New York primarily on injuries, I have long days and I really put my body through a lot. Twenty years ago I started going to Beth Franzese for Rolfing®. I attribute these weekly sessions to keeping my body aligned and flexible enough to continue my profession at such a demanding pace. Rolfing® has also made me mindful of the bad habits that get me in trouble, to begin with. I highly recommend Beth as a competent and intuitive practitioner of this form."

"Working with Beth has prolonged my career as a solo dancer years past what is typical. In particular, multiple turns have become easier and my torso continues to arch and curve like a teenager! Franzese is an extraordinary Rolfer™ with exquisite sensitivity, knowledge and patience."

"Over the past few years Beth Franzese has helped me and my patients break free of chronic pain. In the process of remodeling tissues through Rolfing®, she is able to free up the muscles and joints. The result is decreased pain and ease of movement, with improved posture and increased overall energy. Beth is a sensitive, insightful and highly skilled practitioner of her art. I recommend her to you without hesitation, as I have to so many of my patients."

It is a pleasure to speak about Rolfing and the expertise of Beth Franzese. I am a classical mime artist, which means my body is that of a ballet dancer. I tour a two-hour show around the world and have spent 21 of my years working and performing with Marcel Marceau.

I was first Rolfed in 1978 and immediately saw how the shaping and to stretch it gave my body was far beyond what I could develop on my own in the studio. Consequently, I have had the full ten-session program and then continued with a few sessions annually by Rolfers across the States. Beth is by far and away from the best of those I worked with. She has not only kept my 55-year old body looking like a 35-year old but has also healed several injuries and carpel tunnel issues I’ve had over the years.

I can’t recommend Rolfing® enough, whether for enhanced ease of movement or for post-injury therapy. I’d say it’s changed my life, but people can argue that, but no one argues with the way it’s changed my shape.

I met Beth twelve years ago, six months after a severe car accident. I had suffered a lumbar disk herniation, memory loss, and optic nerve damage from the trauma. The disk injury radiated pain into my groin, and after two ineffective epidural injections at an acclaimed spinal injury center, I was advised to have disc surgery. I had already gone to a urologist to rule out other causes of my groin pain and returned to ask whether the disk surgery would alleviate the disk pain. The urologist indicated he knew of no similar case where surgery was able to cure groin pain, and in some cases, the scar tissue exacerbated the nerve root impairment, increasing the pain. Alternately, my neuro-opthalmologist produced research literature linking spinal surgery to optic nerve dysfunction. I already had vision issues and memory loss. I could not see the logic in a low odds procedure to fix one problem that made another worse.

The groin and sciatic pain from my disk injury were so severe, though, it was affecting my emotional well being, so despite the precautions, I had considered it. The surgeon did not offer assurance scar tissue would not continue to irritate the nerve that was giving me pain, but still recommended his procedure. As an option, he suggested ‘pain management, ‘ which in layman’s terms is a fancy term for opiates and periodic steroid injections. Both had already made my neurological and memory conditions worse.

My last resort was to see whether I could realign my body and in doing so, give the disk a chance to stop pressing on my nerve. Beth was a well-respected member of a multi-disciplinary group of healers in NYC.

My first visit with Beth was one without promises of full recovery or anything beyond an introduction to a partnership that could yield my best chance of avoiding risky invasive procedures. I welcomed it. Beth was visually able to see the way I carry my body while standing and in stride, and was able to guess not only where I had pain, but also how some of my habits had produced it.

Beth was steadfast in encouraging me to increase my strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. This would enable her work to reach its full potential and for me to derive maximum value from it. I was already athletically inclined, but my old, high-impact forms of exercise were no longer possible, nor advisable. I had been in a downward spiral, not exercising, and as a result, getting worse emotionally.

I took Beth’s advice and attended regular Iyengar yoga classes. Her work and the yoga started the foundation for my recovery across the entire spectrum of my injuries. Yoga made me more flexible, and as Beth worked through my trouble areas, I was able to get into deeper, more advanced yoga postures, which in turn, allowed Beth to work deeper to the point where one day sometime later, I woke up and went about my day before realizing I had not been in pain. It was a gradual process, but with my dedication and Beth’s expertise, I found myself forgetting I was a patient and reverting to the upbeat, goal-driven person I had been, even looking to the future in a positive way.

Years later, followup MRI’s showed the disk herniation had shrunk, then metabolized. The people I had gotten to know in the waiting room had worsened, but I was in better shape than I had been in before my accident.

By being able to exercise regularly, I got more blood to my brain, improving my memory and focus. My fitness improved and my depression was becoming a thing of the past. I had even learned eye movement exercises in yoga which have alleviated some of my vision issues. My recovery has been such a positive experience that I have certified in teaching yoga and enjoy giving back what I have been so fortunate to receive. I will do yoga and follow up with deep tissue work for the rest of my life. I am confident I will go into old age with a sound body and mind, and in life that is the most one can hope for.

We may all have accidents and injuries. Even the most fortunate will get old and find some of our parts in disrepair. This leads to pain and pain leads to depression. No one can reach their life’s goals, nor achieve happiness if they live in pain. It leads to depression, sleeplessness, and taxed relationships. Relieving pain is not possible without one’s commitment and the aid of a dedicated, involved, open-minded, ego-free professional. It is foolish to think one can recover their life when in pain, even if it is ‘managed’ by drugs.

Yoga and Beth’s Rolfing® fueled a radical healing trend in my body which a decade later is still on the right path. She is a highly talented, ethical, and caring asset to the health community. I am most fortunate to have worked with Beth and I recommend her without reservation.