There it was…
The moment I realized that the ‘me’ I met that day
was very lost and out of touch with home
Why had I run away from myself?
My journey to welcome my body home and take better care of myself started in 2005. I was a performing artist back then. And I was struggling with a very negative self-image, chronic feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety, and a growing number of intolerances to food, light, sound, and fabrics. My (already sensitive) nervous system was close to burnout but back then I could not see that. Until that one day, I took a trial session with a colleague dancer who was training to become a Feldenkrais somatic movement educator.
“When you witness without judgement, how you move, behave and imagine yourself to be in the world, you can initiate change.
Change can happen by learning to become aware through enjoyable movements that may bring to light personal details about yourself you never knew.”
Moshe Feldenkrais
That day I became painfully aware of how I had lost connection with most of myself. My body had lost its natural mobility and sensuality. I realized that I had not only lost touch with myself but also with my deepest passion to dance and move through life: the curiosity and wonder, feeling the flow of life in all its flavors, fragrances, sensations, and colors, and most of all how in dance I could enjoy being myself and expressing myself freely, spontaneously and creatively. The tough years at Dance and Art School, and all the years I struggled with self-esteem, self-doubt, food, and feeling safe in myself, had certainly left their mark. It dawned on me that my weakened ability to clearly feel and respect my energetic and physical boundaries had taken its toll on my nervous system and body over the years.
The Awareness Through Movement class on that sunny winter afternoon awakened a forgotten feeling deep inside; a memory of a time when I felt whole, full of life, safe, and at ease to be myself and to inhabit my body. In this first session, I already experienced how spacious, peaceful, and relaxed my body could feel when I didn’t criticize myself, push myself, blame my body for how I felt, and judge it for not being perfect. And that sensation was priceless after years of tension, anxiety, low energy, and feeling overwhelmed. My body wanted more and so did I!
Soon after, I signed up for the 4-year teacher training program to become a Feldenkrais somatic movement educator myself. What touched me the most was that after so many years I anew felt sensations of uninhibited pleasure and wonder and security and quiet. I felt safe in my body and at home with myself again.
I discovered that the more I paused from time to time to listen within myself and be present in my body, the more I could sense my emotional and physical needs and set clear energetic and physical boundaries accordingly. Changing from ‘using’ my body to being in my body helped me regain my natural fluidity, strenght and sensuality.
In the years that followed, I chose ways to dance and care for myself that nurtured my authentic, uninhibited, playful inner sparkle. I discovered how to move comfortably through my emotional and sensational universe again, using the wisdom of my wild, wise body as a compass. And how by moving attentively to the rhythms of my body and soul, I could now make choices that were in tune with my heart. Choices that helped me become the radiant, vibrant woman I am today.
This journey has given me the spark to help other women who have lost themselves. I guide them to feel safe and comfortable to be themselves again, by inviting their wise, wild body back home, trusting its wisdom, and embracing its guidance. So that they can create a beautiful life with what they have and who they are.
Modalities for somatic movement education in which I am certified
Feldenkrais method® for neuro-sensory movement education and coaching
NIA holistic sensory-based vitality program black belt
Chakradance somatic movement therapy
Organ Rebalancing
Coaching and therapy modalities in which I am certified
Body-Centered Energetic Therapy
Chakra Segment massage bodywork
Quantum Human Design®
Expressive dance & arts
Soul Realignment®
Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner (NLP)®
Modalities I have immersed myself in and practice deeply
Organic Intelligence Post Trauma training
Focusing method by Gene Gendlin
Intuitive Family Constellation ritual