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ROLFING A LEGEND matter how many muscle relaxers I took, no matter how much stretching, nothing was working." Retirement was becoming a very real possibility, as no one could offer him relief. "I saw four orthopedic doctors and back specialists, and they all said it looks like it's time to retire. I kept saying that was the wrong answer." Even so, Mark's career hung in the balance as he tried finding the right answer. "My core was as strong as you can get. I used anti-inflammatories, and did my share of epidurals, but it was such a short-term fix. God knows how many injections I had in my spine to ease the pain and keep going. When you're 20, you can get away with it. But I was in my mid-30s, and a lot of things I did in my 20s were coming back to haunt me." When the Flyers made arrangements for Mark to see Toporek, the star defenseman knew he had nothing to lose. "I had exhausted all other efforts." As it turned out, that visit would be career changing. A CAREER SAVED Mark was already a massage convert and had been exposed to the nuances of bodywork years before, yet the effects from one Rolfing session were surprising. "Right from the very first session, things got progressively better," Mark says. "He improved my flexibility by 8–10 inches and it lasted 4–5 days." When debriefing with the Flyers' training staff after his first session, Mark remembers his excitement. "We had been working for 2–3 months to get me more flexible. One hour with Robert had increased my flexibility by 50 percent. I said, 'It's the first time I've been able to stand erect since I hurt my back.' The funny thing about it is that all he did was mess around with my feet and ankles, a little bit on my calves and my shoulders, and a little on my back. He worked on areas that had nothing to do with my low back for the most part. It was strange." Strange or not, by the second session with Toporek, Mark was standing straighter, feeling more flexible, and most importantly, living without pain. By his third session, Mark was back on the ice and singing Toporek's praises to anyone who would listen. Their work together went on through that summer, and Mark was ready to play his 13th season of professional hockey that fall. In fact, he went on to play another two years with the Flyers, and three more with Detroit, before finally hanging up his skates at the age of 40. He credits Toporek for those last five years of his career. FROM BRAWLERS TO BABIES Robert Toporek has Rolfed hockey legends and football stars—even Ida Rolf herself—but his passion lies in helping the smallest of clients. In fact, Rolfing children was one of the last projects Toporek and Rolf collaborated on before her death in 1979. It was 1977, and Toporek had been steadfast at Rolf's heels, learning from her what he could, locating and interviewing secretaries for her, chauffeuring her when needed, and hosting her advanced seminars in his Philadelphia living room. "Dr. Rolf began talking about doing a class on Rolfing babies and children," Toporek says. "It actually was not intended to be a class, but rather a research project to demonstrate the benefits." He says by that time, his relationship with Rolf was one of student/friend/mentor/colleague. "We had gone many places together, that lady and I," Toporek says wistfully. The project was eventually held in Toporek's living room, and he remembers fondly that Rolf was in his home every day during the duration. Rolf had planned to write some text for the baby project, but when her colon cancer worsened, she had to keep putting off the task. "As she became sicker and sicker, I realized that it was not going to happen," Toporek says. "So in a very intimate moment with her, I promised to complete the text and produce the monograph. I knew in that moment that she trusted me in grabbing the baton and forwarding the conversation 88 massage & bodywork november/december 2012