Psychotherapeutic Body Work
When we have experienced situations that were perceived as threatening, the shock stays in the body until it is released and resolved. Psychotherapeutic body work enables the body to let go of holding patterns which can disrupt our ability to live and freely express ourselves in the present. The cycles of expression which have been interrupted are given the space and opportunity to be discharged from the physical body.
It is my deep belief that we cannot be other than the embodiment of all our experiences and that the physical body has to be included in the therapeutic process. A person cannot relax and be in the present until whatever bodily tensions that trap them in past experience have been dissolved, understood and integrated.
I know that all stress and tensions, psychological issues and traumas are held and registered in the body. I use a combination of approaches to facilitate this process including cathartic bodywork and vocal expression, breath release work, emotional expression, movement, massage and energy work to bring relief and counter these.
Ref: Any work by Wilhelm Reich , Alexander Lowen, Gerda Boyesen et al
Counselling
Problematic issues can benefit from being shared and aired with a neutral listener. More often than not as we speak we find our own solutions to our issues. Our innate inner wisdom will guide us if we only learn to listen to ourselves and hear our own voices. Only you can know yourself. Counselling can encourage you to find a path and direction to empower yourself to be able to navigate and free yourself from the situations that you find challenging. I can bring a wealth of experience, compassion and understanding by listening to you and giving you guidance.
Touch Awareness
If the body has been hurt the body needs to be healed and intentional touch awareness can be very beneficial. If physical boundaries have been threatened or disregarded the body can become stuck in a state of hyper-arousal and tension. With understanding, permission and appropriate use of non-sexual touch old holding patterns can be dissolved and the body can learn to trust and relax.
Massage
Every massage client has a different body and different tensions. Some tensions are purely mechanical and some are more psychological. It is the latter that interest me the most.
When I work with someone, I see it initially as a collaborative session since the client knows how their body feels from the inside. Initially we work as a team to tailor the massage specifically for their body. I listen with my hands, eyes and ears to create an environment where the client’s body awareness is enhanced so that they can then relax as deeply as possible and experience themselves at a new level.
Energy Work
Human beings are not simply physical. We are the physical manifestations of a more complex energy system that includes the aura structure, energy centres called chakras, and specific energy streams. These systems can get out of balance through difficult life experiences, historical events and the ways we conduct our lives.
I spent many years training with Bob Moore at his Psykisk Centre in Denmark. Bob’s expertise in the field of non-physical energy work is now widely acknowledged by many medical professionals, psychotherapists and healers.
I now incorporate what I learned from Bob Moore into the work I do.
See Ripples on the Water: Bob Moore’s Spiritual Impulse: Edited by Annette Ikast.
Meditation
Meditation is the act of sitting quietly and allowing the busy mind to slow down. In order to achieve a quiet mind there are techniques that one can use such as breathing exercises.
The benefits of meditation are many ranging from the purely physical feelings of relaxation to the deeper sense of being profoundly connected to a greater consciousness beyond the physical.
We are multi-dimensional beings and meditation is a way to connect with experiences that bring peace, joy and happiness to our everyday lives.
My meditation teachers included Irina Tweedie who wrote “Daughter of Fire”, Osho , Sri Vasudeva and Bob Moore.
Stress Reduction
Unhealthy stress has a detrimental effect on our performance and can produce many physical symptoms. It is easy to medicate against the effects of stress but I believe if we understand how and why stress is manifesting in the body-mind and attempt to deal with the root causes rather than the presenting symptoms we have a better way of ridding ourselves of its effects. I can help you identify the stressor in you live and find ways to reduce them.
Discover Your Own Creativity
We can all benefit from finding creative ways to de-stress. Much is written on the subject of getting into “The Zone”. The Zone is the place of no time. It’s where you go when you are entirely absorbed in some activity and you say to yourself, “Wow! Where did the time go when I was doing X?” That’s when you have been completely in present time in The Zone and it’s a very healing and restorative place to go.
One of my own personal ways of going into The Zone is when I do Mosaic Art Work. I fall into that timeless, stress-less and spacious space where deep meditation and relaxation happen spontaneously.
I encourage all my clients to find their own ways of accessing this ever present Zone which restores and re-balances both mind, body and spirit.
Individual client sessions may involve aspects of the approaches outlined. I work with each individual client to find the best possible combination of approaches for their particular issues. I believe that each person is whole and perfect and that each of us have qualities and that by working together we can find ways of healing the hurts and allowing the light and qualities to shine through.