The post was contributed by Elaine Pendergrast
June is the first time Breema is coming to Olympia, and some
people are already very excited. Caroline Pettipiece, owner of Blue Water
Health, is one of them. She has taken Breema workshops in Seattle with Roxanne
Caswell and Birthe Kaarsholm, the same instructors that will be teaching here.
“One of the things I value most about Breema is the
mind-body connection that happens,” she said of her experience. “I think it is
a very strong element that sets Breema apart. Doing Breema helps me to slow
down and remember to enjoy the important things in life: my connection to my
self and my connection to others.”
Developed over the last 30 years in Oakland, California,
Breema is a comprehensive, holistic system that uses movement and touch,
integrated with universal principles, to support becoming present and remaining
present. It consists of three components: two-person Breema bodywork (where one
person gives and the other receives), Self-Breema movement exercises (done with
one’s own body), and the underlying philosophy, as expressed in the Nine
Principles of Harmony.
Caroline continued, “Another thing I really love about
Breema is that it is for everybody. People of all different shapes, sizes, and
ages can all do Breema. As a massage therapist of 12 years I have taken a lot
of different continuing education and I appreciate that Breema workshops are
not filled with just massage therapists. It's so much fun to do bodywork with
people that don't do bodywork all day for a living.”
Also excited is Jena Hennessey, a Self-Breema Instructor
from Seattle, who is coming down to participate in the workshop. She first read
a description of Breema in a catalog for Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon,
which hosts two Breema workshops every year. The listing of the Nine Principles
of Harmony especially resonated with her. Having experienced injury as
professional bodyworker, she was looking for new ways to support herself and
was intrigued that Breema’s focus was on the practitioner instead of on the
client. “I had never even thought about that approach before, but knew it was
what I needed and wanted,” she told me. “When I started studying Breema,
working with Body Comfortable gave me permission to actually find how to be
more comfortable, and to have acceptance of my body however it was. I became
more relaxed and more present. It was as if my body, mind, and feelings were
learning how to speak a new language in which I was included in whatever I was
doing, and could benefit more from doing it.”
Through reading books on Breema Jena started to delve more
deeply into the philosophy and principles, applying them in personal
relationships as well as professionally. She continued, “The principles have
had such a direct impact on all my relationships. They’ve opened up new ways of
seeing others and relating more harmoniously. I use them often and they are
like friends to me now.”
In the weekend workshop participants will practice working
with coming to body-mind connection while exploring the
Nine Principles.
Through being present and actualizing the principles in a Breema class, an
atmosphere of acceptance is created. Working with movement and touch in this
nonjudgmental way can help us be more accepting of ourselves, and show us that
we are not separate from anything in the universe.
Roxanne Caswell and Birthe Kaarsholm, Certified Breema
Instructors with many years of combined experience, will be teaching the
workshop, and are looking forward to bringing Breema to Olympia. They related
why they love teaching Breema and how they have benefited from having it be an
everyday practice. “At the Breema Center, we say that Breema introduces us to a
way of moving, thinking, and feeling that is a direct expression of our degree of
presence,” Birthe explained.
“What I appreciate about Breema most is the tools it gives
me to be more balanced and available in my daily life, whatever activity I’m
engaged in,” Birthe related. “Even when I’m sitting in the office at my
computer, I can come to body-mind connection and experience my weight sitting
on the chair, and my body breathing. That can remind me of a principle, for
example No Extra, so I can drop my concerns about the past and future and more
fully participate in what I’m doing at the moment. My energy and interest are
renewed, and I become more present. When I am present, I don’t have resistance
to what I’m doing, and don’t feel as drained.”
Roxanne added, “When I remember and apply the Principles, I
see that they really benefit how I relate to others, and to myself.” She
continued, “Often Single Moment/Single Activity reminds me to take the time to
actually look at and listen to others. I can slow down the chatter in my mind
racing to jump in with what I intend to say, and simply be open to receiving
not only what the other person is saying, but how they are and how I am. Then,
instead of a ready-made conversation based on past expectations and
preferences, there’s a more meaningful exchange.”
The workshop takes place at Motion in Balance Studio,
located at 219 Legion Way SW, Suite 203–A. A free experiential Open House
evening, where participants can receive a mini-session and find out more,
precedes the workshop on Friday, June 19 from 7-9 at the same location.
Continuing Education is offered
for massage therapists and bodyworkers. Registration is available by calling or
emailing the Breema Center at 510-428-0937 or center@breema.com, or online by
going to the website at www.breema.com.
