After having Rolfing® done several years ago by another practitioner and not really liking it, I was hesitant to try a treatment with Matthew at first. But after a few conversations with him, I began to realize that there was something different about his approach.  Curious, I attended one of his free workshops and volunteered for the class demonstration. As it turned out, I was experiencing some low back pain that day and felt a little out of alignment; an old injury that tended to pop up from time to time. Within 3 minutes, he demonstrated to me and the class that the source of my back pain and "feeling crooked" was some muscular tension being held in my hip joint and in the soft tissue right around my solar plexus. But the way he worked with these areas of tension was not only specific, but gentle, in a way that allows the body to release the tension, rather than trying to remove or "work out" that tension the way a Swedish massage might try to work tension out of a muscle. So, after 3 minutes of light touch, some coaching to be aware and 'breathe into' those areas, and never actually touching my lower back, I got off the table feeling about 50-60% relieved of my back pain and discomfort. I thought, if he can do that in 3 minutes, what could happen in a full private session?

A few months later, I went in to begin private body work with Matthew. Aside from having a history of low back problems (3 bulging discs over 10 years ago) I was also trying to 'get my body back' after an unexpected C-section and sensed that I had some lingering abdominal inflammation since the surgery.  

During the sessions, with each subtle adjustment of alignment or release of held tension, I would feel lighter and lighter; as though gravity had less of a pull on my body.  I felt like I was standing taller, and both feet held my weight equally and effortlessly.  If I had been the rusty Tin Man when I walked in, I had been well-oiled and ready to move with grace and ease immediately afterward. The experience of this work felt much less like I was having something done "to me" or "to my body" and more like having the help of a facilitator or midwife to unwind and detangle all the little kinks and knots that life has put in my body. The work was slow and thoughtful, just like the work required to untangle a mess of string. One more way that I can describe what it's like to work with Matthew: Matthew is:

1.  a special mirror, helping to reflect what your body is saying
2. an interpreter, helping to understand those messages more deeply
3. a mechanic, who understands how a balanced body can move most efficiently and how to help more bodies learn to move that way.

Throughout the work, I also experienced a lot of "shifting" from my own body awareness, and how I utilize it throughout my day, to how non-physical aspects of my life and experience manifest in my physical body and can get stuck there. As this old, stuck energy was released gradually, I soon started to notice my thought-patterns evolving as I became open to more things outside of my usual and customary routine. I began to feel less hurried and more patient with my body; more respectful of all the things my body had to tell me and of its inherent wisdom.

I cannot say enough great things about working with Matthew. I've recommended him to both friends and clients and have witnessed accelerated results with my own clients who work with him while in my nutrition program.

- Kelly H.