Gentle bodywork to connect to your body and emotions
The Rosen Method is a form of bodywork developed by Marion Rosen. It is a holistic approach that aims to release tension and promote relaxation by bringing awareness to the body and its patterns of holding. The method combines gentle touch, guided movement, and empathic dialogue to facilitate the release of physical and emotional stress. Rosen Method can be beneficial for a range of chronic conditions, including MS.
Rosen Method and MS
The Rosen Method can help people with multiple sclerosis address the physical and emotional effects of stress on the body. When the body is under stress, it can create patterns of holding, tension, and restriction that can become habitual and limit movement and flexibility. These patterns can also impact the brain's neural connections, creating rigid pathways that can reinforce limiting beliefs and muscle tension.
For most people with MS, stress exacerbates symptoms of MS. The Rosen Method can help you learn to recognize and release patterns stress and muscle tension. This gentle bodywork method combines touch, movement, and dialogue to help break these patterns of holding. The method can help you develop a greater awareness of your body and the ways in which it moves, which in turn, can promote new neural connections and break down old patterns of holding. By promoting the brain's plasticity and breaking holding patterns, you can develop greater flexibility, resilience, and adaptability in both body and mind.
Watch the Video!
In this Creating Health presentation, Bill Samsel, a local Rosen Method practitioner, will walk us through several exercises to help us begin to understand how to address muscle tension differently and effectively.
Bill is a certified Rosen method bodywork practitioner and teacher who has been practicing this work for 40 years. He explained to the group how this method is a process-oriented approach that uses touch and words to meet the contractions and tightness in the body. Through touch, the practitioner aims to let the client experience the part of the holding they are not conscious of. Awareness is a crucial part of the process. While most sessions are done on a massage table, Bill guided us through a few exercises from the comfort of our chairs.
The first exercise involves contracting a foot or a hand for a few moments and then releasing it while observing the changes in awareness. The second exercise focuses on noticing the breath and how it moves through the body without changing anything. You will notice that Bill did not dictate how we should breathe but rather encourages us to notice our breathing patterns. The goal being - to allow the body to breathe in the way it wants to breathe.
I hope you found this presentation helpful. You can find more presentations in the Creating Health Series here.
