“This work is about transformation ~ from the person we think we are to the person we really are. In the end, we can’t be anyone else.” – Marion Rosen
A Rosen Method Movement class is a rare opportunity in my daily routine to have the experience of moving my body the way it was designed to move.
Marion Rosen, the founder of Rosen Method Bodywork, also designed a movement component to her somatic based therapy. Using her physiotherapist and somatic background, Marion created Rosen Method Movement as a way to help people re-awaken their capacity to move with ease and to inhabit themselves with awareness and self-compassion.
The hallmark of Rosen Method Movement is the simplicity of the movements which, supported by music, invite freedom of movement. Rosen Method Movement classes use simple, physical therapy based movements that invite the possibility of remembering our body’s intrinsic ability for moving with greater ease, inner support and aliveness. Marion knew that the possibility for deep, lasting transformation within a person lay in their ability to experience themselves inside their bodies and allow themselves to rest in that awareness instead of avoiding it, as most people are used to doing. Modern life has created a society of people living as human “doings” rather than human “beings,” depriving themselves from the incredible resource that is their very own bodies.
Rosen Method Movement classes allow people to release the chronic or habitual, physical holding patterns in their bodies and in the process, rediscover the joy of movement. Rosen Method Movement encourages natural, free breathing and uses gentle stretching, swinging and exercises to improve body alignment and flexibility. During each class the joints of the body are moved through their full range of motion in a way that invites sensory awareness. This means that the movements are designed to allow the body to move with ease and awareness instead of effort and performance. The effect is restorative and liberating.
After participating in Rosen Method Movement classes over the years I have become aware of how I take my postural habits (how I have had to carry myself in this world) with me as I move. Now it is clearer to me exactly why I experienced repeated injury in certain areas of my body. Lacking internal awareness of my joints, I would often move my body without proper muscle differentiation. This created overcompensations by larger muscle groups and muscle weakness in the deeper muscle groups, resulting habitual injury. Rosen Method Movement has helped me to regain a sense of structural support and proper muscle function from within my body and as a result I can move out into the world with a deep internal sense of ease and well-being.
In addition to improved body awareness, Rosen Method Movement has returned to me the experience of moving with playfulness, gentleness and aliveness. Not since I was a young child have I allowed myself to move with such a sense of authenticity. In my adult life I have mostly moved with a sense of getting things done and working hard or on the opposite end of the spectrum, complete collapse on the couch because I have nothing left.
I have also discovered more recently during a Rosen Method Movement Intensive, that my body does indeed have a natural, intelligent way that it likes to move, but I need to slow down and listen to it. During a Rosen Movement class I find this possibility and can let go of my unconscious habitual movements that put my body through unnecessary strain and effort. Through Rosen Method Movement a whole new world of possibility emerges of living and moving in the world with an internal sensation of spaciousness and well-being.
by Cinnamon Cranston, Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner
Cinnamon offers weekly classes in Rosen Method Movement and is a certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner. She can be contacted 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.
Originally Published in Mosaic Magazine May 1st, 2017.