This method changed my life. Period. It is amazing and I want to highly recommend the Rosenmethod to anyone who wants relaxation, want to get in touch with their body and release stress and tension and find a renewed sense of well-being within. The method can go deep into the body and heal chronic muscle tensions as well as provide a nice hour of relaxation. Basically what ever your body needs and is ready to accomplish.
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| Marion Rosen |
I came across the method in Copenhagen when I met Bjørn Herold Olsen, the founder of the Danish course center for the Rosenmethod, also a life-long supporter of Maharaji and his peace message (see post on Maharaji) and needed some exposure for the technique and the school, so I agreed to get a free session and write about it. And boy did I get something to write about...
It is fair to say that this first session is one of the biggest turning points in my life. In hindsight I had become so detached from my body that I wasn't really feeling the sensation of being in my body. I guess the best way to describe it was that I was living in my head and from the neck down my body was a mechanical instrument that served daily purposes.
I went into the session with an open mind (an a closed body). Bjørn asked me to undress as much as I felt comfortable (so bras and knickers it was) and lay flat on my belly. His hands felt warm and gentle as they started searching across my back and the back of my legs. Something happens when somebody touches you. That is why massage is so affective. It brings your awareness to that part of the body that is touched and allows you to feel it.
This was something which was new to me. I became aware of how limited my breath was, how utterly restricted and tight it felt. Bjørn noticed it too, by gently commenting on the fact that my breath seemed a little nervous. And as the session progressed and he worked his way deeper into my muscles I realised I was carrying a big metal shield around on my back. I had literally created muscle tensions so hard across my back to protect myself (my heart) that it felt like a plate, hard as iron.
Bjørn was making me aware of the toughness of the shield by putting all his weight onto the shield. It didn't even move. It was rock hard. And believe me our bodies aren't meant to be rock hard... they are meant to be soft and subtle. So he asked me what my relationship was like with my parents and I started telling him about my childhood, being a divorced child, living half the time with my mum and half the time with my dad.
And how was that? he asked, and then I could feel the shield tighten up. It was hard. And yes it had been hard. I began describing feelings that I had carried around for so long, that the story felt like a steadfast companion. But I realised there wasn't any need for me to carry this story and these emotions around anymore. I realised I had build the shield to guard my heart. It was a simple form of protection I guess. A protection mechanism. Perfectly normal in a rational sense, but not very helpful in a physical sense.
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| Bjørn Herold Olsen with a client |
Now Bjørn put all his weight into the same spot on my back and I could feel the whole house shaking. My body was so used to holding this tension and using so much energy on holding this shield up, that it felt like it was going to collapse if I tried to let it go. And Bjørn said: it feels like your whole world will fall down if you let go of this shield. And then the tears came. Yes, that reminded me of how I felt as a child. It felt as if I had to be strong otherwise the whole world would crash down and I would loose everything (the love of my Mum and Dad).
So how do you let go of 20 years of build up tensions? Do you shout, cry, laugh or piss yourself?
I didn't know what to do. But I felt it and accepted it. Then it was as if a strip of light came thru the shield - it felt like the brightest light breaking thru a cave wall. Bjørn had been able to make a crack in the shield. And I knew that I had opened up, that I had taken the first step to healing my body and moving away from the shield.
The session had been intense. And I had released a lot of tension Bjørn told me. He explained how the body functions on a much slower and deeper level than our rationality. That is why we must approach the body in its own language with feeling and touch and awareness, so it can take its time to heal and replenish itself.
In the following weeks I could feel the tension easing up a little and I was much more aware of my breathing and regularly took breaks just to breathe full breaths. Oh and I wrote an article that was published in a well known women's magazine, which brought several new costumers and students to the school, so that was a double success.
Learn more about the Rosen Method here: www.rosenmethod.org
And this is the Danish site and center for learning lead by Bjørn Herold Olsen and his wife Dorrit:
www.rosenmetoden.dk
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