Interview done by Marie Kaufmann
What is bodywork?
It is a very direct approach. You work with the physical body to open up the negative emotions stored in the muscles and to release them, and that will create good feelings. Body work means to take care of the body, not only in a physical way but also in an emotional way, so that the body gets what it needs on all levels. I see it as a holistic method.
Emotionally we need to relate with one another and we also need to have physical contact. One of the basic exercises we do here at the Humaniversity is hugging. When the body gets stroked and touched, the rigidity dissolves, the skin gets softer, the breathing gets deeper and the whole being gets nourished. Having more close connections is one way of taking care of your body.
How is bodywork connected to therapy?
Bodywork is connected to therapy over the emotions. For example if you got beaten a lot, you will have traumas. It is not only in your psyche but also in your body. You hold the tension in your muscle. If you work on this muscle with bioenergetic exercises, where you go into certain body positions and you breathe and express the feeling, then the muscle can relax again and you also release the trauma The body balances itself out and becomes healthy again
Why do you work with bodywork, what is your passion for it?
Emotional bodywork can go very deep. When I did bioenergetics exercises myself I could reach new levels of memories and traumas which I was unable to remember before. Through bodywork I could release them. When I do bodywork my body becomes alive and vibrant. I start to be in tune with existence and experience oneness and flow.
I am a body person. I like to work with my body and to be in my body. I enjoy walking, breathing fresh air, jogging and exercising. And I like to pass this passion on to others.
What education do you have for bodywork?
I started to do bodywork, meditations and bioenergetics exercises when I was nineteen. I was participating in a lot of groups. Then I started training with Veeresh and his Therapists here. We do a lot of bodywork in our groups at the Humaniversity. I had many teachers in bodywork including Prashantam, Smito, Milan, and Satyarthi who taught me Bioenergetics, Shiatsu, Divine Healing, Rebalancing and different soft breath and body opening exercises.
How has bodywork been a support for you in your life?
I actually did not like it when I did bodywork for the first time. We did a bioenergetics exercise called the Bow and Arch. In this exercise you take a specific body position and breathe deeply. Sometimes this can be a little painful, especially if your body is rigid and hard; often you need to push through some resistance and when you do that the feelings get released, and then you start to feel really good and vibrant again. At that time I was thinking “This is really stupid. They tell me to do this and it just hurts. Why, for what?” It took me a while to understand that the emotions are stored in the muscles and that’s why we were asked to do these positions so that we could express the feelings and let go of the tensions and connect again with our life energy.
It worked for me. I could see from my own life that I could reach a deeper level of my history and work on the issues that needed it.
What can I gain as a participant from this group?
You get more aliveness in your body. You will work through old feelings and traumas in a very loving and caring environment together with other people. The work is very deep, but also light and exciting. I will work also with theatre and creativity where you can explore new sides of you and you can learn how to be more outgoing and to connect with other people.
For people who are very stuck in their mind, this is a very good approach to go a level deeper and to get more real.
I am very excited about doing a bodywork group in Sweden. Hallungen is an earthly
place which fits very well with bodywork. I think December is a good month to do this group. It gets darker and it is easy to get depressed therefore it is a great time to come and do something for yourself so that you can experience joy from within. It is really important to tap into the source within, which I will teach in this group.