May 8, 2017

Meet Joel Gheiler of Boston Rolf in Back Bay

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Gheiler.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in the West Bank I witnessed how the effects of living under constant fear can cause a person to be physically and emotionally guarded. As a sensitive child my future was not always clear to me. But now it makes perfect sense that I help others find peace and freedom within their own bodies.

I came to the Unites States to study biology and chemistry at the University of Florida. My intention was to study medicine to help people. During a soccer game I injured my groin and was sent to the physical therapy clinic. The help I got was remedial at best, and walking would still send shooting pain down my leg. A friend told me about a local Rolfing practitioner and so I went in for a session. When I was touched by him, for the first time I felt as if someone was actually touching me, the whole of me, and not just compartmentalizing my issue and doing a mediocre job at that.

I decided I’d switch track and study the Rolf Method of Structural Integration.

I left to Boulder Colorado and then Hawaii to complete my Rolf studies.

Since then I had practiced in Mexico working with local people who were unable to find relief anywhere else, in the Dominican Republic with aspiring baseball players. I now have a thriving practice in Boston, where I help people from all walks of life to feel better.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Rolf Structural Integration is a science based bodywork that requires practitioners to understand both the physical body and the phenomenological aspects of the nervous system. Because each person is different, there can be virtually unlimited permutations of how the bodywork is expressed with each client, and it is the practitioner’s responsibility, and art, to also find a way to make it work.

They say it takes at least seven years to become proficient in this technique. I completely agree.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Boston Rolf – what should we know?
My business, Boston Rolf, specializes in the Rolf Method of Structural Integration. I see people from all ages and walks of life and through manual corrective therapy, help them feel better and find relief from aches and pains by lengthening their muscles and connective tissue, and settling them in a position the offers the individual a greater range of motion.

My pride is the skill that I have acquired over 15 years to be able to touch every person authentically and effectively.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My mentor, David, who studied Native American healing, has been instrumental to my education and growth as a practitioner. Because of him I am able to bring to the table and my practice a sense of authenticity and skill that most people have never experienced in their life. I am able to comfortably challenge limitations in a safe manner, and so people find they can let go in my presence because they are safe. The Native American approach relies on our abilities to bring forward our humility but also without fear touch at the edge of existence and allow greater forces than ourselves to come and assist in the healing process.

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