The way you move tells your personal myth

The way you move tells your personal myth

by | May 11, 2024 | Blog, Changing the story, Movement as Medicine, Somatic Awareness, Somatic Wisdom

What is your story?
And is it still the story you want to tell yourself?

The way you move tells your personal myth and shows you the hidden parts of yourself. It reveals to you the deepest beliefs and feelings that underlie the story you have come to tell yourself about yourself and the world around you.

Your way of moving tells you f.e. about the unconscious thoughts that dominate your self-image from the background. You can read your deep basic beliefs and unconscious habits, and also how you are in relation with your body and the world around you.

The way you stand, sit, move, reach out and turn inwards tell about (unconscious) emotional patterns. These often originate long ago and impose themselves in the way you carry yourself; your personal conditioned patterns of muscle-contraction as well as the way you talk to yourself and about yourself.

Meet yourself in movement

Over the years, I learned about the many unconscious stories I was telling myself by landing more in my body and becoming aware of how I was moving and how that made me feel.

I now recognize the stories that are well hidden in the depths trying to keep their grip. They used to control me with subtle posturing patterns that kept me small. Now I am aware of their ways and can choose whether and how to respond to them.

Your body tells your inner story

Most of these subconscious stories, that live on quietly in the background, reveal themselves in a moment of challenge. Often through a sudden sensation, or an abrupt change in your inner energy flow, that gesture you always make, or that small but all too familiar movement. And even more often through that subtle familiar but unconscious body posture that you have become accustomed to over the years. They are those hidden stories that were written when we were very small and sometimes even long before that. And sometimes the stories live on through us, but belong to family or ancestors.

How do your stories reveal themselves? 

Over the years, my practice of Feldenkrais and NIA has transformed me into a curious movement and sensation detective. Dance is my tool to unravel the inner stories that move, challenge, and touch me. I like to use the movements for my Body Wise guide cards and write a little message to my soul on them.

Our stories start and change in the body

Our stories start and change in the body

by | May 11, 2024 | Blog, Changing the story

I love this quote and I believe there is so much truth in it!

Our bodies know they belong; it is our minds that make our lives so homeless." —JOHN O’DONOHUE

Our stories start in the body with the way our autonomous nervous system feels the world from moment to moment. It is called neuroception, a term originating with Stephen Porges Polyvagal theory.
We only have little awareness of these subtle shifts in our states and the influence that they have on how we feel, perceive our environment, and behave from moment to moment.

These wordless neuroceptive messages are somatic signals, like a gut feeling, sensations of temperature change, or our heart intuition, sensations from our organs, muscles... The autonomic nervous system sends these 'neuroceptive signals' to the brain. Our mind then starts to give meaning to this somatic story that our body tells by creating the beliefs that guide our daily life. A story is being born.

This mostly happens in the background of our daily lives, our moment-to-moment being. This gives the story a chance to result in unconscious habits of perception, behavior, movement, and attitude that influence our decision-making, our self-image, our reactions, and ultimately how we are in relationships with others and our environment.

We can become aware of this unconscious flow of information by pausing, listening into our body and paying attention to our bodily sensations before interpreting them with our mind. Much like being a witness.

When we can witness with the curiosity of our 'infant mind space' rather than our more judging 'ego mind space', we create a new space for trying on options in responding, behaving, and taking in the world. This creates options to enact a new somatic story by using the ability of our nervous system and body to adapt, change, and grow.

We meet ourselves through our infant mind space when we express ourselves through dance, conscious movement, and expressive art. When we invite ourselves to re-connect with ourselves without judgement by playing, exploring and discovering what wisdom our body holds for us. This leads to self-healing and inner growth.

It's how I healed myself many years ago when I realised that I had lost my zest and sparkle and felt alienated from myself. I made the choice to change how I listened to and looked at myself, to re-story, to meet myself again in movement, in the moment, to re-member myself home in my body and being.

Testimonial by Yosmary Pestana

by | Feb 6, 2024 | reviews NIA, Reviews retreats, Small group dance movement creativity retreats

A Transformative Retreat: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Connection with Nature

My 6-Day Pause Listen & Reconnect With Yourself Dance Retreat, accompanied by Pingel and Peter, has proven to be one of the most enriching experiences I've ever had. The NIA practice focused on understanding sensations and emotions and served as an excellent foundation for the somatic therapy led by Pingel—a truly helpful and powerful combination. 

Beyond the formal aspects of the retreat, the atmosphere fostered a comfortable environment for sharing experiences, establishing meaningful connections, and gaining insights into Pingel and Peter's lives. This not only provided a great source of inspiration but also revealed alternative lifestyles and mindsets centered around living in harmony with nature.

Credit is also due to Peter for his excellent culinary skills. He did a fantastic job cooking delicious vegetarian meals with locally sourced ingredients and generously shared tips for some of his recipes. Cooking together and introducing a dish from my home country was a great experience. I hope the addition of arepas to the menu is well-received by future visitors to the retreat. 🙂

Adding to the charm of the retreat were its lovely hosts—Noah, the dog, and the cats. Noah, in particular, is the most lovable canine soul, and I cherished spending breaks with these furry companions.

Accommodations at the guest house, situated adjacent to Pingel and Peter's house, were both comfortable and cozy. The open-plan kitchen, complete with a lovely fireplace, became my favorite spot for reading during breaks. Clean and comfortable bedrooms and bathrooms, along with the option of a winter fireplace or a summer swim in the available pool, made the stay versatile and enjoyable.

The Finca also offers really nice walks, allowing you to literally pluck fruits from trees during your stroll, enhancing the overall experience. If you seek a deeper connection with nature and a more profound understanding of your mind and body, I totally recommend this retreat.

Yosmary Pestana
United Kingdom

Testimonial by Natalie Rose Roberts

by | Feb 6, 2024 | reviews NIA, Reviews retreats, solo somatic dance movement creativity retreats

An amazing transformative retreat!

I felt really stressed, over-whelmed and disconnected to myself and my loved ones. 

I wanted to specifically do a somatic retreat using dance and movement to reconnect with myself. When I saw that this was a Personal 1:1 retreat; diving into a deep transformational journey inwards, I knew I wanted to go.

Pingel's detailed description of what the retreat would entail was really thorough which enticed me to go ahead and book this retreat.

I wanted to be in the mountains so this retreat in Andalucia was perfect, the location is stunning.

It is so peaceful and quiet, surrounded by the mountains, beautiful nature, orange trees, olive trees, almond trees and many more things that Pingel & Peter grow on their land.

Pingel is an incredible person with so much knowledge that I am very grateful for. She helped to calm my nervous system and feel a connection with my body, it was incredibly profound to feel this after so many years.

Pingel's healing retreat is structured in a way that is relaxing, fun, and intense at times; every day being self-discovery. All of her sessions flow with ease and as time goes on a greater understanding of yourself happens. The varied sessions Pingel does work deep within and are transformative.

The NIA sessions were so much fun and emotional at times. I still dance every day, sometimes a few times a day!
There isn't a day that has passed since the retreat that I don't think about it, it is nice to look back at my journal of all the things I have learned from Pingel and what I did that week.

I learned that you carry so much 'stuff' in your body and by reconnecting and getting to know your body and sensations then past traumas/issues can be healed and released. I feel a sense of freedom now and an inner strength and love for myself.

The food cooked by Peter was outstanding, it was so delicious. He uses as much as he can from their land and creates healthy lunches and dinners.

His guacamole was the best I have tasted using the fresh avocados they grow. It was not a problem at all for Peter to provide me with vegan dishes, I have written down some of his recipes to cook at home as they were that tasty!

I really enjoyed sitting with Pingel and Peter at lunch and dinner times, it was always relaxing, fun, and great conversations were had between us.

They are a special couple with an adorable dog they rescued called Noah and many beautiful cats.

The accommodation was cozy and comfortable and I really enjoyed sitting outside the front in the shade and round the back in the sun with a springtime/summer pool and lovely views. I went in January and still a great place to sit outside to relax and enjoy the sunshine.

The retreat was an experience I will hold in my heart forever and I hope to return there one day.

Thank you, Peter, for everything, and Pingel for being authentically you and for being a great guide, coach, and teacher.

Natalie Rose Roberts
United Kingdom
Awareness through movement versus awareness of movement

Awareness through movement versus awareness of movement

by | Jan 25, 2024 | Changing the story, Somatic Awareness, Somatic Wisdom

We often move on automatic pilot in many situations of our lives, We vaguely know what we do, but do we really know how we do it? What is happening behind the scenes so to speak? How is our action benefiting our intention?
For most people, the most basic intention to move or act is to maintain or move into joy, ease, comfort, and pleasure. Our nervous system is wired that way.

Then how come our actions don't always result in comfort and pleasure?

In a Feldenkrais somatic movement exploration, we explore HOW we move. The HOW is about our individuality, our unique habits, beliefs, and behaviors, and the way we see ourselves and act upon that image. How do we meet our intention with the way we move? What are the habits that interfere with our intentions? 

When observing the HOW we get clarity about which beliefs are in the driving seat and where our image of ourselves and the world needs updating. Are we 'doing' on automatic pilot or are we consciously choosing how we do what we do? And does it lead to the desired outcome?

Habits are when we decide how to act before we are aware that we have a choice (Moshe Feldenkrais)

Habits typically show up when we don't choose or we always choose the same which is equivalent to habitual behavior. The outcome therefore will subsequently be the same as yesterday, today, and in the future.. Doing from habit strengthens the same beliefs and emotional patterns that keep us from where we want to go. 

So the goal of the Feldenkrais method is to bring our awareness to the moment between intending and doing by slowing down and paying attention. It is here where we can find out and correct course. In this moment we can recreate our responses by exploring other options and creating conscious choices. It is then that we begin to grow out of a habit and the beliefs that support that habit.

And this goes for all action; Whether it is about movement skill or an action that has to take us to something we want. Or maybe an action that has to take us away from something we don't want. We need to slow down to listen into the body to sense and feel what happens with our emotions and thoughts. As no brain can think without a body (original quote by Moshe Feldenkrais)

All movement is driven by the mind. So the body's movement is a great way to start exploring our mind's way. Our most basic intention is to find ease, comfort, and joy no matter what. Our body is straightforward and accurate in its response. It does not create constructs like the mind does. It immediately tells whether it feels pain or joy. And it is always open to course-correct. It can serve as a wonderful guide on the path of growth and healing

Below is a link to a Feldenkrais exploration that will give you a taste of how to rewire patterns with the help of your wise sensuous body and intelligent, sensitive, nervous system.

Originally it was an FB live in which I verbally guided people through a 20-minute lecture and exploration. All you need is a quiet space on the floor and a (yoga) mat.