Osteopathic Continuum Movement Classes
with Bonnie Gintis, DO
Classes with Bonnie Gintis, DO explore the common ground shared by Osteopathy and Continuum Movement. A variety of workshops are offered for people who are interested in exploring the vast possibilities for the full expression of Health and embodiment. As Osteopaths, we are trained to be attentive to other people's bodies, but not to our own. My goal is to provide an opportunity to experience a felt sense of many concepts that are usually only experienced while treating another person. Many people struggle in the development of their own perceptual field because they have not experienced the phenomena of Primary Respiration, the embryonic field, or The Health in their own body.
The Continuum workshop experience can be valuable both as a form of self-treatment, and as a way to develop and deepen the diagnostic and treatment skills. Most classes are open to people of all levels of function and ability, including those with disabilities, or limited movement and exercise ability. Some courses are tailored to the needs and interests of people with particular health concerns. Others are oriented to Osteopaths, MDs, and other healthcare practitioners. The topics explored in classes cover the full spectrum of the “continuum” of embodiment, ranging from the anatomical, physiological and biomechanical, to the functional, and into the Biodynamic, nonmaterial realm. Please read the descriptions to choose a workshop or course suited to you. For more information about Continuum, and for a current listing of classes and workshops, go to http://www.bonniegintis.com/ So many of the problems I treat in my Osteopathic practice could be easily remedied by my patients themselves if they could re-learn to interweave their bodies’ natural tendency to breathe, move, and rest into their busy lives. Development of our kinesthetic sense—the sensation and awareness we have of our own movement—is the key to this process. Continuum explores movement and somatic education based on intrinsic felt movements, rather than on imposed exercises or prescribed routines. Participants cultivate a refined degree of attention, and learn to trust that there is deep wisdom that guides the body to self-correct, if given the opportunity to move freely. Stepping outside of our preconceived notions and the popular cultural models of what we think of as “the body” we can discover the deep inner world that is an unending resource for healing, adaptability, and change.
What is Continuum Movement? The basic principles and practices of Continuum include:
- Movement – creating new ways of moving our bodies, and participating more fully with the intrinsic movements that are always expressing themselves through the body.
- Exploring the qualities of fluidity in all aspects of life and embodiment.
- Increasing the variability & capacity of our breath. Giving ourselves the opportunity to change the way we breathe offers our system options we might not otherwise find.
- Exploring sound as a vibratory quality of breath, and experiencing its effects on us.
- Refining attentiveness, mindfulness, and consciousness of our relationship to our body, our health, our environment, and the world in which we live.
- Becoming aware of habit patterns, and exploring alternatives to them.
- Considering what we call the “body” as a creative process, rather than as an object.
- Finding pleasure and enjoyment in our experience of moving, breathing, and being embodied.
- Cultivating curiosity and a sense of open-ended inquiry.
In a Continuum class, the arena is set for exploration by presenting an idea, an image, or a theme. Sequences of motions are combined with breath and sound that encourage exploration of the theme. Utilizing breath, sound, movement, meditative open attention, and hands-on perceptual sessions provide an opportunity to experience an embodied understanding of the wisdom of the living human body.
For more information about the relationship between Osteopathy and Continuum, read an excerpt from my book at
http://www.bonniegintis.com/pages/publications.html
or purchase a copy from
http://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Movement-Life-Embodiment-Osteopathy/dp/1556436076/sr=8-1/qid=1169217503/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2070444-6766350?ie=UTF8&s=books
About Bonnie Gintis, D.O.Bonnie Gintis, DO has been in practice as an Osteopathic Physician since 1986, and currently lives near Santa Cruz,California. She has taught Osteopathic principles and manipulative medicine worldwide for many organizations including The Cranial Academy, the Sutherland Cranial Teaching Foundation, the American Academy of Osteopathy, the European School of Osteopathy, the Deutsche Akademie fur Osteopathische Medizin, the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, and with James Jealous, DO. She is Board Certified in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and is an authorized Continuum Movement teacher. She has taught in collaboration with Emilie Conrad, the founder of Continuum, since 1997. She is the author of Engaging the Movement of Life: Exploring Health & Embodiment Through Osteopathy & Continuum. Her innovative approach, combining Osteopathy and Continuum expands the possibilities of experiencing Osteopathic concepts in one’s self and developing the perceptual skills to more deeply care for ourselves and our patients. |
