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Hi Alex,<div>Thanks for your question about body-mind transformative practices.</div><div><br></div><div>In my gentle bodywork practice, based in Australia, I combine three main ways of working.</div><div>All are ways to 'allow' space for self-organisation (not that I can stop self-organisation from happening, unless I develop King Canute's powers much further).</div><div>The three modalities I use are Ortho-Bionomy [OB] (for bodies) Process Oriented Psychology [POP] (for minds), and Open Space Technology [OST] (for groups).</div><div>All three ways of working have a wider influence than I have suggested in brackets (eg OST has an effect on bodies and minds etc as well as affecting organisation of participants).</div><div><br></div><div>OB is the modality on which I built my practice, since I came across it first, in 1985.</div><div>It is based on taking the body into positions of comfort, and allowing past injuries and stresses to be released.</div><div>The work (or play) is quite minimal and involves trusting and following the body's preferences, rather than trying to bring about change.</div><div>Comfort is the guiding factor used by Ortho-Bionomy practitioners.</div><div><br></div><div><div>I was fascinated to open your web site and find the Masters thesis there, researched by you and your wife. </div><div>Late last month. I submitted my PhD thesis, on a somewhat similar topic, for examination.</div><div>You consider Jean Gebser's work in your thesis, and he was an important part of my Masters and PhD theses too.</div><div>(How amazing to have Alan Combs on your committee!)</div><div><br></div><div><b>To answer your question</b> about how body-mind practices have influenced me: </div><div>In general, I would say that the practices I have been particularly attracted to during my life, have given me a simple structure, through which I can understand what I experience around me.</div><div><br></div><div>For example, in the 1970s and 1980s, I worked both as a classroom and specialist remedial reading teacher, mainly with children between 6 and 12 years of age.</div><div>I observed the children teaching themselves better than any teacher could hope to do.</div><div>It was not until I came across OB and OST that I realised I had not been neglecting my students, but allowing them some space to learn.</div><div>Part of me knew that learning is a process of self-organisation, rather than something I could control.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite the rather surprising progress the children in my classes made, I had felt guilty that I was not 'teaching' as I had been instructed.</div><div>Many of the 'proper' ways of teaching bored me, so I looked for things to do with the students that were interesting for me.</div><div>Partly as a consequence of my guilt, I resigned from teaching in about 1980.</div><div><br></div><div>Then OB, and later OST, gave me a new perspective on what had happened naturally for me as a 'teacher'.</div><div>I understood better why I had trusted the children to learn, and why it seemed that many had earlier been held back by being 'taught' to read and so on.</div><div>Nowadays I see a distinction between teaching and facilitating space and resources for learning.</div><div><br></div><div>I'll stop before I get carried away further.</div><div>Self-organisation, especially regarding the body and health, has become an area of great interest to me.</div><div>Other list members may not be quite as excited by the topic.</div><div><br></div><div>Allison</div><div>(On a brisk and breezy Sunday from the Bellarine Peninsula in Oz)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div></div><div><br><div><div>On 22/08/2009, at 8:49 AM, Alex Iglecia wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">Hello, <div>I am new to OS List and the OS world, introduced via Lisa Heft in SF. </div><div><br></div><div>I am passionate about body/mind/transformative work and would appreciate having a discussion if you have the interest.</div> <div>I invite you to consider these points and let me know if you'd be open to a sharing conversation.</div><div><br></div><div>Body-mind/transformative practices and group work in general. </div><div>As body/mind practices relate to OS, I do understand the value in keeping OS separate from other influences, so this part of the question is more about how practices have influenced you.</div> <div><br></div><div>In this context - what do you do, what have you done, what do you think the world is ready for (or needs)?</div><div><br></div><div>I look forward to speaking with you.</div><div>Alex</div><div><br></div> <div><br></div><div>Alex Iglecia<br>781-405-1248<br><br>p.s. Easy ways to find me online:<br><a href="http://www.alexiglecia.com">http://www.alexiglecia.com</a><br><a href="http://twitter.com/AlexIglecia">http://twitter.com/AlexIglecia</a><br> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexiglecia">http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexiglecia</a><br><br>p.p.s.<br>The Epic Workout<br><a href="http://www.epicworkout.com">http://www.epicworkout.com</a><br><br> </div> * * ========================================================== OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu: <a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a></blockquote></div><br></div></div></body></html>*
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