In the healthy human being the physical body, the flow of life processes, the soul life and the spiritual aspect of us are in harmony.
In an illness this constellation of forces is in imbalance.
Therapeutically guided movement can bring the physical, soul and spirit aspects of you to again work harmoniously together.
Apart from our conversation about your general health history, we might also touch upon the destiny part in regards to health and illness, as this is always in the forefront. This helps me to create an initial therapy plan benefitting you the most as an introduction to movement medicine, eurythmy therapy. This therapy plan could include for example gestures, spatial movement activities, rhythm work.
Therapeutically guided movement can bring the physical, soul and spirit aspects of you to again work harmoniously together.
Individual Eurythmy Sessions use movement as the therapeutic tool.
The basic elements of this therapy are the sounds of speech and music transformed into gestures and movements.
The sounds of words and music manifests in distinct gestures and movements, which bring our life organization i.e. our physiological processing into vibration.
All human beings, in all ages and with all abilities can do these gestures and movements supporting a fructifying salutogenic, health bringing process into motion within us.
This supports our four-fold organization of the physical, life/etheric, soul/astral and higher self/spirit-organisations to connect and flow with each other energetically.
Each vowel and each consonant in our speech as well as each tone and interval in music, carries a distinct movement quality and is effectively related to inner physiological life processes of our organs, restoring balance in the life/etheric organization, regulating and bringing to awareness our soul dynamics and therewith reconnecting with our guiding higher self.
Therewith our focus of our life purpose and destiny path is restored and can continue to be discovered and re-engaged.
The benefits of Eurythmy Therapy
Feel empowered
You are actively involved in the healing process.
The eurythmy therapy exercises will connect you to your body and soul.
This will energize you and engage the source of your existence, your higher self.
Home practice
You will be given written and drawn instructions.
These instructions usually make it more available for you to practice independently at home in between sessions.
The home practice of the movement medicine is a commitment to your self.
When you repeat and enter into the exercises on your own, the strengthening of your own forces will increase.
Tailor-made
Initially the exercises given to you are developed to fit your specific individual needs of what is needed as a basis.
These initial exercises might change in frequency or in totality as you enter the next sessions.
As I meet you as an individual and each lesson is unique. We will most likely repeat the previous exercises, add new elements to them, add one or more new exercises or at times an exercise needs to be put on the shelf for the moment.
Future proof
Let the movement medicine, eurythmy therapy, become your healing companion on the pathway towards health.
Eurythmy therapy guides us through an overall understanding and support of the higher self.
Through your engagement with the eurythmy therapy exercises your higher self is enabled to work with you creating support in illnesses and directing you to health through salutogenic life changes.
Duration
For a child the average session is about 20-30 minutes, depending on rest and ability, which includes a rest.
For an adult the session the average session is about 50 minutes, which includes a rest.
7-10 sessions continuously are usually recommended.
Usually it is recommended for once per week, but this is individual and at times two times per week might be needed for an initial two to three weeks so that the movement therapy is properly engaged. This might mean that the duration of the lesson is shorter.
The frequency and continuity is supporting you to make the implementation of your commitment to create change for and by yourself deeper and more meaningful with my support.
Cost
For your child the cost for a 20-30 minute session is between NZ$45-55.
For you the cost for a 50 minute session is NZ$85.
Alternative session times and/or charges may be negotiable upon patient request.
What's the process?
Conversation
I invite you to a sharing of your and/or your child's biography, looking at health and illness, strength and challenges, areas of trauma, areas of birth, of relationships.
We would look at the biography and picture it as it stands before you today.
In seeing this picture we will research the avenues of possibilities of what I can offer through the eurythmy therapy.
I am offering to support the biography to unfold, and to discover through the gestures and movements how you can be supported to create flow, rhythm, energy and boundary.
These aspects will alleviate, give relief, give an opening to take hold of new aspects of ourselves.
There is now a possibility to have a feeling that hindrances have been removed and new steps can now be taken.
You and/or your child have now taken the steps towards making space for your higher self, your true self to shine through.
Our conversation is confidential, however, with your permission, it might be necessary for me to contact your GP etc. to clarify medical questions that I would have before we start our work together.
Movement exercises
These eurythmy therapy exercises are based on our use and understanding of how we relate ourselves to the space around us.
I would say it is an extension of our proprioceptive, the awareness of our physical body in space.
This extension leads us to explore spatial awareness and for this we will use the three directions (right/left, above/below, forward/backward) in space as well as many transformational geometric formations for example triangles.
All these aspects are always transformed to your individual needs and abilities, i.e. all aspects can be experienced sitting in a chair or standing close to a wall for support for example.
Therapeutic sound
Specific therapeutic sound sequence
The basic elements of this therapy are the sounds of speech and music transformed into gestures and movements.
The sounds of words and music manifests in distinct gestures and movements, which bring our life organization i.e. our physiological processing into vibration.
Each vowel and each consonant in our speech as well as each tone and interval in music, carries a distinct movement quality and is effectively related to inner physiological life processes of our organs, restoring balance in the life/etheric organization, regulating and bringing to awareness our soul dynamics and therewith reconnecting with our guiding higher self.
The founder of eurythmy therapy, Rudolf Steiner, also initiated specific sequences of sounds and tones/intervals to create a living relationship to an illness and therewith support a restoration to health as much as the karmic aspects of our lives will allow.
All the gestures will be presented to you in its archetypic nature and thereafter will be individualized for your eurythmy therapy treatment plan.
Rest
I will let you and/or your child have a brief pause in between each exercise and a longer rest of 5-10 minutes at the end of the session, either seated or lying down, and I see it as an essential aspect to the whole eurythmy therapy process.
I will indicate and encourage that a quiet, introspective pause takes place after each sound gesture sequence and spatial movement activity. Of course I will taylor this based on age (as when working with younger children) and previous engagement in the eurythmy therapy sessions.
Your longer rest at the end of the session, either seated or lying down, takes place in silence as your whole being will be deepening the integration process on a subconscious level. Some people even go to sleep for this time.
I usually take this time to take down a few notes from our session, write and draw a suggested exercises for your home program to engage with until next session.
I will wake you up gently and then we will engage in the Centering Check part.
Centering check
After waking you up gently, I will check in with you how you are feeling after the rest. You might have had some insights or physical experiences that you like to share with me.
We will go over the written directions and drawings of the suggested exercises for your home program so that you can ask questions to be clear about what to do at home.
I will be asking you before you leave if you feel connected to your body again and engaged with the usual senses, feeling centred, calm and alert, so that you can return to the regular daily activities, i.e. drive off in your car.
I also encourage you to communicate with me if you like clarifications throughout the week as you are working on your home program.
Could you benefit from Eurythmy Therapy?
It seems to me that those human beings who have had eurythmy therapy have all benefited from engaging in a thoughtful, meditative way with gestures and with the movement.
As an adult we can see ourselves more objectively. When we start doing the eurythmy therapy gestures and movements in space it will give us not only new enlivening forces but also imbues us with a sense of caring for my self. When we work with the eurythmy therapy the effect can be that of taking ourselves by the hand, guide ourselves into a higher relationship to my higher self. At times this is the work and the outcome is manifold and mysterious. I believe that when an adult is working with the eurythmy therapy, taking it on board in a serious and yet with warm enthusiasm way, next steps in the adults destiny and karma can be unblocked- new meetings take place, the adult can now be free of old thinking and is able to see things in a new way, healing can start from inside out.
Eurythmy therapy seems to me to benefit all physiologic illness as well as mental health challenges in all ages. In general I would say that the eurythmy therapy gives preventative, salutogenic, energizing forces as eurythmy works directly with the ether organization, our life organization or chi, prana. From the ether organization via the gesture and movement, the energy medicine streams into the areas which need healing and balancing.
I also offer eurythmy therapy as a preventative and holistic support to prepare you for an operation, travel, life changes in general.
Here are some examples of indications in adults.
- Allergies
- Addictions
- Aggression
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Alzheimer's
- Arthritis
- Back problems
- Cancer
- Circulation problems
- Colitis
- Crohn’s Disease
- Dementia
- Dental and mouth health
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Digestive issues
- Epilepsy
- Female health issues
- Fibromyalgia
- General sense of lack of well being
- Heart disease
- Headaches
- Liver issues
- Kidney diseases
- Male health issues
- Mental Health issues
- Migraines
- Miscarriages
- Motivation
- Multiple Sclerosis
- OCD
- Paralysis (Polio)
- Parkinson’s
- Sleep issues
- Stress and stress related issues
- Support after a stroke
- Thyroid issues/hypo/hyper
- Trauma
- Varicose veins and leg issues
- Weight issues
Could your child benefit from Eurythmy Therapy?
For your baby, held by you, the parent, and your little bit older child, sitting on your lap, the child gets your support as you will be doing the eurythmy therapy gestures around your child or while holding your child's hands. Children a bit older, let's say 5 years and upwards are encouraged to join in with your encouragement in doing all the gestures with me guiding you.
Eurythmy therapy seems to me to benefit all physiologic illness as well as mental health challenges in all ages. In general I would say that the eurythmy therapy gives preventative, salutogenic, energizing forces as eurythmy works directly with the ether organization, our life organization or chi, prana. From the ether organization via the gesture and movement, the energy medicine streams into the areas which need healing and balancing.
Here are some examples of indications in children.
- Allergies
- Addictions
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Autism
- Back problem i.e. Scoliosis
- Bedwetting
- Cancer
- Cerebral Palsy
- Constipation
- Dental issues
- Developmental delay
- Diabetes, juvenile
- Digestive metabolic issues
- Eating issues
- Epilepsy
- Fear
- Fatigue
- Hay-fever
- Heart issues
- Headaches
- Hypoactivity
- Hyperactivity
- Kidney issues
- Lack of dexterity
- Learning challenges
- Nightmares
- Oversensitivity
- Separation issues (from parent)
- Sleep issues
- Stress
- Trauma
The history of Eurythmy Therapy
Eurythmy therapy is a movement therapy, a sister therapy to the other Anthroposophic artistic and medical therapies, such as painting, singing, embrocations (oil massage) under the umbrella of Anthroposophic Medicine.
Eurythmy Therapy was developed in 1921 by Dr. Rudolf Steiner and in collaboration with the doctors who had entered a new understanding of the human being through Anthroposophy and its renewal of the medicine- the threefold understanding of the human being as of body, soul, spirit.
However, in 1911-12 the art of eurythmy was first developed and is an integral part of an eurythmy therapist's training, with the artistic eurythmy gestures modified to serve as an intensification of the healing aspect of all eurythmy gestures and movements.
When one looks into the beginnings of eurythmy in 1911-12, and later on when Rudolf Steiner worked with the teachers at the first Steiner school, inaugurated in Stuttgart, Germany in 1919, he also gave many pedagogic-therapeutic indications for children in need of special support of the threefold human being.
Today there are many trainings globally for fully diplomaed eurythmists to enter the field of movement medicine- eurythmy therapy- and engage in a part or full time training with practicums in praxises, hospitals and schools, under the mentorship of an experienced eurythmy therapist.
Would you like to find out more about Eurythmy Therapy?
Please check out these websites.
Rudolf Steiner
The Austrian-born scientist, philosopher and artist, Rudolf Steiner found that his own spiritual development and experiences lead him to undertake an understanding of the human being- a three-folding comprised of body, soul, and spirit. He named this spiritual element of his work Anthroposophy- Knowledge of the human being.
His work extended into many areas and he lectured for many years in Europe to intimate groups of 8 or 10 people to the many hundreds of workmen at places like the Waldorf Astoria. The subjects varied but many were on medicine, therapies and substances to make remedies; into the biodynamic agriculture, bee keeping and farming practices relating the earth again to the heavenly spheres; pedagogy and the early, formative years of the child; the arts and the sciences.