Discovering the Natural Rhythm of the Body
July/August 2021
Discovering the Natural Rhythm of the Body
by Jon Schreiber, DC
We live on a planet of rhythm, in a rhythmic universe. From the vast cosmos, to Nature, to our body, all the way to the physiologic systems that sustain our life, even down to the movement of our atoms and their electrons and particles, everything has a natural rhythm. And all these rhythms converge in a coordinated dance of infinite depth and majesty!
Several people, just by the way they each did their ordinary job, showed me something that would influence my whole direction in life.One was a bus driver. Opening the door to let passengers on and off, making change while driving in heavy urban traffic, he twisted, turned, moved his arms, and spoke with a fluidity that was nothing less than a beautiful dance. A nighttime baker at a community oven in East Jerusalem kneaded dough, cracked eggs, spread cheese, and pushed his mini “pizzas” into a wood oven with long paddle—all with a precision and grace that clearly came, not from concentration, but rather from a relaxed and single-minded relation to his activities. A carpenter, standing on a plank high above the ground, worked at an amazing speed, never stopped, and every cut of his saw and strike of his hammer was perfect, while he seemed to never tire or tense. Just watching these people move was refreshing and highly enjoyable.
When I began studying Breema bodywork, I discovered that Breema offered a practical and systematic way of movement re-education that teaches the body first and, only secondly, the mind. In other words, practicing Breema bodywork and Self- Breema exercises frees the body to move according to the Nine Universal Principles of Harmony.
I was learning to dance! Not dance as a separate activity that needs a time-out from life, but as an integral way of moving towards and expressing my natural relationship to other people, the world, and myself.
Forty years later, I am more in love with Self-Breema exercises, Breema bodywork, and Breema’s universal philosophy and principles than ever. After seeing the physical, mental, and emotional benefits for myself—in terms of flexibility, health, happiness, energy level, and so on—and observing these benefits in so many others, I have been committed to turning people on to Breema wherever I can. Now, with the limitations created by the pandemic, the Breema Center and dedicated instructors around the globe have adapted our classes to online formats. And the results have been good! Breema offers us a practical way to become present, starting from wherever and however we are, by uniting body, mind, and feelings, and that is enormously fulfilling. Nothing is postponed for the future. We often say, “What you truly want is accessible in this very moment.”
Among the ranks of Breema students worldwide are many dancers, musicians, and other artists whose successful work depends largely on a vibrant relationship to the natural rhythms of the body. Through Breema, we learn to tap into these rhythms, and in doing so, access our energy reservoirs. Artistic ability is enhanced, energy conserved and even increased, and enjoyment amplified. Having studied violin at Juilliard and mixing with so many world-class musicians and dancers, I am so grateful for the growth I’ve seen Breema facilitate in technical ability, musicianship, and artistry for others and myself. I invite you to attend any of the many free online Self-Breema classes organized and offered by the Breema Center. You may discover a piece of the puzzle that catalyzes a new relationship to dancing!
Jump to the Light and Then You Find Yourself
Sit comfortably in cross-legged position.
Bring your feet out in front of you on the floor so that they are almost sole-to-sole, with your heels touching.
Using both hands at the same time (emphasis on the heels of the hands), and moving in a continuous, comfortable rhythm:
Lean forward and firmly tap the medial heels. Your hands “rebound” (glancing forward off the heels) with the natural momentum of the tap.
Return to upright, lean back slightly, and (with forearms crossed) firmly tap the opposite sides of the lateral upper chest (left palm taps right side and right palm taps left side). Hands rebound off and upward with the momentum of your movement.
Repeat the alternate tapping of the heels and the lateral upper chest many times.
With the same robust quality, brush from the kidneys along the lateral thighs and legs to the feet and off the toes, three times.
In one continuous motion:
Brush from the toes, along the medial feet, legs, and thighs.
Bring the hands back-to-back and draw them up the midline of the body to overhead.
Open the arms, and then lower them laterally out and down, bringing the hands back to the toes.
Repeat two more times. On the third brush, as you lower the arms, bring the hands to the legs just above the ankles, and bring the legs back to a cross-legged position.
Brush your hands to the knees.
Sit comfortably.
Jon Schreiber in conversation with Danese Cooper
What have you found that supports you to come out of the mind when playing?
Danese Cooper, technologist, musician, and Breema Practitioner, co-founder of Lark music camp:
If I'm playing music and I'm noticing that I feel tense when I'm playing, the first thing I think of is, “Am I actually comfortable sitting here playing? Is my body comfortable, or am I fighting the way I happen to sit down, or the way I'm holding the instrument?” It never would have occurred to me to think of those things before Breema. And I think that's why it's so beneficial to musicians, because so many of the Nine Principles come alive when you play.
No Hurry/No Pause is another one. People in Ireland play music very quickly as a sign of proficiency, but the music doesn't always love them doing that; it's not really the way that it was played for hundreds of years. And some of the best practitioners will tell you the point is to play clearly. In a way that connects you to yourself, pour yourself into it. But you don't have to race; there's no race to have. And that's like No Hurry/No Pause. It's important to keep the rhythm, but there's no race here. And there's also no performance. Almost all of the Principles come alive for me at one time or another when I'm playing.
Jon Schreiber, DC, musician and Director of the Breema Center:
For myself also, the Nine Principles of Breema have given me more dexterity and the ability to learn difficult pieces much faster, and play better than I ever have. This is kind of amazing to me, because I think I'm at the age where I should be losing my ability to play. But instead, I find it's like slowly going in a positive direction.
For example, I'm still playing Classical music, though a lot of Romantic things that are very showy, and right on the edge between Classical and Gypsy music. Some of them are very difficult technically. For example, I was working on a shift to sixth position. I was having trouble over and over doing it, and finding myself automatically trying to get it in the habitual way that I grew up, which means become tenser and tenser and just concentrate with the mind.
At one point I remembered Body Comfortable, and I just relaxed the body and had a sense of my whole body. Then my hand found the right position. I just stayed with Body Comfortable and repeated that several times. And then, as Danese was saying, it became part of me; it was in my body. And after that I could do it.
I was told by one of my teachers growing up, “Stop moving, don't move your body while you're playing. All your feeling has to go into what you can make the violin do, and don't express anything physically with your body.” I tried following that for a long time. What I later on discovered was that it constricted me when I started to play. Once I was already quite into Breema, I allowed my body to move all the time. And it actually improved my relationship to the violin.
I found it's like everything else in life: there's constant movement and constant micro-adjusting. So that principle of Body Comfortable has to be worked with each moment, on every level—what you do with your fingers, how you are holding the violin, it's comfortable for one second, and then there's some micro-adjustment. If you're not comfortable, the sound you're producing isn't really what you want to be producing. And it is having an effect. So how you are really affects your audience, and you yourself are included as your audience.
Watch the full interview with Jon and Danese!
Breema Tea
This is the same tea we serve at the office. It is wonderfully warming, soothes the digestive system, and is very energizing!
To 1 1/2 quarts of water, add:
4–5 cinnamon sticks or 3/4 oz. Cassia bark (Chinese cinnamon)
About 1/3 tsp. cardamon seeds, shelled
3–6 slices of fresh ginger, 1/4 in. thick
The tea may be simmered over low heat for an hour or more, or brought to a boil and then simmered for about 45 minutes. The best way to know the tea is ready is to taste it—the flavor should be sweet and spicy, and not too watery. Be careful not to overcook or let it boil too long, or the tea could become bitter. You may, of course, adjust the recipe to suit your own taste.
The Story of the Gold Leaves – Jon Schreiber, Freedom Is in This Moment
I first heard "The Story of the Gold Leaves" many years ago in a Breema class. It has remained with me over the years, and continues to provide both clarity and food for further thought.
-Angela Porter, LMFT
Imagine an orchard filled with trees. Every leaf of every tree is made of gold.
Now, you pick one of those leaves and put it in your pocket to be yours, and you sneak out of the orchard. When you take the leaf out of your pocket to look at it, it’s just a leaf, not gold anymore.
That’s how Existence works. The meaning, the taste, the value of everything belongs to Existence. If you try to separate something from Existence, to make it personal, to make it your property, it becomes worthless.
That’s why Existence can grow moment after moment, and give freedom to everything to do as it wishes—because Existence remains eternally as the Totality, and nothing can damage the harmony of the whole.
Feel free to comment or ask a question. We’ll do our best to keep you updated on all our current offerings. Thanks for reading!