The human body is an amazing and remarkably resilient structure. However, some injuries and stress can cause pain that resists traditional treatment. Owen Marcus uses his training and 28 years of experience as a Rolfer to restore order to his clients' bodies, easing the pain and effects of chronic stress. People often turn to Rolfing to treat conditions that they previously thought were untreatable. Athletes also turn to Rolfing to gain an additional edge in performance or to shorten their recovery time from injuries.  
 
     
 








 
 
 
 
 

OWEN MARCUS M.A.
Certified Advanced Rolfer

n 1975, Owen earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Plattsburgh State University of New York and later a master's in health education from the Professional Studies Institute of Arizona.

 
Photo by:
Rosemary Shoong

He began studying Rolfing and holistic health in the mid-1970s while living in Boulder, Colorado. In 1980, he started creating a holistic clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, employing and mentoring other Rolfers including a senior Rolfing instructor. Owen’s clinic of massage therapists, Rolfers, nutritionists and physicians treated a full range of clients throughout Arizona.

It was at this clinic that he developed Sports Rolfing in consort with his work with Olympic and professional athletes. This work with elite athletes led Owen to conduct the first research on Rolfing and performance enhancement through Arizona State University. During this time, Owen became the first Rolfer for Ballet Arizona, the professional ballet company for the state of Arizona.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Owen conjointly worked with the business and legal professions as he developed his clinic. In this period, he designed and taught courses for companies such as IBM and GE. These courses included team building, communication skills and public speaking. Using his skills in body-centered psychotherapy, he was able to add a unique perspective to these traditional institutions.

Out of an interest to explore the traditions of other treatment methods, Owen also began the study of indigenous medicine in 1982. During this time, he learned how to use all the aspects of the Natural World to assist in healing. Integrating the subtle knowledge of body-centered psychotherapy and traditional healing allows Owen to understand an individual's needs and how to communicate a comprehensive plan for his or her full recovery.

After a year's sabbatical in northern California, Owen moved to Sandpoint in 1997. He chose Sandpoint in part because it reminded him of his hometown in Vermont, and, after 17 years in a large city developing a leading holistic health clinic, he was ready for a more relaxed life-style .

Owen created the Healing Journey™, a unique group and individual process that allows a client to heal the causes of an old problem. Through gently accessing the physiological as well as the psychological patterns created by trauma, a person consciously and unconsciously releases the trauma. When the restrictive patterns are no longer present, the body/mind naturally learns more productive behavior for achieving what the person desires.

Owen went on to co-found the Scottsdale Institute for Health and Medicine, Inc. One of the ventures of the organization was conducting Mindfulness Stress Reduction programs for the public, corporations and hospital networks. Teaching the body how to not recreate stress is the key to both stress reduction and Rolfing. Owen’s passion about educating others how to reduce their stress inspired him to create a blog on introverted stress reduction techniques – www.StressedOut.org.

Ever since Owen started seeing clients, he saw how the powerful effects of Rolfing would create a level of change that his clients never saw before Rolfing. Explaining the depth of what is happening is one of the most enjoyable parts of Rolfing for Owen. Yet, he felt there was a need for more support so he created a blog for all Rolfers and their clients – www.RolfBlog.com.

A few of Owen’s women clients inspired Owen to do a study on Rolfing’s effect on reducing cellulite. Although he never promoted these effects, Owen had a good percentage of his practice in Scottsdale coming to him because of how women’s bodies transform from Rolfing. To coordinate the study and its results the web site – www.RolfCellulite.com was created.

Throughout Owen's career in health care, he has led classes and groups that focus on educating the participants on how to be self-sustaining. It is his belief that good health and a more enjoyable life can be learned and maintained. For more than ten years, Owen has created and led men's groups in Arizona, California and Idaho and currently sponsors a weekly group at his home. He is teaching the men of the group how to lead another man through the Healing Journey. Owen create a blog for the Sandpoint Men's Group to help the group members share with the community their experiences with the group.

As one of the founding member of the Sandpoint Wellness Council he developed a blog to post the articles the Council members publish in the local papers and magazines. This Council is the hub of Sandpoint being a Holistic Town.

Kevin Watson and Owen are developing a web site and business that unites all the aspects of living a whole life under one site. Whole Revolution supports the growing lifestyle of enjoying the benefits of everything from holistic health to environmental design homes. The site is sponsoring the collaborative writing of a book about the Whole Revolution.

Owen has been honored by being chosen a pipe carrier in the Métis (mixed blood) lineages. As part of two of these lineages, Owen Sun Danced in North Dakota with Grandfather Eagleheart of Turtle Mountains and in Arizona with the Deer Tribe. In accordance with these traditions, Owen leads Sweat Lodges for the men's group.

Owen is sought out as a consultant and coach for personal stress management and performance enhancement. Much of this work is conducted over the phone. On occasion, clients fly in to work with him in person.

 
ADDITIONAL TRAININGS
 
 

The depth of Owen's training and experience in soft tissue manipulation extends beyond Rolfing. He began his training in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976 studying several traditional and oriental forms of bodywork ranging from acupressure to cranial sacral therapy. Much of his cranial sacral therapy training occurred between 1984 and 1985 when Peter J. Armitage, D.O., an English physician exclusively practicing cranial sacral therapy worked in Owen's Scottsdale, Arizona, clinic. Owen began his study in visceral manipulation from its French originator, Jean Perrie Barrell, D.O., in 1987. In the late 1970s, Owen received training in Feldenkrais' work with some of the original students then teachers of Moshe Feldenkrais, Ph.D.

Owen's postgraduate training in the psychotherapy arena began early when he became one of the original students of Ron Kurtz's body-centered Hakomi Therapy®. He went on to study Gestalt Therapy, Bio-Energetics®, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), men's issues and therapies, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Over the course of 15 years, Owen did extensive training in Clinical (Ericksonian) Hypnosis, primarily with Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D. He also studied and now applies Peter Levin's Ph.D., Somatic Experiencing® to his Rolfing. Based on his experience gained from leading Jon Kabat-Zinn's, Ph.D. Mindfulness Stress Reduction courses, Owen is able to incorporate the gentle acceptance of mindfulness in all his work. The integration of both his psychological and bodywork training and experience formed the foundation for his Somatic Coaching practice.

Over the last 30 years, Owen has familiarized himself with other aspects of healing by studying clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, oriental medicine, martial arts, homeopathy, organic and permaculture gardening, yoga, Anatomiken® Anatomy Trainings, Jin Shin Jyutsu®, Ideokinesis® and Rolf Movement®. Many of these disciplines are woven into Owen's unique Rolfing style. Others are used to guide his clients in enhancing their Rolfing experiences. He often relies on his training in other arenas along with therapies he has personally experienced, such as acupuncture, to suggest adjunct treatments for his clients. Many of these disciplines are elements of the public and professional courses Owen has taught. Every year he works to expand his professional development by extending his knowledge and skills into new areas.