TRAINING IN ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK
WHAT IS ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK?
The bodywork combines touch with verbal dialogue that guides the client’s awareness of their inner experience so that they can discover the connections between the body, mind, and emotions. This happens by bringing conscious awareness to patterns of tension and holding in the body, and inviting that tension to release if and when it feels safe to do so for the client.
The approach of Rosen Method Bodywork is not to do something to the client, but rather to be fully present with and attuned to the client, and to utilize touch as a tool to listen to the client’s body with our hands.
Over time, as clients experience the safe, attuned presence of the Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner, it allows tension and holding in the body to soften. What emerges are the unconscious and unfelt feelings that were blocked and created the tension in the first place. As these feelings are allowed to be met and safely felt, new possibilities for ways of being and moving through the world can be explored and expressed by the client.
While this might sound like somatic psychotherapy (and it is indeed therapeutic to both soma and psyche), Rosen Method Bodywork is born out of Marion Rosen’s background in physical therapy, and is therefore rooted in the anatomical function of the muscles themselves. This is because all people use their musculature to express their emotions, and when emotions are not allowed or are too big to meet in the moment, we also use our musculature to repress or contain the feelings.
PRESENCE
TOUCH
ATTUNEMENT
ABOUT THE ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK TRAINING
In order to become a Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner, students must complete a minimum of six immersions, 8 private supervisions and 8 private Rosen Method sessions. Upon completion of training hours, students receive an evaluation of their readiness for internship. The internship is a concentrated period of professional mentorship in which the intern develops a private practice with the support of experienced supervisors, private Rosen Method sessions, and peer group support.
Upon completion of the internship requirements the intern is evaluated for readiness for certification.
The path to becoming a Rosen Method bodywork practitioner is one of personal growth and experiential learning. In the immersions, students discover the shifts that are available when we dare to turn toward the feelings and tensions in our bodies.
The bodywork immersions use the power of touch, words and awareness to discover the body’s wisdom. Students will develop unique skills in working with patterns of muscle tension, in somatic perception and in open listening. In addition to listening, we use words sparingly to deepen the experience, and reflect what we see, feel and intuit.
During the classes, students will not only work on others but will also receive sessions. As the process unfolds, habitual tension and holding patterns may be released, freeing students (and clients) to live more fully. In the immersions, students discover ways to apply the work to their own lives as well as the lives of their clients.
Students who complete this program learn the underlying theory and structure of Rosen Method Bodywork and they will gain the following abilities:
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To notice subtle changes in muscle tension
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To be able to track shifts in a client’s breath and to read information from the breath patterns.
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How to respond with touch and words in a way that allows the client to recognize what has been suppressed by unconscious muscle tension.
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How to pause and really be with another person through attuned, embodied presence.
This program is approved as vocational training by the California Board of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.
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SHOULD I TRAIN IN ROSEN METHOD MOVEMENT OR BODYWORK?
Both the movement work and the bodywork in Rosen Method are about bringing optimal function back to the body, moving with ease, and coming into contact with our more full and true selves. In other words, Rosen Movement and Rosen Bodywork are complementary and are not so different as they seem!
Because they spring from the same vision, many students do eventually train in both Rosen Movement and Rosen Bodywork, though this is not required. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual and whether they are more compelled to work with people through movement, or via touch.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO TRAIN IN ROSEN METHOD BODYWORK?
The training and internship together, along with time in between immersions for integration, typically takes someone at least three years to complete.