Client Services

Welcome to The Columbus Polarity Center! The following information is provided for you so you can know more about our Center and our policies before you arrive.

General Information

Fees
$38.00 - $45.00 for ½ hour sessions
$60.00 - $80.00 for 1 hour sessions
$80.00 - $90.00  for 1½ hour sessions
$70.00 for 55 Minute Rolfing sessions
$100.00 for 85 Minute Rolfing sessions
Students and Senior rates available

What to Wear
It is best to wear or bring loose fitting, comfortable clothing such as sweats, or a tee-shirt and shorts. For your comfort and maximum benefit, PLEASE WEAR NO HEAVY MAKE-UP, PERFUMES, LOTIONS, OR JEWELRY.

Center Business Hours
Sessions are available Monday through Sunday with times varying from 9:00 am to 8:30 p.m. during the week and on weekends. If you have any questions, our office is available Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 7:00 p.m. at (614) 299-9438. Or for your convenience, call anytime and leave a message.

Scheduling Sessions
The Columbus Polarity Center is a professional office located at 170 West Fifth Avenue. Our Office Manager and Administrative Associate answer the phones Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 p.m. and will set up your appointment. Our office phone numbers are: (614) 299-9438, fax: (614) 291-7252, email 4energy@columbuspolarity.com.

Cancellation Policy
We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of our cancellation policy. We ask for 24-hour advance notification for all cancellations and schedule changes as a courtesy to our staff and clients. The specifics of the policy are as follows:If you cancel an appointment in less than 24 hours or you miss an appointment, you are responsible for the session fee.

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Polarity Therapy

Polarity Therapy is a natural healthcare system with its scope of practice based upon the universal principles of energy: attraction, repulsion and neutrality. The interrelation of these principles forms the basis for every aspect of life, including our experience of health, wellness and disease. With this understanding, Polarity Therapy addresses the interdependence of body, mind and spirit and the value of creating a way of life in harmony with nature.

As part of the larger field of Energy Medicine, Polarity Therapy complements existing systems with an integrated, holistic model. Polarity Therapy is a transformative influence for change in healthcare and in wellness education.

The practice of polarity is a system of energetic touch, reflex and acupressure points that balance energy flow in the body. Polarity, an integrative approach to healing and wellness, involves energetic bodywork, energetic exercise and polarity yoga stretches, and energetic food awareness. These techniques reduce stress, increase vital energy and promote healing through self-awareness. Polarity, having its structure in the traditional system of Ayurvedic medicine, defines patterns of health based upon the concept of energy movement. The practice of polarity will focus on the flow and balance of energy as the foundation of good health.

The Profession

Polarity, within its scope of practice includes energetic approaches to somatic energetic contact, verbal facilitation, energetic foods, polarity yoga and self help exercise and health education.

Entry into the profession requires a thorough knowledge of energetic principles. The course of study includes entry level and advanced education, with certification programs in basic and advanced training.

As a profession, Polarity Therapy upholds basic values such as service, diversity, spirituality, the sacredness of relationship, community outreach, accessibility and the Polarity Therapy professional's continual growth and development.

Future-sighted and research-oriented, Polarity Therapy professionals are both participants and leaders in redefining the healthcare field. Polarity practitioners, "APP/RPP" are registered by the American Polarity Therapy Association. APTA sets standards, rules and regulations for the profession of Polarity Therapy. As a governing body, APTA has a strict code of ethics and an elected member board (www.polaritytherapy.org)

Polarity training schools under the Ohio Institute of Energetic Studies and Bodywork in Ohio are registered by the State of Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools (Reg. #00-01-1528T).

Experiencing a Polarity Session

In a polarity session the practitioner and client work together to assess physical, mental and emotional energetic imbalances. The session will begin with a conversation which determines the focus of the energetic bodywork. The client will feel comfortable by wearing loose fitting clothing and relaxing on a polarity table. The practitioner may begin, for example, at the head or the feet using energetic acupressure points and energetic reflex contacts. Polarity balancing consists of off the body energetic balancing, as well as point specific energetic contacts or gentle rocking movements. The session will end with relaxation and breathing techniques. Often self care exercises and polarity yoga stretches are suggested to develop strategies for resolving issues causing energy blocks.

Polarity Practitioners

Polarity practitioners are certified by The American Polarity Therapy Association (APTA), the governing body of Polarity Therapy. A Registered Polarity Practitioner (RPP) must have 750 hours of class work plus clinical experience hours. They are highly skilled and trained practitioners with knowledge of and training in Anatomy, Physiology, Energy Theories and Principles of Polarity, Polarity Energetic Bodywork, Communication, Energetic Evaluation, Energetic Food Awareness, Stretching Postures and Ethics and Standards for Polarity Practitioners. An Associate Polarity Practitioner (APP) is an Associates Certification with 155 hours of training plus supervised clinical work. All Polarity Practitioners must adhere to The American Polarity Therapy Association's Standards and Bylaws and be an APTA member in good standing in order to practice.

American Polarity Therapy Association

Polarity Therapy is a rapidly growing profession and comes under the guidance of APTA. APTA accredits and sets the standards for the profession of Polarity Therapy. APTA is the primary national organization with a Board of Directors and an Ethics Board, that supports the promotion and development of Polarity Therapy as a field and as a profession. APTA fulfills the following functions:

• sets standards of excellence for practice, education and ethical conduct;
• actively protects the right to practice Polarity Therapy;
• is responsible and accountable to its membership;
• supports harmony, diversity and relationship as essential ingredients to a functional and balanced organization;
• provides a range of member benefits, designed to maximize the potential of the individual member to succeed in the field of Polarity Therapy;
• ensures its long-term success by creating organization and financial stability;
• regulates the practice of Polarity by maintaining high competency standards for registration of Polarity Practitioners and schools;
• sets standards for registration of RPP (Registered Polarity Practitioners) and APP (Association Polarity Practitioners);
• has an ongoing Ethics Board that provides and promotes consumer protection and monitors scope of practice issues.

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Massage

Below is a brief guide to the types of therapeutic massage we offer. Please feel free to call CPC and speak to our massage therapists if you have any questions about our techniques. Massage at Columbus Polarity is only given by Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT's). There are several on the Columbus Polarity staff who are LMT's.

• Lymphatic Massage is a technique designed to accelerate drainage and filtration of lymph fluid though the lymph nodes and circulatory system. It supports the immune system and reduces swelling caused by poor circulation. LM is most often used when a client is suffering from a cold or immune-related condition, upper respiratory allergies, or to relieve edema following surgical removal of lymph nodes (e.g. breast cancer surgery). The massage therapist uses firm long strokes over the skin in the direction of the lymph circulation which assists the body's natural flow of fluids.

• Deep Tissue Massage is a technique for releasing severe and/or chronic tension in the muscle and connective tissues of the body. It involves deep focused pressure on specific points to release tension, followed by deep kneading and friction of the muscles to flush metabolic wastes. It improves circulation and eliminates toxins in the body. Deep tissue massage is often used by athletes, people whose occupations involve heavy physical labor, and for those who prefer a deeper massage technique for relaxation.
  
• Relaxation Massage is a standardized full-body session designed to promote relaxation and relieve stress. The pressure used can vary from very light to moderately deep. Clients often enjoy a relaxation massage as a way to unwind after a busy week or to regulate stress during a busy time in their lives. Anyone of any age can benefit from a monthly or weekly relaxation massage as a way to manage stress and enhance the body’s circulatory and immune functions.
  
• Sports Massage is also available!

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Rolfing

Rolfing is a strategic system of integrating and re-aligning the structure of the body through manipulating the myofascial tissue and with movement education, developed in the 1940's and 50's by Dr. Ida Rolf. Dr. Rolf had a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, who merged her interests and knowledge in osteopathy, chiropractic, yoga and Alexander Technique, to create Rolfing, Structural Integration. Rolfing first became popular in the 60's when Dr. Rolf taught her structural integration techniques at Easlen Institute in California.

ROLFING GOALS AND BENEFITS
If you can imagine how it feels to live in a fluid, light, balanced body, free of pain, stiffness and chronic stress, at ease with itself and the earth's gravitational field; then you will understand the goals of Rolfing Structural Integration. Athletes, dancers, students of yoga and meditation, musicians, business people from all walks of life and all ages, come to Rolfing not only for relief from their pain and stress, but also for improved range of motion, increased vitality and energy, better posture, and improved performance in their professions and daily activities. Rolfing does not diagnose or claim to heal any conditions, but can have a positive affect on your health.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION 10 SESSION SERIES
Rolfing then is a series of bodywork and movement education sessions (10 and sometimes more) designed to bring an unbalanced body, back into balance with gravity. Whether from genetics, poor posture, injury, illness or emotional distress, an unbalanced body is at constant odds with gravity. We experience gravity as poor posture, pain, stress, and depleted energy. When the body loses its architectural integrity, fascia shortens and thickens in characteristic patterns of strain and tightness, in order to shore us up against gravity's ever-present influence. The Rolfer then works with the accumulated life history of the client's characteristic patterns, to strategically soften and lengthen built up strained fascia and soft tissue in the body, allowing the body to right and align itself effortlessly in gravity.

Also the Rolfer and client work together to understand the client's present movement patterns. They explore the possibilities for freer, more balanced movement in breathing, walking, standing, sitting and whatever special or daily activities the person is involved in, such as running, desk work, housework, yoga, carpentry, and the like. Attending to the whole person, they together work to release specific holding patterns in the body, through the bodywork and awareness techniques, and then re-integrate those parts through movement, with the rest of the body in gravity. Over time the client's body use and awareness allow for the possibility of conscious centering movements that can be taken into everyday life to ease pain and stress and to enhance all activities from the work place to the playing field. These sessions are interspersed within the series, and/or added to the series if necessary.

EXPERIENCING SESSIONS
Rolfing sessions usually begin with a verbal and physical evaluation of the client's his/herstory. An agreement is come too on what the client should expect from the series and what the client would like achieve as a goal from the series. Optional: clients will be photographed before the first session and after each session to track the progress of the structural changes, for the Rolfer and clients benefit. Clients should wear: men, underwear or running shorts only, women should wear undergarments, or a two piece bathing suit, or a jog bra and running shorts. PLEASE WEAR NO MAKEUP, PERFUMES, LOTIONS, OR JEWELRY DURING SESSIONS

Craniosacral Therapy ~ The Biodynamic Model

The Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy model is based on the work of Dr. William Garner Sutherland, DO.; the founder of Cranial Osteopathy. Dr. Sutherland began his exploration into the cranial bone motion at the turn of the 20th century. His later work moved away from bony movement and focused on a series of interrelated pulsations and rhythms within the Central Nervous System that affected the whole body at the most fundamental ordering and healing principle within the human body-mind experience. Dr. Roland Becker, DO., continued Dr. Sutherland's work through the 20th century and Franklyn Sills RPP and other gifted practitioners continue to refine the principles and methods of cranial work and carry it into the 21st century.

Health ~ Each of us has within us an Original Blueprint of perfect health that is expressed at the moment of our conception and remains with us our entire lives. Health is a principle: it is not dependent on particular mind-body states. Therefore, even in the most desperate health situations, this inherent blueprint is still completely intact. The blueprint is a direct expression of the Breath of Life - the action of a divine intention - that is the inherent ordering principle around which our cellular and tissue world organizes.

Furthermore our inherent health, and life itself, is expressed via motion. Whether this is seen in the voluntary motions of the musculoskeletal system or the involuntary motions of the cells, fluids, and tissues of the body, life is in motion. Resistances and congestion within the tissue and fluid relationships of the body lead to pain and dysfunction. These disturbances within the body are the result of our experiences such as traumas and injuries, and are influenced by our genetics.

Session ~ Essentially, work within the cranial field is the art of intelligent and intuitive listening. Practitioners learn to perceive the body's intrinsic movement, dynamic rhythms, and pulsations. Within this context, they are able to appreciate the inherent Health within the system and its historical patterns of trauma, pathology, and inertia. Through this perceptual process, practitioners can assist both the expression of the inherent Health of the system, and the resolution of its inertial forces and patterns.

Because the body is self-healing and self-regulating, it already has all the information it needs to heal and maintain a balanced state. The intelligence at work within the mind-body process knows what to do. The skilled cranial practitioner simply accesses this knowledge. The session plan, or the exact sequence of what needs to happen within a session context, is inherent within the disturbances found in the system. The practitioner assists and facilitates this inherent healing intelligence to reconnect with its state of balanced Health.

Craniosacral Biodynamics attempts to align us to the deepest wellspring of life. The focus lies in the deep tidal rhythms found within the human system. It is within these rhythms that our unresolved experience, be it traumatic or pathological, is centered, and within which the resources of the system are found.