Why is Bioenergetic work especially helpful during the Pandemic?
Bioenergetic work is especially helpful now, during the pandemic, because it was developed with the intention to connect our life story from both our mind and body.
For most of us, the pandemic has affected all levels of our being: we have had to learn to think “virus” in a much more serious way than ever before. We have had to act differently and refrain from many physical activities our bodies were used to doing. Some of us have had to ‘reach-in’ deeply, in order to develop a stronger spirituality – one that can sustain us during these times.
Bioenergetics teaches us how to identify our inner most emotions and provides a safe environment for us to express them without fear of judgement, rejection, discrimination, etc.
- Adela
What exercises have been helpful for me?
I have been practising grounding and sounding at all physical levels: standing up, sitting and also while lying on the floor with the soles of my feet against the big physio ball.
The idea is to bend the legs while inhaling - and as I exhale through my mouth, I allow my sound to come out of my throat, and I stretch the legs to feel their strength, feel held by the ground, connect my whole being; and let go of any fear, sadness, or anxiety.
- Adela
Do you have a daily practice?
Not exactly.
When I wake up I take three deep, slow breaths and have a full body stretch, releasing whatever sound is there. Generally it is a sigh.
If I am feeling low energy, I will do several straight leg kicks in my bed, to get my energy moving. If my breathing feels smoother and more open, I will move to a grounding exercise.
Dr. Alexander Lowen, the founder of Bioenergetics, did 200 straight leg kicks every day and he was one of the most energetic, alive people I ever met. He lived and worked into his 90s!
I then sit on the side of my bed and notice my breathing. I end with a grounding exercise (there is one illustrated in this blog) and proceed with my day. I skip the straight leg licking if my energy level feels good.
During the day, if I feel distressed, anxious, sad, angry or out of sorts in any way, I go over an exercise ball (back extension) to open my breathing and let whatever sounds are there be expressed.
I follow that by going into the child prayer position before slowly coming to a standing position, uncurling one vertebrae at a time, with my head being the last to uncurl.
Generally once is enough for me to find relief, but if not, I will repeat both exercises again.
Before bed I like to do a grounding exercise.
If you’re looking for more exercises to incorporate into your life, there is an excellent manual of Bioenergetic Exercises called The Way to Vibrant Health by Alexander Lowen MD., and Leslie Lowen. You can purchase it at www.lowenfoundation.org
- Mitzi
How do you stay engaged with the bioenergetics community right now?
Locally, we have a meeting of our society four times a year. During the pandemic, we have been meeting on Zoom. Regionally, that is North America and New Zealand (Nanziba) I sit on a steering committee which meets monthly on Zoom. I then make a report to my local society.
Internationally, we have a conference every 2 years, alternating between North America, South America and Europe. This year, it will be a virtual conference coming from Brazil in October.
Every year, there is a Professional Development conference, one in Europe, North America and South America, open to all members of the IIBA (International Institute).
- Mitzi
What recommendations do you have for people who would like to acquaint themselves with the practice now?
To begin with, I would suggest reading about bioenergetics. You can find many recommended books, paper, journals and podcasts on our CCSBA website.
You can check out workshops and exercise classes on our website, other society websites and the IIBA website.
You might want to check out the link to the virtual International conference coming up in October. You do not need to be a member to attend.
You could also arrange for a consultation with a therapist. It would not be in person at the moment with most therapists. Many are working on Zoom during the pandemic.
- Mitzi
How can these practices help me cope with fear, anxiety, uncertainty and depression during the pandemic?
Fear, anxiety, stress and depression live in our body. Our body is a vibrant, alive organ. To stay healthy we need to move, exercise - there is lots written on the benefits of exercise; what about the benefits of bioenergetic exercise? Bioenergetic exercises help us get in touch with our feelings — after all, our feelings live in our body and our thoughts live in our mind.
Along with the virus, COVID-19 has brought anxiety, fear, uncertainty and depression to the general public. The main psychological impact to date is elevated rates of stress and anxiety.
So how do bioenergetic exercises work? What will they do to your body and how will they help with your feelings? All of our emotions affect our mind and our body. Our feelings and thoughts sometimes cause our muscles to contract as a reaction of defence towards our unexpressed emotions. Tension will cause our breathing to be held, and this holding and lack of expression, may create anxiety. The bioenergetic exercises target held muscles. With the assistance of a therapist one may learn to breathe more fully and express the held emotions. When we express our emotions, our feelings of anxiety etc. decrease. Regular bioenergetic exercise may decrease the negative emotions that are trapped in our muscles. As we let go of the tension in our body and express our emotions, we increase the aliveness in our body. Engaging in bioenergetic exercises on a regular basis may help in reducing stress and anxiety by making you more resilient and able to deal with the stress that COVID creates in all of us.
- Vicky
What are some ways Bioenergetic practice can help me feel more in control in these uncertain times?
These uncertain times bring feelings and impulses with it. There has been an increase of depression, marital conflicts, impatience, anger, loneliness. Some people are having difficulty dealing with their feelings that have intensified during the pandemic. Bioenergetic practice assists people to stop repressing their feelings and to express them appropriately. In bioenergetic practice, people learn to breathe more deeply and to let go of tightness in the body. This leads to being able to feel more and to express more feeling appropriately. In this way, they are in control of what and when they will express a feeling.
Also, bioenergetic practice can help with handling impulses. During this difficult time, many couples are at home with each other every day and if there are children the whole family is together all the time. That can be very difficult and members of the family may have negative impulses. From their impatience and frustration they may have an impulse to hit someone or to scream at them. People living alone also may experience impulses that are not in their favour. In order to deal with their impulses people may drink and eat too much or worse may have suicidal impulses. Not all impulses are safe to express. Bioenergetic practice teaches people to contain an impulse. This involves ways of being grounded so that they are able to contain words or actions that they would regret later. Deep regular breathing also helps to make room to hold an impulse. Learning how to contain an impulse means that the person is in control of their expression and impulse, and in control of themselves.
- Marilyn