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"There was a very awful day in Germany,
the 9th of November 1938, when the Nazis went around to Jews’ houses
and would smash the houses and some of the men were taken to
concentration
camps. That was a very, very frightening evening. The night
before this happened, I had a dream, and there was a big, big
sky, and there was a woman’s face; a very lovely woman
filled the whole sky, and she said, "Don’t worry,
I’ll look after you." And that was all. That was
the end of the dream. I just let myself be directed wherever
it went, wherever the way opened up."
— Marion Rosen (Excerpt from "Rosen Method: An Approach
to Wholeness and Well-Being Through the Body" by Elaine
Mayland, 1984)
Marion Rosen is internationally recognized as a pioneer in
the field of somatics. Synthesizing a lifetime of experience
as a physical therapist and health educator, she has a remarkable
ability to see through the outer layers and movements of
a person into the innermost workings of the human heart.
She sets a unique example of fearless truth-telling, compassion
and enthusiasm for life. At 89, she teaches internationally,
sharing her vision of health and wellness with students in
12 countries around the world.
Rosen trained with Lucy Heyer in Munich, Germany in the 1930’s
in breathing and relaxation techniques. Heyer’s studied
with Elsa Gindler, who was an innovator in the German somatics
movement as well as the grandmother of many of today’s
body therapies. Heyer worked together with her husband Gustav
who was a psychoanalyst and colleague of Carl Jung. Working
together, they integrated psychoanalysis and touch with their
clients. Heyer took a risk in training Rosen because anti-semitism
and oppression in Germany prohibited Jews from being trained.
This was in the background of Rosen’s introduction to
the connection between body and mind.
Rosen loved dance and movement. After escaping from Germany
during World War II, she trained as a physical therapist in
Sweden and worked with dancers. She immigrated to the United
States in the early 1940’s, where she studied at the
Mayo Clinic and went into private practice as a physical therapist
in Berkeley.
Rosen was inspired to begin teaching movement classes in Berkeley
in 1956 when a friend asked her how to prevent aches and pains.
She thought about the exercises she had given private patients
when they were stiff or limited by pain and decided to use
them preventively. She thought of it as "physical therapy
in reverse". She organized a class using these exercises
and set them to music. Over the next 50 years, her regular
class participants lived full, active lives and aged gracefully.
Working as a physical therapist in Berkeley, Rosen also developed
a reputation for being able to successfully treat what were
then termed ‘psychosomatic disorders’. She talked
openly with her physical therapy clients about their lives
while treating them. She listened to the tone and resonance
in their voice while simultaneously feeling for physical responses
in the musculature and natural breathing. Rosen theorized that
muscle tension was unconscious and used to protect feelings
that were perceived as overwhelming or threatening in the past.
As muscle tension softened, clients became aware of a new dimension
of physical and emotional ease. As a result, many got well.
Clients often came for treatments because they valued the quality
of touch, insight and transformation they experienced from
Rosen’s masterful knowledge of the integration of mind
and body.
Using movement, touch, verbal dialogue and awareness, Rosen
created what is now known as Rosen Method bodywork and movement.
She began teaching others in the 1970’s through workshops
and apprenticeship. Teri began training with Rosen in 1977,
eventually becoming a Senior Training Teacher of both bodywork
and movement. Today the two are colleagues and friends.
MANY
DIFFERENT PEOPLE FIND ROSEN METHOD HELPFUL
- Dancers, musicians, artists and others who wish
to explore and enhance creative expression.
- People seeking a dynamic and complementary adjunct to psychotherapy.
Rosen Method opens up chronically held patterns in
the body.
- People seeking personal and spiritual growth, or wishing
to explore more deeply the connections between body,
mind and spirit.
- Those seeking insight in their recovery from trauma, stress
or addictions.
- People with specific physical discomfort such as chronic
neck or back pain, an injury that is slow to heal,
restricted breathing, and repetitive strain injuries.
- People experiencing difficulties related to work or relationships,
who are depressed or lacking energy and who
want to feel more vitality in their everyday life.
- Some people come for relief of emotional or physical pain;
others want to feel more connected to themselves
in these times of social disconnection and isolation.
 back to Rosen Method page
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