Kennedy was a happy smiling baby and seemed healthy. Like many babies you see, she had a crease between her head and chest – the kind of crease that goes from ear to ear, hiding her little neck. Kennedy’s crease was pretty much level with her chin, thus giving her the appearance of having no neck at all.

After holding and talking to Kennedy for a bit, my instructor, Karen Lackritz, placed the baby on the table and continued to assess her structure with a Rolfer’s trained eye. To me, it seemed like one of those magic moments when the souls of two human beings connect; no words necessary. It was obvious that Kennedy didn’t mind having a new person’s hands on her. To the contrary, it appeared to calm the baby as she looked into Karen’s eyes and felt her light, exploring palpation.

Karen had Kennedy’s thoracic spine settled in one hand with the other hand on her chest, a finger resting gently on each side of her neck crease. From the perspective of those of us gathered to watch, no big changes were immediately visible, but Karen could feel fascia lengthening under her hands. (Fascia is the connective tissue which encases muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and organs.) Karen reported that she felt restrictions under the left collarbone. Her fingers appeared to smooth out the skin around that area. Then she worked the back of the baby’s head and neck. Kennedy was looking deep in Karen’s eyes.

After more tactile and visual assessment, Karen said, “Someone please hand me some gloves.” You could hear an audible intake of breath. Everyone in the class knew what that meant – Karen was going to do some intra-oral work on his little baby. Intra-oral work is often very beneficial in adjusting the palate and facial bones, and children and adults born with a cleft palate have seen great improvement after Rolfing. The technique is simple: wearing a vinyl or latex glove, the Rolfer cradles the head in one hand and places a gloved finger in the mouth. The intention is to relax tight muscles and to introduce some lengthening and widening within the cranium.

Little Kennedy didn’t have a cleft palate, but her mother reported that at birth a nurse had held her in the birth canal for 15 minutes during the final stages of labor as the staff at that hospital waited for a doctor to arrive. This probably caused a good deal of compaction on Kennedy’s head and spine. Her mother reported she was born fully extended with her head and shoulders back instead of curled into the more usual fetal position. Mom also told us she had noticed Kennedy was always moving more with the right side of her body than the left.

Next, Karen palpated along Kennedy’s lower spine and sacrum. When she foundsome fascial restrictions in the sacrum, she simply held the area with her fingers, gently easing the tissues. As Kennedy kicked her legs and squirmed, Karen sensed she was uncomfortable and moved her hands away. She then picked up Kennedy and did a bit more sacral release while cradling the infant to her own body. That seemed to work really well.