Thrown
Just a few days after the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were reported in the media last month, I got an email from an old friend. She’d been going through some boxes and …
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Most people come to me because they have something in their lives that they want to change. It may involve the desire to stop an unwanted behaviour pattern, reach a particular goal, increase energy, reduce stress or simply learn to relax; or to manage pain due to physical trauma or chronic conditions. Whatever your focus may be, the basic aim of this work is to bring your attention from your mind to your body, which, given the chance, will handle what life throws at it with intelligence and efficiency. My job is to teach you to get out of your own way. This happens in a series of one-on-one, 60-minute sessions involving touch, breath work, movement and description, in which you are an active participant rather than passively receiving a treatment. Together we will work to create the best conditions for you to be free, aware and powerful.
Events and Workshops.
Write & Breathe.
A regular meetup featuring two powerful practices: writing for wellbeing and conscious breathing.
Writing about important emotional subjects has been shown to improve mental and physical wellbeing, affecting everything from stress levels to immune function. In our meetings, you’ll use writing as a tool to dig deep, examine your life, recall the important stories of your existence, identify patterns, and imagine alternatives. Come if you’d like to:
– put your thoughts on the page without censoring yourself
– learn from your experience
– name your struggles, face your fears, and rediscover your strengths
– make decisions and plan action
– take responsibility for yourself
– find meaning in your life
– see the wonder in life and celebrate your existence
– have fun writing with other people
Conscious breathing has been shown to affect heart rate, blood pressure, muscular tension, stamina, the production of “stress hormones” such as cortisol and adrenaline, and the ability to manage pain, concentrate, and relax. It’s the perfect complement to the act of writing, keeping it full and physical.
No Events
Breath Lab.
A workshop dedicated to the exploration of many different ways of breathing. Its simple but potent exercises will make conscious breathing a pleasurable, interesting, and more natural part of your daily life. You’ll learn practical tools you can use in everyday situations (a sleepless night, a stubborn headache, a stressful situation, a low-energy day), as well as techniques to practice and experiment with in a deeper way.
No Events
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The sessions were most helpful in preparing me for surgery. We also did an in-hospital session immediately following the surgery, which was fantastic.
Christine, Paris -
I learned, among other things, that going through fear and pain is necessary and is inevitably part of life.
Mano, Paris -
There were many discoveries: confidence in myself, my body, my friends, my ideas…feeling that I’m strong enough to accomplish my desires.
Carolin, Paris/New York/Berlin -
She went right into the core of the pain.... One session with Elaine was enough to experience great relief in my hip and lower back.
Francis, Los Angeles -
I breathe more fully, gained a lot of self-confidence and have much more energy than before.
Maël, Paris -
In each session I learned something new about myself.
Margaux, Montreuil -
Within a few sessions, the pain was entirely relieved (and never came back)... Very, very highly recommended!!
Nadine, Los Angeles
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About Me.
Like the proverbial cat, I have had several lives. My first love was dance – classical, then contemporary – and I spent many years as a dancer, movement teacher and choreographer. I also studied and taught literature and worked as a journalist. For over a decade I dedicated myself to the practice of Zen Buddhism. There was much joy in these experiences, but something was missing. I realized I could be fully immersed in a physical discipline and still not be well in my body; that a life lived wholly in the mind is a life half-lived in reality; and that silence and stillness are sometimes necessary, but stifling as a steady diet.
I decided to become a Grinberg Method practitioner because I am a pragmatist at heart; life is short, and when it comes to learning to live well, this method works. Since my first session as a client in 2007, I have muzzled my migraines, unknotted my ulcers and enormously increased my level of energy. I was also able to recognize and stop certain behaviors that were damaging to me and those around me. Most importantly, I learned – and continue to learn – to handle what life throws at me with more honesty, grace and guts.
Being able to teach this to other people, and to see concrete results in their lives, is a very satisfying way to live. I have been happily working with clients for five years now, and continue to learn and improve my skills through the post-graduate courses offered by the Method. In 2011, I opened a new center on the rue Oberkampf in Paris, where I give sessions in learning processes as well as recovery processes for people dealing with surgery, accidents and other physical trauma.
A long-time urbanite, I’ve loved the cities where I’ve lived and worked: New York, Boston, Santa Fe, Montreal, Paris. Teaching clients to better deal with the challenges that come with city life is one of the things I particularly enjoy about my work. Another is working with dancers, writers, actors and other artists on issues such as self-expression, confidence and clarity. But in the end, each client’s fight to survive and flourish is interesting to me, and anyone who truly wants to get back a piece of himself is welcome on my table.
~~ Elaine Konopka
Incentive for the attentive
Small Things of Consequence
We tend to admire the longer, larger things in life: the tallest building, the longest bridge, the highest mountain, the furthest distance travelled, the relationships that go way back. Today I want to pay tribute …
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Heart of Glass
From the stranger-than-fiction file: there were times in his turbulent life when Charles VI, king of France from 1380 to 1422, was convinced his body was made of glass.
During these episodes, the monarch – dubbed …
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Ode to the Spider
Would you trade this human body for any other? I would not, despite its flaws and limits. But I’ve thought about it. I have envied the elephant its massive dignity, the cat its lithe spine, …
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The Good Question
What’s your earliest memory of doing good? Not being good, as in behaving well. Not doing something well, as in succeeding. But doing good in the sense of walking through life and giving your best …
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When the Answer Is No
I’ve already written about disappointment, but damned if it doesn’t keep rearing its pointy head. Clients, friends, yours truly – it seems no one is spared life’s letdowns these days. And why should we be? …
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An Invitation to Wonder
Last December I led a writing workshop, Invent/ory, which encouraged participants to take stock of the year behind them, think about the year ahead, and dig a little further into the past to find experiences …
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The Doppler Epiphany
I work with the human body, but I must admit I’m not as well-versed in anatomy as I would like to be. I listen with my hands and can feel some amazing things – when …
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The Case for Darkness
The clocks have been turned back, the nights are getting longer, and I’m here to make the case for darkness. It’s futile to resist. It’s always there – the necessary counterpart to light — woven …
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A Game of Risk and Tea for Two: Holding Space
I’m sitting down to write about “holding space” – the act of being present for others in a non-judgemental way – and lo and behold, who shows up but my father. He’s at the kitchen …
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Serendipity, Death, and a Writing Conference in Bristol
It all started with a bit of serendipity.
Several months ago I published a blog about expressive writing and received a comment from a total stranger. The kind gentleman suggested that I might …
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Confessions of a Bilingual: Language, Emotions, and Being Understood
I curse. What can I tell you. I try not to do it in truly inappropriate situations.
I speak two languages. This gives me multiple ways to be profane. I don’t consciously choose, but if I …
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"Everything visible springs from causes intimate to you.Eihei Dogen
While walking, sitting, lying down, the body itself is complete truth."