by Cinnamon Cranston
Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner
– Originally published in Mosaic Magazine May 2018 edition.
What does it mean to have self-compassion? For me self-compassion occurs any time I choose to act with kindness, love, gentleness or sensitivity towards myself.
This sounds simple but it has taken the greater part of my life to learn. Of course I understood the idea of compassion early on in my healing journey, however, the act of self-compassion was much harder for me to actualize than I hoped it would be. I was always at battle with the stern, driven and critical voice within me that wanted to be in charge, pushing me forward in an endless pursuit to fix whatever was wrong and there was always something wrong!
It wasn’t until I discovered Rosen Method Bodywork (RMB) in 2008 that I learned how this critical voice inside me came to be in the first place. After attending Rosen Method Intensives and receiving RMB sessions I began to discern that this voice inside was a necessary aspect of my survival learned early on in life when I did not have the power to change my circumstances. By taking on the blame for my own suffering I was attempting to take control of my experience, manage it and ultimately survive it. Much to my surprise my body held the clues to my hidden past.
Rosen Method Bodywork uses a listening touch, both present and responsive, along with affirmative words to invite deep relaxation and self-awareness in the body. With increased embodied awareness people begin to develop the capacity to integrate past experiences more fully and therefore gain a greater awareness of themselves in the present moment and openness to the possibilities of wellbeing.
The Rosen Method practitioner has been trained to contact and connect with people’s conscious awareness of themselves and encourages their awareness of any holding patterns that are unconsciously held in their body. The practitioner follows subtle changes in the client’s breath and nervous system, as well as muscle and fluid movement, supporting the possibility of shifts and changes. These subtle changes can be a doorway into the recovery of a person’s capacity to experience themselves for who they truly are.
What Rosen Method helped me remember was the truth of my lived experience. I have come to know aspects of myself previously hidden from my consciousness (such as unmet needs, fear, anger and rage, deep sadness, disgust as well as my natural impulses for joy, vitality and self-expression, and a deep connection to universal love) that all had to be suppressed within my body in order to exist in the circumstances I was living in at the time.
Through the support of the Rosen Method practitioner or teacher I was able to integrate these hidden aspects of my past experiences and release the belief I had as a child of thinking I was responsible for the circumstances I was in. I also came to accept that I was naturally dependent upon my parents for my physical and emotional needs, and that I was absolutely powerless over the imperfect parenting I received and the traumatic circumstances I was born into.
By fully feeling and accepting my past experiences with the supportive and loving presence of a RMB practitioner, I have developed the capacity to trust my body to move me toward self-compassion and feelings of love, safety and infinite value. Although I am now a practitioner in the work myself I still continue to receive sessions, ever expanding more into the person I truly am.
Cinnamon is a Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner and the Co-owner of the Rosen Method Institute Canada. Contact her at cinnamon@rosenmethod.ca or 780-203-5159.
Note: This information is for educational purposes only. It’s intended to supplement your current health program, not to replace the care of a licensed medical doctor. Thoroughly research all topics for yourself.