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This superb, informative article by Milena Screm, director of Insight school – Milan Italy, appeared on Gunnel Minett’s website in November 2020 : https://breathwork-science.org
Hosted and managed by Gunnel Minett, she is a psychologist and author of books on Breathwork and Health/Wellbeing with over 35 years experience of Breathwork. She has mentored and supported my work since the early 90’s.
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BreathWork: one tool, five benefits.
by Milena Screm, Counselor Supervisor Trainer, director of Insight school – Milan Italy
Inhale deeply, then exhale slowly …
With this simple action you have made contact with a thousand-year-old practice, conscious breathing, known as BreathWork in western countries.
Although we all breathe continuously since the day we were born, most of the time we do not even realize it, it happens automatically. Involuntary breathing is important to keep us alive, distracted as we are by a thousand stimuli, we may forget about it. However, survival is different than well-being. Well-being needs a conscious and intentional practice of breathing. Yoga and meditation, with their millenary knowledge, educate to this attention making many people familiar with their breath. In recent decades, also scientific research is validating the powerful benefits to mind and body that can be obtained by breathing with intention and presence.
According to Google, searches with the keyword “breath” have increased sixfold in the last five years. Many yoga and meditation teachers report an increase in client requests for breathing techniques in the last three years. The widespread use of mindfulness also encourages the diffusion of a breath culture, made up of simple, portable, versatile and effective practices. Whatever the person’s motivation, from well-being to awareness to increased vitality, breathing practices are a valuable resource and help.
It is also interesting to note that the diffusion of these approaches is no longer limited, as in the past, to circles of people sensitive to Eastern philosophies or introspection; a growing interest in breath is now evident and widespread even in the corporate world, where, more and more, the attitude of considering professionals first of all people is developing.
When companies take into account the needs and provide experiences and tools that foster the well-being of individuals, they have a return result in terms of improving performance at work.
Ongoing scientific research has clearly defined the impact that something as simple and accessible as conscious breathing can have on health and well-being; here are some of them.
1. Provides quick stress relief
Conscious breathing is one of the fastest and most effective practices for preventing and managing the tensions/stress of everyday life. A 2017 study, published in “Frontiers in Psychology”, showed that people who had completed a series of twenty sessions of conscious breathing, each lasting forty-five minutes, in eight weeks, had significantly lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, than those who did not. Cortisol is responsible for the body reaction to stress, at first to counteract it, but if the tensions remain, entering into a paradoxical effect that aggravates the pre-existing situation; high levels of cortisol can cause chronic inflammation and alter the functioning of the thyroid and pituitary gland.
These are the results of one of my business projects for stress management, carried out in Milan, a course of two full days, plus two hours every two weeks for three months; the data were collected three months after the end of the course:
– 44% of participants said they had achieved significant results just by practicing conscious breathing;
– 45% of the participants declared to have obtained significant results with the practice of mindfulness, which also includes conscious breathing;
– 11% of the participants declared to have obtained significant results by paying more attention to the body and trying to manage perceived physical tension with some body relaxation.
2. Breathing more slowly and deeply affects blood pressure.
A 2001 American scientific study showed that practicing conscious breathing for ten minutes a day, preferably with background music, is an effective way to reduce blood pressure without medication. Based on these findings, another study, conducted in 2015, found that patients with hypertension had a sharp drop in blood pressure after slow, deep breathing ten minutes a day for three months. People who underwent this research also followed a controlled diet and a program of physical activity.
3. It can improve the mood.
Twelve weeks of conscious breathing, for ten minutes a day, promote mood improvement. The scientific research that is still underway on this subject, indicates that an element that comes into play is the acid-basic balance of the blood. A constantly shallow breathing, in addition to reducing the supply of oxygen circulating in the blood, promotes the development of a greater tendency to the acidic component of the blood, compared to the basic one. Obviously, also the diet and a sedentary lifestyle have considerable weight in this aspect of organic chemistry. When the acid percentage of the blood is constantly higher than the salty one, there are cascading effects on organs and apparatuses: for example the body is more prone to inflammation; moreover the amygdala, a part of the brain that detects fear and triggers the fight/flight response, becomes more susceptible to stimuli, causing a tendency towards a state of tension and alert, which affects the mood.
4. Promotes greater attention and mental clarity
People who practice yoga and are trained to focus on breathing, notice an increased ability to stay alert and mentally focused. In fact, consciously regulated and rhythmic breathing can balance the amount of noradrenaline produced by the brain; this is a natural chemical messenger that affects attention and some emotions.
5. It can help in pain management.
In hospital, chronic and terminal pain is managed by administering opioid drugs; but beside serious illness and death, there are many other situations in life in which people are confronted with physical and emotional pain management. Conscious breathing has potential in this area as well.
Already in the forties and fifties, a lot of research was conducted in Russia over the possibility of managing pain, in particular childbirth pain, through conscious breathing techniques; in 1953, the obstetrician F.Lamaze introduced these Russian techniques in France and perfected them. Scientific research on pain management began in the 1970s, especially in the United States, through the approach now called mindfulness, whose practice also includes conscious breathing. Several studies have found that slow and deep breathing, accompanied by muscle relaxation and mental presence and acceptance, can reduce the perception of chronic pain and help patients cope with physical discomfort.
The potentials of conscious breathing/breathwork are many, they affect physical and physiological aspects that influence health; they have a role in managing emotions and moods; they can be effective tools of mental awareness. They are not “magic wands” that make difficulties disappear, but rather portable tools, always available, simple and effective, natural and precious resources.
Keywords; breathing, stress relief, pain management, blood pressure control, mental clarity
© Milena Screm 2020
About the author: http://www.insightformazione.it/chi-siamo/docenti-counselor-interni/milena-screm
Supervisor Counselor & BreathWorker
Founder and president INSIGHT School of BreathWork Counseling – Milan (Italy)
Author of fourteen books in psychology, published in Italy, France and Spain, among which we denote: “BreathWork” (1998), “Autogenic Training” (1989,2012), “Rebirthing & Water” (1994), “The history of Rebirthing” ( 1992 ), “Rebirthing, breathe for renewal”, the first book published in Italy on rebirthing (1989, 1993, 2011)www.insightformazione.it
I am one of the few Breathworkers in the UK specialising in addictions, including recreational drug and alcohol abuse, in fact TIME OUT London Magazine called me ‘CLUBLAND’S THERAPIST’ in Millennial year 2000 due to my clientele using club drugs like coke and ecstasy ( MDMA ).
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/ecstasy
Not all clients arrive with these issues, relationship stuff, including codependency or stuckness in some way, is the number one problem.
Achieving a HIGH somewhere, is an example of success for many, a result, an intention to remove oneself from depression, life struggles or the need to ‘get out of it’, especially in tough economic times but continuous demand for entering an altered state of consciousness can create a habit. A second bottle of wine, a spliff to wake up to, a valium to get to work and a line at lunchtime to cope, are not unusual companions in urban Britain.
Having experienced drug addiction myself ( my last drink, drug and nicotine hit was October 25th 1982 ), all on the same day, not recommended without emotional and physical support, but I missed the HIGHS, escape routes and the RELAXATION of it all. So quick, so easy, so fulfilling.
Six years clean of all mood altering substances I came across ‘Conscious Connected Breathing’ while residing in Australia for 3 months. Then called REBIRTHING. I came back to to the UK and found myself a Rebirther to work with, and over the recommended 10 sessions to clear baggage, discovered ECSTASY in the form of emotional release and healing the body.
What a natural HIGH.
Ironically, this being 1988, ECSTASY the Love Drug arrived in Clubland and many of my future clients were taking it. Even now clients will often say “this Breathwork feels like taking Ecstasy”. With no comedown I might add, or the consequences of habitual drug use.
I am blessed having Gunnel Minett as my mentor since 1994. Gunnel came to Rebirthing in 1978 and I started my training a decade later with Diana Roberts under Sondra Ray’s Loving Relationship Training ( LRT ) from America.
Gunnel has given me permission to reproduce sections of her book the definitive BREATH & SPIRIT / Rebirthing as a Healing Technique published in 1994, including this chapter on Kundalini, a natural exploration of ECSTASY, so do give it a read and find out what Breathwork is about.
Kundalini
There is, as yet, no scientific explanation for the reactions which occur during conscious breathing sessions, or for what controls the length of the energy cycle. The closest we can get is to compare rebirthing phenomena with the reactions described in the various Eastern breathing exercises. So far, we have looked at some Chinese Chi Gong exercises. The other great area for comparison is yoga.
One major purpose of yoga exercises is to awaken the body’s in a life energy – the kundalini. in order to expand consciousness and reach a higher state of mind, the body’s own life energy has to be awakened and activated. According to Indian tradition, a person is not ready to experience altered states of consciousness before the kundalini is awake and allowed to flow freely in the body. The yoga trainer has to prepare the body and psyche to adjust properly to this expansion beyond the normal. The exercises of hatha yoga (physical yoga) and pranayama (breathing exercises) are specially designed for this purpose.
The word kundalini comes from yoga, but there a similar concepts in most breathing techniques. The awakening of life-energy is an important factor in the various physical and psychological cleansing processes. When the body and mind have been cleared of blocks and ‘impurities’, the person will enter a new phase where body fluids flow so freely that more life-energy can be absorbed. this leads to an awakening of the body’s kundalini, which in most adults is dormant. when the kundalini is released it produces an expansion of the mind, often resulting in the development of ‘supernatural’ abilities. This can include physical changes, for example less need for sleep and food, greater physical endurance and a capacity for self-healing.
Most descriptions of the awakening of kundalini are very similar, regardless of the cleansing method being used. The process can take anything from a couple of months to several years. One effect of the process is the experience of non-normal states of mind. These experiences go totally beyond everyday mental life, though they rarely result in loss of contact with reality or disorientation severe enough to be called psychotic.
Accounts of the awakening of kundalini have many similarities with the reactions observed during rebirthing sessions. Several scientific studies of the body’s reactions to yoga exercises have been published. Here we will not, however, go into detail regarding the physical changes in the body. (Those interested should see, for example, James Funderburk, Science Studies Yoga, 1977.) we will concentrate here on descriptions of the various physical and psychological phenomena reported from the process of awakening kundalini in various yoga practices.
Many of the symptoms and bodily reactions connected with the awakening of kundalini have been described by Sanella (1977). all of the following bodily sensations have also been observed in somatic conscious connected breathwork, and may occur from the very first session.
Experiences of expanded consciousness e.g. (visions, sounds, out of body) normally occur only after a person has completed at least ten sessions, and often at an even later stage. A precondition is the one should have cleared out a substantial part of biographical memory experiences. This normally involves having had at least one experience of birth memories. The examples listed below range from physical experiences to ‘supernatural’ phenomena, but they do not necessarily appear in this order.
Body Movements
The body often starts to move spontaneously. The movements vary greatly from person to person. They can be soft, curling, jerking, twitching [sic] or vibrating. the physiological explanation is that the breathing exercise affects the cerebellum, the part of the brain that coordinates muscular movement.
Breathing
So-called spontaneous rebirthing, with rapid shallow breathing, deep powerful breathing or spontaneous breathing patterns, occurs frequently. The practice of various breathing exercises may trigger and natural breathing cycle, which will normally be completed before returning to normal breathing. This spontaneous breathing reaction is originated in the hypothalamus, which monitors and controls the blood and its oxygen content. It does this by regulating the impulse to breathe.
Cramps
Various states of cramp occur often, affecting all parts of the body. They can last for short period or persist over a longer time, affecting mobility. States of cramp are normally preceded by fear or hysterical states. This is often referred to as tetany in other Breathwork publications and with an experienced breathworker as breathing coach it soon passes.
Body Sensations
The skin or the whole body is often felt to vibrate or itch. It is usually described as ‘bubbles’ in the body, or stitches and bubbling. Sometimes these experiences are perceived as sexual, similar to pre-orgasmic feelings. A physical explanation is that this is mainly caused by stimulation of the sensory cortex. The vibrational sensation often moves from the feet upwards (the way the kundalini is said to move through the body). The left big toe is often said to be the starting point. This toe has a direct link with the cerebral cortex. (The big toe plays a special role in yoga exercises. Hindu mythology states that the holy River Ganges emerged out of the big toe of the Creator.)
Changes in Temperature
Body temperature can rapidly change from very hot to very cold. Sometimes, this is purely a subjective experience but there may also be objectively measurable changes in body temperature. A possible explanation is that when the kundalini force encounters a blockage in the body, friction is generated leading to localised temperature rise. This affects the hypothalamus which, in turn, will have effects on the body temperature as a whole, causing rapid changes.
Experience of Pain
Sudden pain may be felt in the head, eyes, spine or other parts of the body without apparent reason. The pain usually remains for only a short period. A traditional explanation is that the kundalini force becomes intensively concentrated when passing through a ‘blocked’ part of the body. People who resist the process with a subconscious wish to retain control over the body are likely to experience these phenomena as painful.Light and Sound Experiences
There are many descriptions of a wide range of light and sound experiences: colours flowing freely, illuminating or flowing from various parts of the body; voices, music, whistling or strong roaring or hissing. These phenomena may be caused by wave movements in the ventricles (cavities of the brain). This area influences the auditory cortex in the back lobe of the brain, which controls hearing and vision.
Emotional Experiences
Most emotional experiences are very intense, ranging from anxiety, fear, hate, depression and confusion to states of total bliss. The negative feelings are mostly experienced in the beginning of the session. They are later normally replaced by feelings of peace, harmony and love, at the end of a completely worked through session. It is influence on the thalamus which probably causes these intense emotions. This area transport information to various centres in the cortex, in cooperation with the reticular and limbic systems. The latter has great impact on the emotions and motivation.
Thought Experiences
People often report a change in the thought process itself. Thoughts pass through the mind faster or slower than usual and thought can even stop completely at times. Thoughts can also appear irrational, strange or unbalanced. These states can sometimes resemble mental illness, trance, impulsive actions or confusion.
Distancing
Another common experience is a feeling of separation from the actual event. ‘What is happening has nothing to do with me’. This can also be described as being outside, observing the events, thoughts and feelings. This is known in yoga as ‘witness consciousness’. In some cases, especially when there is an underlying imbalance in the person, this state may resemble schizophrenia. With the right type of guidance, it usually disappears rapidly and completely. Out of Body Experiences
In this kind of experience one’s own body appears distant. There is a feeling of being outside the body and the person can experience moving to various places while leaving the body behind. This is a sharp distinction between this type of experience and ordinary dreaming. The person can actually ‘see’ their own body from the outside, and be able to describe places without having physically been there. This distinguishes the phenomenon from dreaming or visualisation.
Supernatural Experiences
In the latter stages of the kundalini process a capacity for ‘supernatural’ skills often appears. The most commonly occurring skills are clairvoyance, clairaudience and the ability to see the aura (the body’s energy field) but other, even more remarkable skills may develop.
And here we are in June 2019 experiencing the kundalini of REAL LIFE
Gunnel Minett & David Parker with a selfie.❤️
Easter Breathe : Saturday April 27th. 4 – 8pm
Venue : A Beautiful House in Creative Akadimia Platonos
Urban LifeClass is a London UK based Not-for-Profit Breathwork & Coaching Programme led by David Parker, incorporating Codependency Recovery, Relationship Reviews and breaking addictive patterns – including thoughts. Thought is creative but ACTION has more power, which is why we focus on affirmative ACTIONS not just affirmations.
We also don’t use fancy language or special clothes, come as you are and speak as you do, we find this more authentic.
The Athens Team below are an eclectic bunch, inter-generational, highly creative, non-judgemental and as you can see we LOVE what we do. No team member gets paid, your monies goes toward 2020 when we expect the need for a larger venue and a bigger programme of events.
In the meantime we give service to serve you, so you can serve yourself, learn to breathe more productively and maybe support us in growth if you like what we do and the progress you make. All sexualities and genders welcome.
We have 3 INTRODUCTION WORKSHOPS for 2019, – April, June & December, with an Autumn one pencilled in, depending on David Parker’s travel schedule. You can read about him here. https://rebirthyourlife.me/globalcoaching-experience/
All workshops are in English with Greek translation if required.
So escape from your mind into your body, feel lighter, clearer and breathe out stress with experiential Somatic Evolutionary Breathwork. Each Workshop is for 10 participants MAX, so personal attention can be given.
Easter Breathe : Saturday April 27th 4- 8pm
Venue : A Beautiful House in Creative Akadimia Platonos
Read testimonials and blogs on this site https://rebirthyourlife.me,
sign up for this adventure with just 20 Euros for a 4 hour Introduction to Breathwork.
That’s all you need to do
There is no sign ups or obligations to continue with anything after, we just ask that if you can’t make the workshop you booked or you can’t transfer your place to another – we hold the 20 Euros as a donation.
Loads of info can be gathered from our Team Members in Athens
Organiser/Producer – Patricia Photiou +30 6949826260
Experienced Breathworker over 3 decades – Yiannis Vousvoukis
mob 6945 900 310
#breathe
Check out the URBAN LIFECLASS site too: https://urbanlifeclass.me
CHAOS LIVING cre
ates smashed phones, relationships and bank accounts. Aside from the phone crack, booze problems and other forms of chemical support can domin
COACHING provides the first steps in cleaning minds, habits and houses.
Here to help when you are ready to face the music and consequences. SORTED.
Another aspect of CHAOS LIVING is poor phone time management, making social media an addictive curse. Learn how to cut out certain apps, restrict platforms with boundaries and create ‘no phone daze’. Yup, LEAVE THE PHONE AT HOME.
Max phone time is encouraging lack of social skills and interaction. Much easier to end a relationship by text than in real life, face to face. So when it comes to difficult emotional choices – the phone wins – but you don’t. Quick & Easy is not always the solution with guilt and avoidance as default.
Learn to end relationships healthily with Codependency Coaching & Breathwork for recovery in the long run – not short term gain.
Work out how much money you waste each month, how the usual escape routes cost you more than money and turn a corner into solutions.
MONTHLY Small EVENING Groupwork : 2 hour session £30 ( less than £8 per week ) MONTHLY Small WEEKEND Groupwork : 4 hour session £50 ( less than £13 per week ). Both Groups have up to 5 people and include 1 hour Breathwork within.
Individual Sessions, Daytime, Evenings & Weekends
2 hours : £120 / 3 hours £150 Fortnightly / Monthly A 2 hour Introduction to the process is FREE with no obligation to continue. No signups or selling. You either want to continue ( and most DO after the Breathwork experience ) or you don’t. No pressure. You and your budget decides.
Call David 07483 287470 for more info.
We all know them.
Workaholics. Alcohol Dependents. Coke fiends. Chem users. Painkillers. Exercise Addicts. Codependents. People Pleasers. Compulsive Helpers. Gamblers. Debtors Etc.
Maybe you are one of them, getting nowhere fast, riding through treacle in avoidance of the core issue.
Living Life In Balance is an acquired art, requiring practice, discipline and observation – difficult to do alone – which is why working with an experienced Recovery Coach & Evolutionary Breathworker WORKS.
I have been clean & sober since 1982 with 12 Step Programmes and a Somatic Breathworker since 1988, so I know that it’s possible to RE-BALANCE YOUR LIFE, take hold, redress with ‘purposeful using’ if dependent or abstention if needed. Step work has been my solution plus outside help, but sessions are not guided by it or required to use in or out of session, nor is there requirement to develop the spiritual side. The client leads the session in their requirements.
SOLUTIONS : First focus on present current issues and what ACTION needs to take place.
Second, deal with emotional suppression, overwhelm and helplessness which can lead to or enhance depression and more walking into escape routes that damage, continue and bring you back to a spiral of much of the same. I have been there, so no judgement involved, just practical solutions for change.
Another SOLUTION is calling me. David Parker on 07483 287470
Leave a voicemail if I don’t pick up, or email me with what your problem is. rebirthyourlife@gmail.com
I see anyone FREE for 2 hours with no obligation to carry anything further with me or can direct you to other avenues of solution. Someone did this for me 36 years ago – I’m just giving it back. Euston venue.
or buy the book above. It’s a start.
Olivier Award Winner Adam Spreadbury-Maher is an Australian/Irish Theatre Artistic Director, Producer and Writer. He is the founding Artistic Director of the Cock Tavern Theatre, OperaUpClose and The Hope Theatre, and is the current artistic director of the Kings Head Theatre, Islington. London.
Here in Australia we are used to Personal Development Trainers coming from America, selling books, so it makes a change to discover one from the UK who writes blogs instead of the printed page.
DAVID PARKER has over 20 years experience as a Life Coach,Trainer & Breathworker leading Residentials, Seminars and Workshops in the UK, South America, Canada, Sweden, Italy, Estonia & Spain, in 2011 he was invited to Morocco where he creates seminars 3 times a year. In 2003 he presented his work at the Global Inspiration Conference in Queensland and is returning again to share his work on Codependency, Addictions & Healthier Relationships for all sexualities. His experience of recovering from active addiction himself and it’s codependent core reality has influenced all his global trainings, but as you will see, David’s path has been to counsel those on the outside from the beginning.
Born in 1947, his real adventure began in October 1982 when he had his last lash of alcohol & mood-altering drugs, and has remained clean, sober & nicotine free ever since, setting him aside from other trainers in terms of addiction recovery, pragmatism and approach. He was told he had 6 months to live if he carried on drinking, after a few months he stopped, but discovered that cirrhosis of the liver diagnosed was not caused through excessive alcohol but via self-infecting chronic active hepatitis B virus undetected for over a decade and was incurable.
Soon after he was placed on the first human interferon drug trial in the UK costing many millions, his only hope for survival. 10 people took the trial, 9 died and David survived but the trial failed to halt liver failure. It was then that he set out to find alternative routes to healing including The Gerson Diet used at the Bristol Cancer Centre, a pioneering clinic in 1982, reading the first edition of You Can Heal Your Life, the Louise Hay classic in 1984 and in 1987 on a visit to Sydney saw a TV programme on Rebirthing Breathwork that really did change his life. On returning to London he found a Rebirther in 1988 and on his 5th session of Breathwork his liver function suddenly returned to normal, it took another 8 years of breathwork to sero-convert fully the virus in 1996, using only spiritual breathwork. Doctors said it was impossible, David knew it wasn’t. He has been well ever since.
This rare wealth of experience of him sero-converting chronic disease using breathwork, working with those affected by HIV/AIDS since 1984, those affected by Hepatitis C since 1989, assisting those in hospices to complete their lives peacefully using breathwork, and moving forward in Codependency Recovery that mirrors the Internet age, plus his own journey of recovering from alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, codependency and personal bankruptcy in 1984, gives an edge to his training that steps aside from the new age model.
In millennium year 2000, London’s weekly TIME OUT Magazine called him CLUBLAND’S THERAPIST as his client list – as now – included DJ’s, promoters, music, media & fashion tribes. His global groupwork however, attracts a more general mix of traffic, with common relationship issues, fear of change and compulsive behaviours as themes that warrant solution and maintained recovery.
The term Co-dependent is used by Treatment Centres to describe the partner, friend, lover or family member of an addict, alcoholic or gambler who have lost themselves and their identity in the task of caring for, or trying to fix the addicted person. Many of the books on Codependency during the 80’s & 90’s focus on this model but he say’s we have moved on in understanding & solution. David’s seminar COME OUT OF THE COMA – is linked to CODEPENDENCY, the compulsion to be in control or to be controlled, the habit of unbalanced caring, the attachment of fear and a hidden agenda of conditional love. Everyone drifts into this unconscious coma once in a while. Some people wear it as a badge of procrastination while others hide past hurts & shames by busying themselves, immersed in denial. Many become motivated by fear and struggle, only coming alive by drama and scarcity. David specialises in working with those adults affected as children by alcohol, depression, drug use and emotional withhold in the family of origin but as he has discovered everyone has an addiction somewhere that requires observation and management even if its lack of self esteem.
Details of this Seminar in English is here : https://rebirthyourlife.me/recycle-your-life-c-dependency-compulsive-addictive-relationships/
Since I returned from a month in Australia in September it’s been a bit of a whirlwind on the passport front. The Canary Islands in December for a break and to catch up with Agustin Hernandez, a prolific Rebirther in Teneriffe, followed by Austria over Christmas to launch Rebirthing groups in the Tyrol, then my first presentation in Morocco in January this year. At the end of last month I went back to Innsbruck for 2 more Rebirthing groups, which is building nicely with an opportunity to start Rebirthing in Vienna later in the year.
But the big one is Morocco, I am so excited by the opportunities there, that I have started a blog and information site just for that country and it’s cultural differences, in english and some pages in french. It appears that limited rehab and detox facilities ( if any ) exist in Morocco and no government figures are available for alcohol & drug use, as if no abuse problems exist. I had some reservations when I was invited to present there, as alcoholism is paramount to the history of codependency and speaking about alcohol in a muslim country I thought would prove difficult. Well it wasn’t. People were eager to talk about it, either privately or in group. Casablanca appears to have noticeable alcohol issues alongside, club drugs and sexual activity via female prostitution. All this creates shame, the word I kept hearing in relation to family secrets.
This makes sense on reflection because Casa is not a tourist destination but the financial and business hub of Morocco breeding all the problems we experience in the West when money, power and addiction come together.
For my first presentation, the free two hour thursday evening introduction was ready with 20 chairs – and 45 people turned up! It was not the amount of interest that held my breath, but the diversity of audience, all ages, from twenties to grannies, from short skirts to covered heads and legs and equal men and women. Locals and expatriates from France, Spain, Belgium and America sat cross legged on the floor hungry for information about a subject that rarely gets spoken in public there : codependency & addictions. So it was wonderful to work with well over 20 people on the One Day Saturday Seminar, including 6 doctors, and twelve people who had never experienced Rebirthing Breathwork before. Well the feedback speaks for itself :
Excellent but too short – come back! . . . David Parkers relaxed and unpretentious attitude, humour and calm way of speaking . . . Can you come back once a month? . . . My first Rebirthing breathe was sensational! . . . well led, adaptable, complex material . . . Very secure and relaxed atmosphere.
Before I left Casablanca train station at lunchtime the next day, for the Marrakech Express, the wonderful committee of NAFS ( The Moroccan Rebirthers Association ) invited me to a power breakfast beforehand to complete. We discussed the feedback sheets and I agreed that I would return in May for a weekend seminar and a week in Casa for private sessions and to build up support, if only to repeat the laughter we all had. Since then I have been invited to Tangiers to start something there later in the year and other requests have come in from Yoga centres to develop ideas. I have committed in my schedule to return to Morocco 3 times a year, this year and next, to build for the good of all concerned. I so look forward to returning the first 2 weeks of May.
En shallah!
So a BIG THANK YOU to the committee pictured here as I left and to Philippe Raffrey from Rabat who attended my one day and listed my blog and information on his pioneering alternative therapy blogsite, the largest such site in Morocco : http://marocterredeveil.canalblog.com/
. . . & do check out my NEW Moroccan blog and info pages here : http://urbanlifeclass.wordpress.com/
Rebirth Your Life 