Breema is a holistic system consisting of Breema bodywork, Self-Breema actions, and the 9 Rules of Concord. All three facets, however particularly the 9 Rules, are a help for being current in each bodywork follow and in every day life.
My Journey to Breema
The primary types of bodywork I ever realized had been modalities by which I merely let my arms relaxation on the recipient and allowed steadiness and concord to emerge. My academics of those approaches emphasised making bodily contact with the shopper and simply being current.
As a meditator since childhood, this bare-bones “being with” strategy resonated, I felt refreshed and enlivened by giving, and recipients had been relaxed and grateful. Enthused by these experiences, my curiosity in bodywork grew to incorporate approaches with extra physicality and particular intentions, like Shiatsu and neuromuscular therapies.
Earlier than I knew it, I used to be enrolled in therapeutic massage college with a robust want to be in service to others. All through this era, I eagerly absorbed the whole lot I might examine therapeutic massage and bodywork, and attended workshop after workshop.
Nonetheless, once I started working towards therapeutic massage, I rapidly noticed that though I used to be nonetheless extraordinarily enthusiastic concerning the work, one thing was lacking. I used to be continually striving to seek out that former simplicity of simply being current with shoppers in my early days of bodywork.
I began to develop persistent ache in my thoracic backbone, aching arms, and intense, day-long complications that had been clearly tied to the bodily calls for of the work. All the time one to follow self-care, I took this all in stride for fairly some time. I turned very adept at giving myself remedies and made time in my schedule for getting common massages.
Nonetheless, I felt {that a} extra sustainable means needed to be doable.
Then, within the fall of 2001, I attended my first Breema Intensive. Known as “The Artwork of Being Current.” I examine it beforehand, and was instantly intrigued by one of many system’s foremost tenets: Practitioners might be nourished as they gave remedies, that they may obtain as they gave. May this be true? I sincerely hoped so, however till I spent a while working with what was offered, I didn’t know for myself.
Now I do.
The impact of these courses created a kind of a quiet revolution in my work with shoppers.
First, the intensive was deeply replenishing. Past studying among the bodywork—which I did certainly expertise as a simultaneous giving and receiving—I went residence having realized a number of Self-Breema workout routines. I can’t over-state the worth of this.
The 9 Rules of Concord
Self-Breema gave me a instrument to follow working with the 9 Rules of Concord in a means that allowed that point to be fully for myself. This was foundational in bringing what I had realized into my work with shoppers, and it was the lacking factor that had begun to make my therapeutic massage follow much less satisfying and even difficult.
I had wanted to incorporate myself, and Breema supplied a really clear and sensible path for doing that.
After my introduction to this holistic system, I took it upon myself to make use of one of many 9 Rules of Concord as a help for being current in my follow and in every day life over the next 9 weeks, specializing in one precept every week.
The 9 Rules are:
1. Physique Snug
2. No Further
3. Firmness and Gentleness
4. Full Participation
5. Mutual Help
6. No Judgment
7. Single Second/Single Exercise
8. No Hurry/No Pause
9. No Drive
The primary week, I selected Physique Snug, which is a cornerstone precept. This was excellent, as I occurred to have plenty of shoppers that week.
In the future included a home name with six hours of remedies and no important breaks. Firstly of that significantly busy day, I acquired up early to be nourished by doing Self-Breema. As I sat on a firmly padded rug in my remedy room, I let my physique rock side-to-side, shifting my arms down the size of my legs and leaning some weight in at every location.
As I continued, there was a rising ease on this pure motion, my thoughts turned quiet, and there was a way of calm success. Incrementally, I allowed my physique to regulate to essentially the most comfy approach to transfer. Once I completed, it was nearly like I had simply gotten up from receiving a remedy.
Spending time this fashion helped carry the precept of Physique Snug into my workday.
Once I sat down on the desk for my first shopper, I remembered that I might embrace myself and took a second to register one inhalation and one exhalation earlier than making contact. All through the session, I periodically acknowledged once I had forgotten body-mind connection. At these occasions, I continued to do the actual approach or motion I used to be doing, however now as if it was a Self-Breema train.
For instance, I got here to the exercise of my physique leaning again as I held my shopper’s arm, and skilled the scrumptious aliveness of permitting my physique to maneuver within the path of what was most comfy for me. In excellent steadiness, this helped cue me in to what was comfy for my recipient. By the top of that first remedy, I noticed that as a substitute of being a bit drained, I used to be crammed up with vitality and able to proceed.
The subsequent week, I selected No Drive. I seen that when working to launch set off factors and different restricted comfortable tissues, remembering No Drive introduced me first to the expertise of my very own physique.
As soon as I used to be engaged on a shopper’s trapezius and out of the blue noticed how a lot the idea of separation was there—the thought of me working to eliminate rigidity. I skilled rigidity in my very own shoulders, and as I registered my entire physique shifting with No Drive as a tenet, most of that rigidity merely dropped away. As this occurred, I might extra simply sense my shopper’s comfortable tissue releasing, with much less bodily power wanted from me. I skilled being in a dance-like relationship, relatively than a “me fixing him” function.
On the primary day of working towards the precept of No Hurry/No Pause, I discovered myself standing exterior the remedy room, ready for my shopper to be prepared. I say “discovered myself,” however extra succinctly, suddenly I noticed that I’d been misplaced in ideas.
That’s once I got here to the load of my physique and breath and there was a shift to being obtainable.
When my shopper indicated that she was prepared, I skilled strolling towards the door and opening it with Full Participation. It was as if I used to be even benefiting from these seemingly mundane actions, by being current. Throughout our session, I used to be reminded to return residence to my physique once more when ideas got here to the foreground.
As my thumbs had been gliding by way of my shopper’s forearm extensors, the precept of Single Second/Single Exercise was spontaneously alive. It was as if I had all the time on this planet, and solely this one exercise to do.
I used to be nourished by that change, and skilled the Mutual Help in it. It was throughout this week that I actually started to get what I had heard on the Breema Intensive: that the rules had been hologenic, every one containing all of the others. Generally I’d expertise one precept after one other, and at different occasions, I’d acknowledge their interconnectedness.
This was the case the next week. Speaking with a shopper after her remedy, I noticed that my thoughts had checked out, as if part of me thought that because the remedy was carried out, I didn’t actually must be current. That got here as a little bit of a shock, and introduced me to expertise my toes on the ground.
No Judgment was wanted, and that wasn’t merely theoretical. I skilled an environment of No Judgment as I now listened to her with Full Participation. Simply as I had skilled in Breema courses, my impression was that I used to be each giving and receiving within the midst of on a regular basis dialog as we wrapped up and stated our goodbyes. As she left, I had real gratitude, as a result of I noticed that she had supplied me with a valuable alternative to be in service to her whereas additionally serving to me to stay linked to myself.
After that week, I more and more seen that though I had a “theme precept,” I typically remembered quite a lot of them in every day.
One afternoon, I used to be doing a Breema bodywork remedy with a shopper. Each her legs had been comfortably draped over my upright leg. My left hand was resting on her stomach with Firmness and Gentleness, and my proper hand was holding her toes in the identical means.
Staying with Firmness and Gentleness gave my thoughts an ongoing focus as I allowed my physique to be comfy all through this specific sequence of rocking actions, leans, brushes and holds.
I might really feel my shopper settling in, her physique turned very relaxed, and her respiration deepened. I quietly completed and left the room so she might have time to digest.
Very slowly she opened the door, and with out talking, sat down and nearly instantly started crying. In a short while, what sounded sorrowful started to sound like tears of reduction. I skilled my physique standing, simply taking within the room and easily wishing to permit her to undergo her expertise.
After a couple of minutes, she took a breath and advised me that in the course of the remedy she had skilled an incredible quantity of grief about her mom’s demise, which she had by no means expressed earlier than. When that had handed, she got here to a deep sense of peace, and when she moved to face up, it was like she had landed in her physique for the primary time.
Sitting within the chair, she stated that for the primary time in six months she additionally had no sciatic ache. By additional contacts along with her, I knew that it didn’t return.
I don’t embrace these particulars to present the impression that Breema can repair any specific ailment. Nonetheless, by working towards the 9 Rules throughout classes I see the environment they foster has the potential to create a profound degree of acceptance by which therapeutic and transformation are doable.
Because the practitioner brings him- or herself to steadiness and their vitality is nurtured, the recipient can be supported to return to a extra balanced state by which they’re deeply nourished.
When my shopper completed talking, we had been each silent for a minute, after which I nearly stated one thing, however on the final second I remembered my precept of the week, Firmness and Gentleness. As I stood there, I turned current and knew I used to be standing. I had readability sufficient to see that what I had nearly stated was really not crucial.
It was additional, and No Further was wanted.
Once I did converse, I knew what the very best help was to present. I thanked her for her openness and for confiding in me, and we hugged and stated goodbye till subsequent time.
Concord Begins with Myself
As I end writing, I see that as a therapeutic massage therapist, I’ve a priceless alternative to help others. By utilizing the 9 Rules, I can concurrently profit from that change in a means that’s pure, significant, and typically even transformational.
Not solely have the rules been an unlimited help for educating me be current whereas doing all sorts of therapeutic massage and bodywork, they’ve given me instruments that permit that work be restorative and sustainable.
Additionally, I’m grateful to have realized what was lacking early on in my therapeutic massage profession—me!
I now know that I might be each nourished by doing my job and discover concord in how I do it as effectively, and all of it begins with myself.
Concerning the Writer
David Pratt, LMT, is a licensed Breema Teacher and co-founder of True Nature Holistic Retreats in Ohio, the place he and his spouse, Alana, provide retreats together with therapeutic massage, bodywork, yoga, meditation and Self-Breema courses. Go to The Breema Middle’s web site for details about the upcoming Winter Intensive.