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My first Feldenkrais experience
“Please lie down on the table.”
A moment before G. watched me walk and make some simple dance moves. I have pain in my hips and a high tension in my body that seems to have been there for centuries. It has been looked at so many times, I am close to despair.
With my clothes on, I lie down on my side.
She curls her hands over my ribs.
I feel myself rolling languidly, a miniscule movement in my right hip. My vertebrae follow – one by one – forwards, backwards and sideways…I turn, I twist… I think of the domino effect: where one falling stone sets all the other stones in motion.
My breath flows into places I’ve never been with my attention before. I sink deep into my body. My muscles soft and heavy. The table moulds willingly around my bones.
I sigh from my toes… Time stands still…
“Was I asleep? “
“Mmmh you were away for a while” a funny wink in her voice.
I turn on my other side. My sore hip… Her hands move me slowly and clearly. I wait for the familiar pain but no… This new sensation makes me laugh… “Aaahh” .. years of tension slipping out of my body.
Her hands play, she makes my bones dance… “Oohhh”… my head rocking gently.
Forgotten is my pain. My hips roll happily in all directions… Like a flowing, sensual dance.
I thought I was supple but… WOW!This feels so flexible and free…
After this divine session I walk, I dance like I have wings, I feel loose, I swing! What a pleasure to move again, without tension, without pain.
(From ‘my first Feldenkrais experience’, Pingel)
Three sessions later and the pain in my hips was completely gone. I was back to dance tango on my high heels and yoga felt great again. I was so impressed with the Feldenkrais method that I signed up for the next training to become a Feldenkrais somatic movement coach.
Now 15 years later I give both online and hands-on sessions and online group lessons. And I continue to marvel at the power of this method: How subtle movements transform lives at the level of the nervous system and the brain and enable people to live their lives to their fullest potential.
Would you like to experience a session as well?
What is Acces Consciousness?
Did you know that there are 32 points on your head that contain all the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, emotions and considerations that you have stored (in all your lives)?
Touching these points lightly removes the electrical charge from thoughts, emotions and fixed experiences. This process works like a major cleaning or declutter of the brain like if you ‘clean up’ a hard disk of a computer.
A BAR session can be beneficial for countless physical and mental aspects such as fears and phobias, physical (pain) complaints. It strengthens the immune system and much more…
photo: Wendy van Slooten
Access Bars ™ has already helped thousands of people on various issues such as: sleep, health and weight, limited beliefsystems, sex and relationships, anxiety, desire, stress and so much more.
In the worst case, you will feel as if you have just had a great massage. In the best case scenario, your entire life can turn into something bigger with total ease.
What relationship do you have with your body? What if your body can do much more for you if you allow it into your consciousness? If you change your relationship with your body, you change your relationship with everything else in your life.
An Access Body process is aimed – through the hands – to start a conversation with your body and support her in a self-healing process. This is done by tapping into the universal energy and ‘turning it on’ in places in the body. This process helps the body generate itself. It also helps you to be in more connection and awareness with your body.
I work with the Bar’s and the body process MTVSS, the tool of choice. It helps rid the body of almost everything that does not function or does not function well. It can have a major effect on the immune system and joints.
This morning I received a wonderful complete MTVSS treatment from Pingel Braat; How did I get so lucky? Pingel gives this body process with great attention to detail and with a lot of softness. I and my body want more of that. All energy lanes flow again.
Would you like to have your bars run again? You can book a session with me here
2 offerings that will help you feel home in your body
Last year I moved to Spain. I let go of my practise, my clients and everything that had been familiar to me while living in Rotterdam for over 20 years. That was one of the most challenging things I have ever done in my life. I felt like a flower that pulled her roots out of the soil. Transitioning from my old big city life to living in the ‘campo’ in the quiet mountains of the Alpujarra was a shock to my nervous system. And yes the soil in Rotterdam was not fertile enough anymore for me to flower. But was the soil here in the South of Spain?
In any case, I had to fertilize the soil with my sparkling manure before I could make my roots grow firmly here. And that was exactly what I hadn’t found a good recipe for so far. I felt pretty thrown off my legs in the first half year. And that’s where I ran into the Chakradance training. The promise that I would ground firmly in my own body and reconnect with my own deep wisdom made me choose this journey. And that was more than worth it! I now stand firm in my own sparkle dung. I feel relaxed in my body: Present and Alive. I wish that for you too.
I still do the wonderful meditations and dance-explorations to balance my basic chakra on a weekly basis. And also in this turbulent corona time it has helped me to stay attuned to my body and feel safe in her. I love to share this beautiful practise with you!
Below are the links to the free gift-pack and E-course ‘Reboot your Base Chakra’. In the video above I tell more about it!
Get your free giftpack: www.move-into-joy.nl/chakradance-giftpack
And/or sign up for the 10-day Online course: www.move-into-joy.nl/chakradance-ecourse/
How do you feel about your body?
I would like to invite you to reflect with me on our relationship with our body.
In our western society, the body is often approached as if it is something mechanical. In my opinion, Western society is very ‘mind’ oriented. When I look at other cultures I also find ways of experiencing the body as a very intimate, sensuous place to live in or a temple, And I find that in many older and indigenous cultures the body is experienced as a place that holds the wisdom about life, about human experience and connects us with a bigger experience than just that of ourself.
I am very touched by this quote of Gene Gendlin
“ Your physically felt body is in fact part of a gigantic system of here and other places, now and other times, you and other people. In fact the whole universe. This sense of being bodily alive in a vast system is the body as it is felt from inside“ -Gene Gendlin
I feel that there is a lot that we don’t grasp yet about the amount of wisdom that our body holds for us and its impact on us. I do know that for our health and well being, moving through life, consciously living in our bodies, will help us move better, feel better, and become better care keepers for earth. And there is so much more…
In the last years, I have been contemplating how spirituality can be a part of our sensuous life. How I can weave a somatic approach with a spiritual approach.
Just think about it… We have a trillion cells that store all our experiences, connect us with our environment, with earth, with life-force, with all other living beings on planet earth, with the moon, the stars… And although we may not be aware of all their influences on our daily life, I feel our body has this awareness. She is constant dialogue with this giant environment that she is part of, belongs too, breathes with. And where our minds are often puzzled about the essence of life, of our being, our body knows from sensing life itself and spirit breathing through her.
In the video above I share some more reflections.
So how do you feel about your body?
The miracle is you!
Today I like to share a poem & song that one of my colleagues was posting on facebook some time ago. It is called ‘The miracle is you’.
Yesterday I followed a morning session by coach Els van Laecke. She shared a practise of self-celebration for all the little moments when our light begins to stutter. Celebrating the magic of your body is one way to ignite your sparkle and move into joy instantly. And your body will be so grateful.
Especially in these moments that you forget to pay attention to your body and it is sending you unpleasant signals. In the old days I could feel very frustrated about my body and disconnect even more. I noticed that to show compassion for my body in these moments and remember the miracle she is, helps me to act much more in attunement with my body. And that adds to a happy body and a happy me dancing life together in co-creation…
Later the same day I followed a webinar with coach Oscar van Rooij. Guess what! He guided us through a meditation to… SELF CELEBRATE. So today I consciously like to celebrate my body, your body and the body of life itself.. And this poem of Kute Blackson is a wonderful tribute to our bodies:
You were born with over 150 trillion cells,
more than all the stars in the Milky Way.
You know how to kill germs, digest and talk all at the same time.
Your heart beats 101,000 times per day.
During your life, it will beat 300 million times.
Each day you take 23,000 breaths.
Your blood travels 60,000 miles per day on its journey through your body.
You blink at least 15,000 times per day.
If all your DNA were stretched out, it would reach the moon 6,000 times.
Your bones are four times stronger than concrete.
Your eyes can distinguish up to 1 million colors.
Your lungs inhale over 2 million liters of air daily.
When you touch anything, a message is sent to your brain at 124 miles per hour.
The length of your blood vessels would circle the globe 2 1/2 times.
You have the ability to distinguish over 10,000 different smells.
The Miracle is You.
So listen to the music deep inside of you.
There are universes dancing inside your body.
There are sunsets shining in your heart.
There are symphonies playing in your toes.
There is a full moon beaming in your belly button.
There is a gentle rain that falls from your eyes.
There is an army of love in every step.
The Miracle is You.
So if you have such a moment of ‘de-sparkling’, just listen to this song ‘Miracle’. Below you find the link to Youtube.I wish you a sparkling home coming into your body!
The Miracle is You by Kute Blackson – from the song ‘Miracle’
https://youtu.be/bYgl_z05bqY
Act in spite of fear
Looking at this picture that I found on facebook 3 years ago, I am most touched by the words ‘Act in spite of fear’. I feel that I and with me many others have firm struggles with overcoming the fear that is holding us back from following our heart. Fear of not being good enough, not being safe in ourselves, not belonging, falling or failing, being visible or invisible, being rejected, fear for our own potential or living a meaningless life, never really doing what we deep in ourselves dreamt of doing… and so on.
Two years ago, when facing the fear that was holding me back from choosing to step out of the cozy prison I had created for myself, I met very old emotional pain that asked for my attention. I learnt that dealing with fear is not only mindset. I believe there is strong emotional habits behind our mindset, that are responsible for many of our thinking-patterns and beliefs now. Emotional patterns deeply hidden in our cells, creating unconscious self- sabotaging beliefs. They were formed when we were still little ones that did not have the words yet to express nor the social knowledge to understand what was going on in our lives.
These emotional habits are so firmly ingrained in our physical structure -our posture, our way of walking and our way of moving through life-, that they have become like our signature. Fairly often it is not as simple as letting go of the beliefs they bring to mind. We have become attached to them for better or worse as the struggle with them has become a purpose in it self. We’re not aware that we’re holding on to them by choosing to control, fight them, push them away, refuse to own them. That we are actually avoiding the even bigger fear of not knowing and not being in control. But isn’t it in the unknowing that our dreams will unfold themselves?
I believe these beliefs and the emotional patterns that form their root, can only be addressed, brought up and transformed in close collaboration with the body. I learnt that the body expresses the emotions that we tend to push away through tension and pain in our body tissue, our muscles, joints and organs, causing an overwhelmed nervous system, fatigue, depression and ultimately disease. I am talking about psycho-somatic issues in the tissues that most doctors have no answer for but ‘learn to live with them’. Mystery pain and tension that has no name nor a cause in most of the classic medical books.
On my own journey I learnt to dare to not know and stop controlling the fear. Staying present with the fear in heart and mind amidst the emotional overwhelm is challenging but not impossible. And actually stepping into action in spite of fear brought to surface my most hidden gifts and talents. I learnt to feel and see beyond the physical pain and feel the emotional story behind a posture or physical movement pattern like f.e. walking. In short I learnt to walk my talk.
When making choices that were more aligned with who I am, I felt clearly how highly tense, sore tissues started to soften over time. I learnt to relieve habits of stress by listening to my body’s impulses. My organs got back their motility and mobility and improved function. My immune system is still growing stronger every day. Even to the point were some old food intolerances disappeared. After 30 years of chronic fatigue, I am now less tired and I awake and productive all day.
And as I continue following and trusting the voice of my body whether she talks about food, movement, emotions, thoughts, memories or pain I get to know what my soul craves for. Like a shadow guide, I explore the hidden emotions behind the physical pain, the constrained movement, the tiredness and the unhealthy patterns that I created over time. And as I go there, sad emotions and sheer fear come to surface like little monsters. Except when connecting with them, they seem more like little children feeling very lost in the dark. In my opinion the work is about bringing these little ones home as they carry with them so many of our soul’s gifts and talents. Steadily I am finding ground in my body. And the more I breathe with her in moments of fear, the more she softens, opens and stops holding on to it.
I dare say that choosing the life you wish for in spite of fear, is a powerful way to dismantle that same fear. It starts with reclaiming your dream step by step: addressing and unravelling old emotional habits and reframe old childhood belief-systems while embracing new chosen life experiences. Refinding our ground in the body releases anxiety and overwhelm. Remembering the body as our earth-home creates the peacefulness and safety from inside that is so needed to move along unknown paths.
When I set out to fulfill my dream and find my truth, I never dreamed of finding so much potential for healing and growth by owning my fear and stop controlling it..
I learned to trust, listen and validate my own instinctual and intuitive wisdom and act upon that wisdom. What a difference does that make! I feel there is calmness in ones own wise words when one speaks them to oneself. There is peace underneath the fear when one allows the body to move with it. To trust that there is silence in the eye of the storm that overwhelms the nervous system and that this silence comes with strength and insight to face the inner storms and showers of rain yet to come.
I believe we can only change mindset when we change the full setting; mind, body, nervous system and soul. I feel they are all interconnected and can’t be separated in the processes of learning and healing. The tool needed for change is to become self aware in sensing, feeling, thinking and action, owning every aspect of this including the consequences of our choices and actions. In understanding why you are where you are, you will know which way to walk and how to choose your path.
So if you also feel that your comfort zone is a safe prison, it might be time to reconsider if you want to stay there. Why not take the first small step out of your comfort zone… In spite of fear!
I just started to teach a series of online dutch Feldenkrais classes to help you find ground in your body and get ready for new choice and action. If you are interested in english Feldenkrais lessons just drop me a line and I will schedule them.
Free body meditation to calm your nervous system
The last days it was not always easy to keep my calm and peace. Every time when opening facebook or whats-app the fear for Corona, the fear of all this insecurity for the future that is felt by so many people, just hits me and throws me off my legs. I feel all this anxiety cramping and contracting around my knees, my calves, in my gut and in my chest. I feel a startle of a cry, a shout, a weepy feeling… but it ends stuck in my troat. My mind is spinning 24/7 and my head is pounding.
My nervous system has been programmed around feeling not safe in rooting ever since I was al little child. This hard-wired habit of ungrounding and tensing in my body when feeling anxious and nervous, kicks in big time again in this moment.
Time to soothe my body, mind and heart and pay attention to my breath. To do something extra to support the resilience of my immune system and nervous system. To strongly reconnect with my own reality and inner motions. Time to tune in with the physical moment, the here and now and leave the future the future and the past the past. Happily I can still sit in my little garden and listen to the birds, the whisper of the wind while feeling the sun on my skin as I take in the presence of the velvet mountains and ancient olive trees. Nature is bouncing back and teaching me about resilience and faith in life.
Touched by the quiet presence of this ancient olive trees that surround me and the silent rock mass in front of me, I created a little -20 minute- somatic exploration for myself. It helps me to calm my nervous system and get in touch with what feelings are mine. and what feelings I breath in and make mine. Let’s say I am restoring my boundaries energetically through becoming deeply aware and present with my own body and feeling state . It is a great way to not get overwhelmed by all the fearful and negative media posts.
It turned out to be a playful little gem that guides me back to myself and the present moment every time I am checking out.
This morning I recorded it to share it with you. All you need for this meditation is a chair, your body and 20 minutes of your time. Find a spot indoors or (even better) outdoors in your garden, roof terras or balcony and enjoy!
I wish you resilience, wisdom and peace in this turbulent times.
Photo by Daniel Anuar from PexelsThe fishermen
Once upon a time, there was a meeting between two tribes. Cause one was very prosperous but the other was suffering.
Both tribes had been living in the center of an island, large enough to sustain them for many many decades. Two big reefs, one at the west and one and the east -with warm shallow waters- provided them with plenty of fish. In the north, there were high mountains that sheltered the island from the storms. The mighty mountains were the birthplace of many streams and waterfalls, that poured down in a central lake. In the south, a big forest, with many fruits, nuts, and the medicinal plants the elders would use if someone fell sick. One tribe lived on the west side of the lake, the other on the east.
For centuries meetings, ceremonies and festivities were held near a big cave at the north shore of the lake. Close to the mighty waterfall. Everybody from the west tribe was there, all men, all women, all children, and all the elders. From the east tribe (the one with the problems) only the young leaders were present.
When everyone sat down and it had become quiet, one of the young leaders from the east got up and started to speak. He blamed the west tribe -who were spearfishing at the west of the island- to catch to many fish. That had to be the reason the fishermen of his tribe, spearfishing at the east, were not able to catch enough fish. Therefore his tribe was hungry, the children were crying, the men were spending all day fishing, from dusk till dawn, and therefore they had no time to look after the animals and the crops and therefore they were in a poor state.
When he stopped speaking, he sat down. And it was quiet for quite a long time. Uncomfortably long. They were looking at each other but no one dared to speak. A child stood up and took a breath to start speaking. But just before it could say anything, one of the grownups pulled it back into the circle and told the child to be silent.
One of the leaders of the western tribe stood up. Hey took the time to have a good look at young leaders of the other east tribe. He could see they weren’t as well-fed as the members of his tribe. That their black hair was dull en brittle and their eyes were filled with frustration and anger. For a moment he blamed himself for not taking notice. For not reaching out. Then he felt the pressure of coming up with a solution. Clever as he was asked for a few minutes, so he could speak with the other leaders of his tribe.
So they did. The two tribes parted and, formed separate circles. At the circle of the western tribe, many solutions we proposed. A lengthy discussion started amongst the leaders. What was the best solution? The child that wanted to speak earlier stood up again and wanted to say something but was silenced once again. After some time the leaders believed to have an answer all leaders of the successful tribe were happy with. ‘Let us give them some of our fish’.
A young mother who had been listening quietly stood up. ‘Is it true we only take from the sea what we need?’ she asked. Everybody nodded. ‘So when we give them some of our fish,’ she said ‘we will have to catch more. The men will spend more time fishing. So they will have less time to take care of the crops and animals. Eventually, we will have the same problems as the tribe on the east.’ Everybody nodded again. She continued ’why don’t we trade fishing grounds? We will fish on their reef, they will fish on ours.’
So both tribes joined the big circle again. When everybody sat down and was silent, a leader of the western tribe stood up. He offered the other tribe to swap fishing grounds. The young leaders of the eastern tribe were very happy with this offer. And so they did.
After a week the young leaders of the troubled eastern tribe wanted another meeting. They were furious. A new meeting was held at the big cave near the lake. And again the whole western tribe was there, all men, all women, all children, and all elders. This time the young leaders brought their bows and spears. Even before everybody sat down on of the young leaders jumped up and raged: “We have been fishing on your reef, he shouted, but the catch is even worse than before!” “And people tell me that you have cough even more fish than before on our reef.
Then the child jumped into the circle and, before anybody could put it back in her place, it started… ’My grandfather taught me how to fish,’ it said. ‘He had been taught by his grandfather, a great fisherman’.
A few grown-ups jumped up wanting to grab the child and put it in its place. But before they could one of the elders stopped them. ‘Let the child speak’ she said. ‘This child only 11 but it can catch enough fish for her family and still have plenty of time to play’.
So the child continued: ‘One day I was on the mountain. Almost at the top. From there I could see our villages, the lake, and both reefs. The one on the east and the one on the west. On one side I saw a fisherman with his spear. He was standing in the water motionless, waiting patiently, almost like a statue. In a blink of an eye, the fishermen threw his spear in the water and caught a big fish. At the other reef, I saw a fisherman too. With his speer held high. He ran through the water back and forth and he suddenly stopped. Ran again and threw this spear. He did not catch any fish that day. The child paused for a few seconds and looks around the big circle. Then it asked: “what is more important? Where you fish or how you fish?’
The story of Noah
One day, at approximately 23:00, we passed a dog on the roundabout in Orgiva. He looked terrible! Very skinny, afraid and his ears were bleeding. The next day coming back from training, he was there again. There and then we decided to at least feed this abandoned dog. We bought big cans of dog food and went to this roundabout every night around 23:00. And every day he would show up, eat 2 cans and wandered off. We did this for at least 2 months.
One night he didn’t show. We waited till 01:00, but no dog. This got us very worried. So we posted a message on the local Facebook group if anybody as seen him. A lot of people reacted, but of all the dogs seen none of them was ‘our’ dog. After three days waiting in vain, he showed again. We couldn’t be more happy.
Then we got the news the local dog-shelter had captured him. Cause they take care of a lot of animals already and are always short of money, we felt we had to come up with a more permanent solution for this dog. Cause we can’t have a dog in the house at this moment, Pingel started quite a campaign to find him a temporary home. At least till we find ourselves a house where he can live with us.
Via a good friend from The Netherlands, we were able to find him a home. He has been chipped, named and checked by the vet. Treatment for leishmania is very successful and he is gaining weight. His caretakers frequently send us videos of him. He is very playful and loves big hugs. We hope he can be with us very soon.