Kathleen Coulombe- From desk job to Rolfer

What led you to a career in Rolfing?

I found Rolfing® after almost 30 years of working various desk jobs.  After spending so many hours sitting at a computer desk (read: workaholic), my body hurt and felt stuck.  I was dealing with carpal tunnel syndrome that was heading towards surgery, I had other injuries from my youth that were starting to make life difficult; a bad ankle and two bad knees; and I knew that I needed to make changes in my life. 

Now to be clear, I had heard of Rolfing many years before I finally tried it, and at that time I had the reaction most people seem to have – “that sounds painful” and was not willing to try it. I was a regular at the yoga studio and even took training to become an instructor, but I had hit the point so many people do when they see a Rolfer™, the “I’ve tried everything else, so why not” point. I knew that I could feel so much better in my body, and I really hoped that this would help.  

I knew that this was something different than anything I had done before in my first session and hadn’t even finished my Rolfing Ten-Series™ when I started to consider taking the training.  Honestly, I don’t think I got to the end of session 2 and was already planning to google the training when I got home. I was concerned that the carpal tunnel would prevent me from being, in any way, successful at Rolfing and actually thought that it might make my symptoms worse. To my surprise, being a Rolfer has actually helped my symptoms which reinforced my decision to make this career change. I am no longer bound to a desk and no longer feel stuck in my body.  Every day is an opportunity to explore what my body can do and Rolfing helps me do that.

What has been the most rewarding experience of being a Rolfer?

I am so grateful for the interactions with my clients.  What I really enjoy about being a Rolfer is how every session and every client is so unique. It is a place where imagination and ingenuity work together with the Rolfing training to allow us to assist in our clients in getting to a place of ease. It is so rewarding to watch a client experience those “aha” moments, the increased mobility, the better balance, and/or the reduced pain as they go through each session. It brings me joy knowing that they are better able to move through their lives with more ease.

Is there an accomplishment you would like to share

The year after I graduated, I joined the Rolfing Association of Canada’s (RAC) board of directors.  I didn’t know what the job really entailed, but I wanted to help grow the membership.  This was challenging due to the size of the country and the small number of members.  Since being on the board, I have become the Canadian delegate for the RIO and have been working to get training started.  It is my hope that within the next 3 years, the RAC will be running yearly trainings and that we will have many more Rolfers across the country.

Any advice you would like to share with fellow Rolfers?

Our community is small, the world is big. Reach out to one another and support each other, attend the annual meetings, volunteer, repost on social media and follow other Rolfers’ accounts.  These are just a few examples of the things we can do to help create a stronger community and also grow that community. We are all busy people, but we need to work together to help expand the awareness of Rolfing. 

One other suggestion I have, it’s also a great way to create community, get to know other Rolfers, advance one’s skills and stay up to date on new practices and information is to continue to learn.  Go to workshops and classes, sit in on calls, read.  Share what you have learned or are learning with others. The knowledge behind this work is ever growing and expanding, and as practitioners, we need to do the same.

Where to find Kathleen:

Kathleen Coulombe is a Certified Rolfer practicing in Sherwood Park, AB, Canada, just outside of Edmonton, AB. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, trying many different crafts (think things like knitting and needlepoint to cooking and baking), going on trips – sometimes flying and sometimes in her campervan. 

karunarolfing.ca