Denver Rolfing & Somatic Therapy

Allison Benner allowed me to realize I did not have to live with the pain I had been enduring for more than 15 years. After countless sports injuries, a car accident, and working in front of a computer for 10 hours a day, I felt spent and depressed that the condition of my body and spirit would never change. The first time I met with Allison, the pain in my lower back was extremely intense, but had been with me for so long, that I did not realize how bad it had become. I no longer touched, leaned, or otherwise engaged my back and hips. My feet would go completely numb and my calves seized up when I went for a walk. This was because I was holding my posture and joints in such a tense state to mitigate the pain in other parts of my body. My shoulders were constantly sore from holding the same working position, creating a numb sensation in my neck and shoulder blade. I felt that this was simply the way my body worked, and that I had to accept it, which left my body and spirit feeling disconnected. After meeting with Allison for the first time, I realized that I did not have to live this way. The release I felt within my back was immediate and long lasting. Allison worked with me to regain my natural footfall and end the numbness in my calves and feet. She gave me stretches and exercises to do outside of our sessions, and encouraged me to get up from my computer hourly, do pilates, yoga, go for long walks, and dance. I had never even thought I could dance without pain. Now I try to dance at least once a week, hike with my daughter, take yoga classes when I can, and otherwise live my life feeling whole. I was able to have a natural birthing experience with my daughter, which I was once told by a doctor would be impossible given my injuries. Allison has not only helped my body to recover through her Rolfing technique, but has connected me to a network of natural health practitioners in Denver which I now consider part of my continuing healing process. I don't know where my mind and body would be without the thoughtful, caring, and experienced approach Allison Benner offers.

Somatic Experiencing with Allison has been a total game changer. Allison holds safe space to touch on fear and anxiety, then guides you back to a feeling of safety, helping you connect pathways that you may not otherwise have access to on your own. As someone who often intellectualizes feelings, it’s been an important step in my healing journey to be guided into fully feeling. I have been dealing with attachment anxiety throughout my life and have worked with a variety of practitioners. Working with Allison has helped me find a deeper, more embodied healing than I have with traditional talk therapy.

I’m a 64-year-old single male with some very traditional beliefs. 3-1/2 years ago, I mentioned to my chiropractor that I wanted to start exploring a more intensive journey and learn more about Yoga. My goal at the time was to increase my flexibility so I could expand my weight training.

Dr. Josh Vickers connected me to Allison Benner with this quote, “be open-minded, Allison will teach and help you with far more than just yoga.” I can confidently say he was so right!

Allison and I have spent an hour a week together online on zoom over the last 3-1/2 years not only working on expanding my Yoga experience/journey but so much more. The practice with Allison now spans from helping to navigate challenging life situations, relationship dynamics, day-to-day stress, injury recovery, and how all of this impacts our mind and body. I’ve gained awareness, the ability to manage very challenging life events, expanding physical and mental health, as well as emotional growth.

Recently, my youngest daughter left for college and we moved to a new home. While all pretty normal territory for most people, it was different for me. I raised my daughter as the primary care parent until she was 13 and then became a full-time parent. She was my purpose! I knew her going off to college was going to be harder for me than it was for her. The challenging role at work on top of everything else could have been very overwhelming and I risked missing some very positive awakening.

Through the work Allison and I have done, this event ended up being an amazing growth opportunity for both my daughter and I. I see, feel, and experience so much more of what life has to offer. I’m so very grateful for all Allison has done for me and look forward to continuing to explore, expand, and grow my practice with her.

Rolfing with Allison has changed my life. I have scoliosis and have dealt with chronic back pain for most of my life. Before finding Allison, I had tried nearly everything I knew of (except surgery) to try and alleviate the pain--including rolfing with a different practitioner. My first rolfing experience was educational, but I really didn't feel as comfortable and "heard" when I described my pain. It felt as though there was a set routine no matter the individual issues. I noticed immediately that Allison's approach was different and felt more tailored to me. Her exceptional intuition, experience, and education enables her to pinpoint the root cause(s) of the pain and not only does she relieve it, she also teaches techniques to incorporate in everyday life for proactive care to prevent pain. I've been seeing Allison regularly for a few years now and I highly recommend her to everyone I know!

Working with Allison using somatic therapy has been a true gift to heal my anxiety stemming from childhood and trauma from a bike accident. I was introduced to Allison after having a pretty severe bike accident, resulting in facial breaks, a concussion, and a very overactive nervous system.  She helped my body slowly tap into the trauma and fear from the accident in a safe and controlled way.  The process of experiencing small amounts of difficult memories at a time helped me revisit the event by focusing on listening to my body and its sensations, with the goal of relieving pain and calming my nervous system.  We have been able to take a very pivotal event in my life (ie. The bike accident) and allow that to dive far back into my own grief of my father’s passing 14 years ago.  We worked on grounding myself by using “tools” to allow my “up energy” (that’s how I experience my anxiety) to move down and out of my body, which in return gave me more stability emotionally and mentally.  

It feels important to mention we did all of this work together virtually.

I now live with a calmer nervous system and am able to tackle life in a way I have never experienced for over 35 years.  I am less charged and reactive, I am more focused, and I have healthier relationship boundaries.  Being an artist, a lot of my unhealthy childhood relationships had shaped and formed major walls that affected me creatively.  With all the work I have done with Allison for 3 years, she has helped me break down these creative walls and allow myself to fully engage and create in ways I have always dreamed.  I no longer stand in my own way of becoming my best self.

I had severe lower back pain that shot down my leg. I knew that if I didn't seek help I would be immobile in a couple of years. Thankfully I found Allison for yoga therapy. She was patient with my lack of yoga literacy and very knowledgeable about how to stretch out the problem area without irritating it. After only a few months of therapy, I can now keep up with my 5 year old. I continue yoga therapy to keep limber and improve my yoga postures. Thanks Allison for getting me back on my feet and keeping me on my feet.

Rolfing and Allison's knowledge of the practice and awareness of the body have helped me through painful migraines, pregnancy, and recovery after surgery. At 25 I was a healthy, active woman, but started to suffer from debilitating migraines. I had tried all the OTC pain relievers with no success. At that point, my primary care physician prescribed me a heavy-duty migraine medicine (complete with a myriad of side effects) to take every day. I knew that was not a path that I wanted to go down and began searching for a more holistic way to heal my body. My husband had seen Allison for some time and recommend that I contact her to see if she could help me with my migraines. After a couple of rolfing sessions and some recommended yoga moves to practice daily, my migraines became less and less frequent and eventually subsided. I did not suffer migraines for several years and continued regular rolfing sessions to maintain my health. Unfortunately, my migraines returned when I became pregnant for the first time. Allison was once again able to help me reduce the frequency of my migraines through rolfing. In addition to reducing my migraines during pregnancy, rolfing helped me to remain pain free and not experience many of the dreaded pregnancy symptoms (nausea, swelling, fatigue). My body felt like it was doing everything it needed to do. I was able to continue my active lifestyle throughout my entire pregnancy and maintain a feeling of openness and alignment in my body. Rolfing after pregnancy helped my body to quickly return to functioning as it did pre-pregnancy. I ordered one from Amazon for about 50 bucks after watching a documentary by a very handsome Aussie guy love the accent from down under! My big mouth HB juicer is is black where your plastic is white, but I believe it is still the same machine. I've never juiced before, so today I came here for inspiration. I'm going to juice some grapes and maybe some tangerines later. Thank you for sharing this video so I would know in advance what to expect.

I’ve worked with Allison for several years now. She has helped me transform old traumas into opportunities to find my strength as a man, becoming more self aware, self loving, and self transcending in the process.

After working with Allison through the ten series I was able to reach a new level of physical health. With each session, I could feel dramatic changes in the range of motion in each area of my body. All of my muscle groups started to feel more fluid and after a few months I was the strongest and most pain free I had been in years. Allison was able to correct my form on certain exercises and show me how to properly build up the strength of my lower back. All along, Allison had been emphasizing how important it was to stretch a little each day and would give me little things to do as homework in between sessions. As I became more flexible I noticed a huge increase in the stability of my body. Allison's other passion is Yoga and she blended it seamlessly with my physical development. Allison was able to tailor a routine specifically to my needs and I use it regularly. Rather than just fix my problem, Allison was genuinely interested in educating me to avoid further problems and have a better quality of life. I recommended my sister to Allison who has had chronic back pain due to 15 years of gymnastics and three back surgeries with varying degrees of success. After going through the same process of Rolfing and Yoga my sister is now pain free and my entire family credits Allison with her new look on life. Fifty years down the road I will credit Allison with my families continued health and well being. She has been an amazing resource and I always look forward to learning something new from her.