beamish bodymind balancing®
The aim of the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method is to learn how best to use the body and how to be present within it to the highest degree, at the same time increasing psychomotor coordination, mobility, flexibility, stability and managing balance.
It consists of a series of exercises which begin with floor movements and gradually reach an upright position, so as to re-establish the right balance of the body structure in relation to the force of gravity. The initial phase is to restore complete, functional breathing, since breathing, posture and movement are closely linked. Breathing in particular is essential for:
- reducing or eliminating pain or muscular tension
- reducing or eliminating physical restrictions, perceived restrictions or restrictions of
- movement coordination
- extending and optimizing one’s range of personal capacity for movement and expression
- achieving a greater sense of freedom and increasing joint mobility
- increasing stability and equilibrium
- improving the capacity to deal with stress and emotions
- remodelling and reinforcing the body to render it more flexible and elastic
- experiencing a positive state of emotions and increasing happiness
The METHOD
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method developed from the encounter between the floor barre method created and adopted by M° Philip Beamish, teacher and personal coach of the greatest names in dance in the world (among whom Roberto Bolle, Evelyn Hart, Alessandra Ferri, etc.), and the principles and basics of Structural Integration laid out by Dr. Ida Rolf (creator of Rolfing©), codified in an itinerary which permits one to reach a greater awareness of one’s psychophysical resources in order to integrate easily and harmoniously into the gravitational field. This method has been elaborated by M° Beamish and by Monica Canducci when they worked together in 1996.
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing method focuses on the development of body perception, of stretching, of toning up, of reinforcing, alongside an aware and functional use of inner muscles in general, paying particular attention to abdominals and pelvic muscles (transverse abdominis, diaphragm, illiacus, psoas, etc.), and is based on isotonic exercises performed with an awareness of the act of breathing.
In practice, the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method helps “reorganise” the faculty to perceive the body and coordinate movements, taking into account the force of gravity, in order to best manage body balance and alignment. In addition, the exercises are aimed at developing one’s capacity to recognise the activities and the function of the muscle groups involved in executing the various movements and differentiate between them.
In the course of training, particular attention is paid to the relationship between stance (how the feet touch the ground), tonic stabilising of the trunk and achieving “economic” verticality, in order to avoid useless or counterproductive tension both in motion and static. At the same time, targeted teaching of breathing coordinated with gesture helps achieve a consciousness of the synergic, complementary work of the respiratory diaphragm and of the pelvic muscles, dynamic (or fasic) stabilisers of the trunk.
Furthermore, the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method reacts on aesthetic appearance, remodelling the body harmoniously and functionally.
Finally, the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method is utilised in courses of respiratory rehabilitation and rehabilitation of the pelvic floor (or pelvic diaphragm), and it is a valid support in the course of therapy, in moments of transition in which there is a change in the perception or the image of oneself (reorientation of eating habits, surgical operations, menopause, etc.).
THE BENEFITS
This training acts on posture and on body alignment, on the relationship with the force of gravity, on so-called “bearing” and on the degree of presence, allowing one to acquire a way of breathing, of moving, of walking, of sitting more functional to one’s needs.
It is a particularly effective instrument for:
- reducing or eliminating physical restrictions, perceived restrictions or restrictions of movement coordination
- extending and optimizing the range of one’s personal capacity for movement and expression
- achieving a greater sense of freedom
- increasing stability and equilibrium
- increasing joint mobility
- reducing or eliminating pain or muscular tension
- improving one’s capacity to deal with one’s psychophysical resources
- acquiring functional breathing, posture and movement habits
- remodelling and reinforcing one’s body to render it more flexible and elastic
IN PRATICE...
The initial phase of the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method consists of restoring complete breathing, since breathing, posture and movement are closely linked. Besides, complete breathing, which appropriately involves the diaphragm, is functional not only from a biochemical point of view but also from a structural point of view insofar as the architecture of the body is concerned. The subsequent steps aim at increasing the perception, the awareness, the lengthening and the tone of the inner muscles, resistant to strain and involved in maintaining posture (static). This series of muscles, devoted to maintaining postural patterns, is especially responsive towards emotional influences (like, for example, situations of anxiety) and personality and, consequently, can generate and maintain itself through dysfunctional patterns of posture and movement, mental attitudes and negative or restrictive states of mind. For this reason the work involved acts simultaneously on both cognitive and emotional planes, guiding the subject towards acquiring more and more awareness of himself and of his abilities, of his emotions and reactions, aiming at gradually transforming those conditions and limiting habits of motion, notion and emotion.
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method integrates:
- techniques of relaxation and imagination (ideomotorial training)
- techniques of breathing coordinated with gesture
- active stretching and toning of the kinetic muscle chain
- isometric, isotonic and in motion exercises
All this contributes towards a parallel increase in:
- muscular tone
- functional lengthening of the muscular chain
- mental presence of the body and of movement
- the development of coordination
- the perception of self
WHO THIS APPLIES TO
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method applies to whoever wishes to explore and experiment mind and body integration, above all:
- those who intend acquiring well-being and freedom of movement
- those who intend remodelling and redefining their physical form
- those who wish to achieve greater self-control
- those who practise dance, artistic activities or sport
On account of its exceptional effectiveness in increasing body and mind ability and resources by strengthening coordinative capacity, this method is a valid propaedeutics for all sorts of dance techniques and all forms of sports activities or instruction, from those which implicate speed and dynamism (artistic gymnastics, skiing, rugby, soccer, tennis, swimming, running, cycling, etc.) to those which implicate precision and concentration (golf, archery, target-shooting, etc.), from those which require strength and resistance, the capacity to maintain a certain position at length (cross-country skiing, marathon running, free climbing, martial arts, etc.) to those needing power (weight lifting).
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method can also be applied preventively or with intervention, especially in cases where problems have already arisen which cause symptoms such as tension and pain of muscles and joints, restrictions and limits in movement, difficulty in dealing with emotions or symptoms linked to stress.
The Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method constitutes the basis of learning in the technique of Dance proposed by M° Philip Beamish and is propaedeutic to courses held by M° Beamish.
Monthly courses are divided into meetings of 1 hour and 15 minutes each and they take place in groups of 4-10 people. The first week entails attending 4 meetings on 4 consecutive days; after that meetings continue twice a week. A 3-month period of attendance is advisable in order to obtain lasting results.
Training periods vary from 3 to 10 days, and entail one or more lessons of an hour and a half per day.
On completion of training courses in the Beamish Bodymind Balancing® method, a Certificate signed by M° Beamish is issued allowing the holder to learn the method in order to teach it, and integrate it effectively into courses linked to dance and sports or artistic activities. It forms part of an internal course of Formation in the D.I.S.Co. Method® proposed by Accademia dei Coach.