Contents (click to jump):

• Background
• Methodologies
• Bottom Line
  
• Biography + Contact

In the "Holistic" sense, our spirit inhabits our body. In the physical sense, our mind, in all its aspects, stretches from the brain into the body through our nervous and hormonal systems. The nervous system, which is an extension of the brain, infiltrates every inch of our body. The hormonal system is comprised of glands that secret hormones, which inform the most remote cells of our body.

When we are stressed, the mind notifies the body to get ready for action - freeze/fight/escape etc. If you have ever been in an "almost accident", you can recall your whole body "filling up" with adrenalin, and after the incident passes, "drains out" of it. You do not feel the adrenalin, rather you feel the affect it has on your muscles, your heartbeat, and many other systems.

This fight/flight mechanism is wonderful to have. However, sometimes we interpret reality according to old experiences, and not according to what is happening right now. Due to old reactive patterns we adopted, we respond to current reality with "get ready for action!". Chronic stress comes not from following this momentum, but from holding it back, knowing/imagining that our reaction is "not polite"/"not necessary"/"too much" etc. With time, we get used to this double reaction, and we get into a pattern that blocks our body from health.

In this day and age of technology, western man has increased his easiness of living along side almost doubling his life expectancy. On the other hand, technology also demands us to use our brains in a very logical and orderly manner. We have forgotten we are living feeling breathing bodies that work according to the magic of nature, rather than the strict logic of science. Because of this conditioning, we have stopped listening to our sensations and feelings, and have commenced controlling them in a way that does not befit their mechanism. This is the source of many mental and physical ailments: a forcefully controlled area of the body does not get the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, and infections and other disorders find it easier to infiltrate it.

Somatic work is aimed at "bringing us back home"; to "feel comfortable in our skin"; to find balance between outside logical reality, and inner homeostasis; to find balance between thinking and feeling; to be able to work with our feelings and sensations rather than suppress them somewhere in the body; to combine logical thinking with living reality. The mind remembers or imagines - the body lives here and now.

Over the years I have combined Dance/Movement, Martial Arts, and Bodywork as tools to train persons (young and adult) to use their body; to create more "life" in them; to alleviate physical and emotional patterns; to ground them in reality; to enjoy life more.

Martial Arts gives a person concrete actions to do with his body - i.e. self defense Katas. It is a great way to spend the "fight/flight" energy we accumulate with our stress patterns. It is also a great way to become more self confident and grounded. It is great for work with children because it gives them a clear frame of reference to work with their bodies and their emotions.

Dance & movement in general, are more abstract, thus allowing a person to express their sub-lingual text, their "hidden movements" - the ones they could not express at the office or in school when they got upset by something, or imagined something they really wanted. The process of turning our inhibited movements and expressions into "dance" movements awakens the process of integration of the emotions and feelings that are their motivation. We get to learn to express ourselves, know ourselves better, and "clean" ourselves.

Bodywork is an outside intervention to open flow in stuck/unused body areas, to train a person to give attention to the inner senses of his body, and learn from them. Through breathing, touch, and movement, the instructor/therapist connects the person with his whole being.