Birch
One day many years ago, my friend Eve Apprill asked if I would like to go visit some trees in Paris. It was an unusual invitation – though, given her name, I suppose it made …
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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 Online Workshops.
In Write & Breathe online workshops, I provide questions and subjects for you to write about, loosely centered around a theme, and a friendly space/time to do that writing in. This is free-writing: no worries about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or form.
The idea is to use writing as a way to focus your attention, to gain clarity about your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, to listen to your own voice, and to be more aware of what’s happening within and without. The writing is interspersed with breathing exercises to keep you physical and send some love to your lungs.
All you need is a device with a working camera and microphone on which you can access the internet, a pen and notebook (writing on your computer is ok too), and a place where you’ll be relatively undisturbed for one hour.
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
Chucking the Compost
Late last year, along with my Beloved and the bank, I became the proud if bewildered owner of a house in a small village in northwest France. This house has a substantial garden. I am …
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(Not) Drowning in the C
In times of adversity, it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
– I-Ching: The Book of Changes (Richard Wilhelm, translator)
This month’s blog is by far the …
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Reconciled Among the Stars
On a fairly regular basis, I find myself saying (out loud, no less) that I would give anything for an extra day in the week. I know my to-do list would simply expand to fill …
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When the Year is New No More
There was a stretch of time when I spent every New Year at a Zen Buddhist temple in central France. The annual winter retreat was cradled in what the Germans call “the days between the …
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Best Wishes
I have a school memory that has banged up against my subconcious so consistently that it has busted its way into my dreams. I’m in my school uniform, sitting at my desk with the groove …
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Back Home
At the western edge of the New Jersey town where I grew up, a lovely park spread from the boulevard down to the bay, with generous hills for rolling in autumn leaves or winter snow, …
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Claire Buisson
Researcher, choreographer, and teacher, Claire Buisson is the Director of Artistic and Cultural Education at the National Center for Dance (CND) in Pantin, France. Since 2017, she has been coordinating IMAGINE, a program for women …
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The Rounding
I was once engaged to a man who loved animals. His devotion to his cats and dogs was utter and complete.
I loved animals as well, but lacked the immersive, day-in-day-out experience of taking care of …
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Luck
My parents were hard workers. Day after day they rose early, turned on the radio and made coffee in the silver percolator (my father), set out my breakfast and my bagged lunch (my mother), and …
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The Grandmother Effect
Nearly a year ago, when I was feeling stuck in certain areas of my life, a woman advised me to plant a tree.
“Something’s amiss in your roots,” she said. Maybe so. But I live in …
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Life Partner
The dance school in the New Jersey town of my childhood was run by a quirky showbiz couple: Van, a.k.a. Miss Kelly, and her husband Ted. Miss Kelly was a petite woman with white-blonde hair …
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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."