Peter Schwind, PhD, Rolfer

After his Ph.D. exam in psychotherapy, Dr. Peter Schwind went through a period of five years doing trainings and practicums in this field. During this time he became more and more interested in bodywork. In 1980 he started the training to become a certified Rolfer. Within the first two years of this training his teachers suggested that he should prepare to become a faculty member of the Rolf Institute. Peter began assisting classes in 1983 and by 1985 was a Certified Rolfing Instructor. This was also the year that his first book about Rolfing was published. The book was successful in Germany, and was also translated and published in Italy and Spain. Peter was nominated by the Rolf Institute's Board to develop the Rolfing trainings in Europe. He taught extensively for the Rolf Institute, as well as presented lectures regularly at the Psychological Department of the University of Munich. Through this all, one of his greatest interests was to create a bridge and a dialogue between alternative bodywork and modern Western medicine.

In 1989 Peter Schwind met Jean-Pierre Barral and began studying his approach. Peter also organized Visceral Manipulation courses for Jean-Pierre in Munich several times each year. By 2001 Peter had successfully published a second book on Rolfing, which was translated into Italian and Czech.

Aside from teaching for the Rolf Institute, he maintained a very busy practice. During these years he continued searching for new modes of working with the fascia and membranes of the human body. Since his first courses in the craniosacral method during 1983, and his first visceral courses in 1989, Peter looked for an approach to build a bridge between these two modalities, as well as other manual methods without just creating a cheap mixture. From this search, Peter developed what has become known as Fascial and Membrane Technique (FMT).

In 2003 Peter wrote the textbook Fascial and Membrane Technique - A manual for comprehensive treatment of the connective tissue system. His book is now also available in English. His modality has been termed "Inner Shaping" and "Spatial Medicine" as it focuses on what can be accomplished through the modification of shape within the body.

Peter continues to teach his courses through the "Muenchner Gruppe" (Munich Group), a German educational organization, which also sponsors courses by Jean-Pierre Barral, Alain Croibier and a few other French osteopaths. He teaches FMT at a few European Osteopathic schools, as well.

Excerpt from Fascial and Membrane Technique by Peter Schwind. Publisher Churchill/Livingston/Elsevier, ISBN 0-443-10219-8. Available through the Barral Institute.

Peter Schwind, PhD, Rolfer

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