The Feldenkrais Method

The Feldenkrais Method

I want to create awareness of The Feldenkrais Method, because it has been helping me to rearrange my body in a more healthy way, creating healthier synapses in my brain with regard to how I use my body more efficiently, and healing my nervous system with the power of my mind. I’ve been taking my lessons with Ed Woodall, actor and international Feldenkrais teacher. Together with an international bunch of peers, I am enjoying my Feldenkrais sessions very much, as they are honestly more relaxing than challenging.

Because he is such a great teacher, I decided to interview him and use this interview to add to my podcast. This is my maiden interview, so, please forgive me for my non-professionalism and casual way. I’m nevertheless absolutely certain that you’ll enjoy these 50 minutes very much.

I hope you enjoyed this.

If you want to get in touch with Ed Woodall, please go to his website A Sense Of Movement. Please feel free to comment and like.

Do let me know your questions and themes you’d like to know more about in the comments below.

Wishing you All a wonder-full day,
Silvia

Find Love Within

Find Love Within

The title for my upcoming workshop in Abingdon-on-Thames (UK) at Soul Shine Wellbeing Space on 11th September 2021 is “Find Love Within“. It came to me in meditation, and at the time I imagined it to be a brilliant headline that would draw people in. To me it was clear that the lack of Love is what divides us, keeps us distant and lonely, or segregated. I’ve got one person signed up at this point, which means people are not quite understanding what this is about. Therefore I thought I’d write a little about what to expect from the day.

The questions we will explore are as follows:

  • How do we recognise Love?
  • What lies in the way of our path to Love?
  • Are we happy to give?
  • When do we lose ourselves in Love?
  • Are we allowed to claim Love?
  • Can we expect Love?

With regard to Love we’re always at the beginning, and we never know everything.

Silvia Siret

The day will be structured in this way:

  • 09:45 – 10:00 – Meet and greet with a cuppa and a biscuit
  • 10:00 – 10:30 – Sit in circle, introductions, sharing
  • 10:30 – 11:30 – Dialogue about above questions
  • 11:30 – 13:00 – We’ll look into a participant’s love issue
  • 13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch Break
  • 14:00 – 17:00 – More sharing, dialogue, and we’ll look into other participants’ love issues

The tools I’m using are

  • Guided meditation / mindfulness exercises
  • Dialogue according to Bohm
  • Systemic Constellation Work (Family Constellations)
  • Coaching

I’ve been facilitating group workshops since 2006 and am known to hold safe spaces.

These kinds of group experiences always create a sense of awe, bonding, support and hope, as well as the understanding that we all have things in common. Whenever we explore into someone’s issue together, it feels like a huge gift to the rest of us, as we learn so much from each other.

Please, do put your questions into the comments below; others might be interested, too. Alternatively, contact me via my contact tab (see menu).

More info and booking, click here: Eventbrite

Goddess Liberation

Hi all,

it’s day four of me being bald, and I’ve had some time to catch up with my heart. Because I’ve had a horrible cold, I’ve been home most of the time, not doing much at all. This has given me the time and space to feel into the new me. I’ve been looking into the mirror a lot. It’s always strange. Never seen me like this before. I’ve had very short hair twice before, in my early and in my late twenties. I remember on both occasions having this same feeling, like wanting to let go, making a new start. But I’ve never been bald. This one was radical. During the last days my scalp felt odd – very sand-paperish – not a nice feeling at all. Today it’s feeling a little nicer, a bit like dry moss on an old rock. When I now look into the mirror I feel good, really good, about myself. Not only did I achieve to raise over £2,000 and quite a bit awareness for A Band of Brothers in only 21 days, but I also received so much kindness, so many wonderful messages, and my husband has been looking at me in awe for the last 4 days (sho shweet). Wonderful. I did it for me. I needed to let go of the beautiful hair when it looked its best. Seems bonkers, I know. But I am on a self-healing path; finding my growth edges and  shedding layers is what I do. It is very important to me that I walk my talk, that I’m an integral, authentic person. As someone who supports people to let go of old patterns and habits I need to lead the way first and be an example. Right?

Today I was asked twice if I wanted my long hair back. And twice I replied, “I don’t think so, I like myself more like this. It is more me.” The long hair was pleasing others more, in hindsight. To be quite honest with you, long hair felt like a pain to me. The washing, the conditioning, the combing, the hair in my face (urgh – hate that feeling), especially when walking outside with the wind blowing, also the pony tales (not very flattering and giving me headaches), and not being able to wear a hat when having a pony tale. Annoying. All that just to look feminine? Nope. I think I’m done with it. I am feminine. It’s not my looks that make me feminine. It will be interesting to experience how my new look will change people’s perception of me. I think they will see me better. The hair was kind of in the way between me and others; like a barrier.

Anyway – I’m a happy girl. And besides – this whole hype was in order to raise awareness for ABoB. I am so proud that I have done something for them. Because of them my husband is a lot happier in himself, has male support; has more access to his needs and emotions; is able to talk feelings with me and his ‘brothers’; has created deep, long-lasting friendships with some of them; and last but not least he has become an even more amazing partner to me. After 2 years with them he is now ready to mentor younger men and will soon attend another ABoB quest weekend. I am so very proud of him and blessed to love and be loved by him.

All I want with every fibre of myself is to motivate and encourage others to also be bold, courageous, brave. I do believe that if you don’t play you won’t win. Yes, it can back-fire sometimes. But without giving it a go you’ll never know. I certainly have landed on my bottom a few times in my life, but I far more often felt like winning the jack pot. Do make sure, though, that you have created a support network around you first. It’s important to be held by your community of like-minded people. It can feel very lonely if you do a courageous act and have no one to cheer you on, back you up and hold you during the transformation.

bald, bold, brave, courageous, Silvia Siret, OxISC, change, positive change

Silvia, the liberated Goddess

PS: Huge thanks to Amanda Tracey, who did the shaving and holding space for me. She’s my big hero. Her page www.goddessliberation.com is worth checking out. Lots of great events on offer for women.

I’ve done it – I’ve gone bald for ABoB

Here is the evidence:

You can still donate here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SilviaSiret

The night before I felt shaky and tearful, realising I’d lose my beautiful hair. I was visualising my looks and how people would stare at me, but I was also starting to grieve the loss of my hair. My husband soothed me and kept telling me how great I was going to look and feel. My sleep was full of dreams of hair shaving and things going wrong. But in the morning I felt calm and ready. Ben Cole, who is producing a film about A Band of Brothers, had interviewed me the night before, and he was filming me while the hair came off – that was all exciting. A few friends and family came to the event, which was so comforting and encouraging. Amanda Tracey (www.goddessliberation.com) did the shaving and the head mandala for me. The whole process took over an hour.

Here is the video about the mandala:

Later I gave another interview to Ben, and we wrapped it all up. I’ve been receiving a lot of support in every way, and I feel so grateful for it all. The day was so beautiful.

Today, the day after, I’ve unfortunately got a cold, but I do feel liberated and at ease with my baldness. I look odd, yes, the bald patch feels cold all the time, and the mandala is gone now, and where my hair was is now a white patch; but I’m happy I’ve done it. My hair has grown just under 1 mm already, and it feels quite rough, going over it with my hand. The strangest thing about it is that when I touch my head, it feels like I’m touching someone else’s. Very weird.

My husband has been the most amazing friend and companion to me. He even got his head shaved two days before me, just to show his support. Isn’t that sweet?

I am now looking forward to talking more about A Band of Brothers, and raising more awareness and money for them.  But I also look forward to having some hair back and starting the hair growth journey again. It’s strange when people stare at me, I’m getting all self-conscious, but I respond with a big smile and remember that it’s still me. I guess this chapter is not over, I’ll have to get through awkward situations and funny short hair in order to get to a point where I like it again. Maybe I’ll actually keep it short. It has its benefits.

My last year has been all about letting go, releasing and finding my true self as well as raising money and awareness for ABoB. It’s self healing, and it’s not easy. I’m shedding a lot of tears; but I also feel more and more whole. It is such a blessing to have my husband by my side, but also the full support of the rest of my family. My children and bonus children have been nothing but supportive and cheered me on. Fantastic! My close friends have also been amazing. It’s so important to have a support network. Without you guys I couldn’t have done this.

Thank you!

My first Vlog – “Constellations”

My brief explanation of the word “Constellations” and how it works

There will be more … I will explain in more detail how it works and how it can help. So, watch this space.

Namaste.

An Interview With Albrecht Mahr, International Family Constellations Teacher

Rubin Alaie posted this video on his Facebook Timeline (when you click the link below, the video starts playing):

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Finstituut.UNLP%2Fvideos%2Fvb.169228563184269%2F1171588252948290%2F%3Ftype%3D3&show_text=0&width=560

The original was posted here: https://www.facebook.com/instituut.UNLP/

Albrecht Mahr explains this approach, his experience with Family Constellations, the history and the development. He is one of the leading teachers in the Constellations World. It’s just over half an hour long and very interesting.

Blessings,
Silvia

 

A Flower Amongst Flowers

I did it again … I gave another talk. This was number 5. And – again – I loved it.

dasiesI have just recently become a member of the Healerzone (www.healerzone.com) and feel very excited about it, as now I feel I have found my place as a flower amongst flowers. There is an Oxfordshire branch, and I went to my first meeting in Banbury on 12th September, facilitated by the lovely and very supportive Sarah Sienkiewicz (Business Coach).
Without even thinking, I had put my name forward as a speaker and, even though I was very nervous and anxious, I was looking forward to the challenge. I had only given 4 talks so far and didn’t feel very confident at all, yet. Tina Wells (Tai Chi Chih Teacher) was so kind to give Vicky Rainbow (Singer, Nia Dance Teacher), Lottie Moore (Coach, Firewalk Teacher, Sweatlodge Keeper) and myself – the South Oxfordshire girls – a lift to Banbury. What a nice girly journey that was there and back 🙂 I felt more at ease already when we arrived.

We were welcomed very warmly by Sarah and the other ladies. The venue was a fitness centre – a bright room with a kitchen attached – very nice and friendly indeed. We sat in a circle, exchanged thoughts and experience and had lots of time to introduce ourselves as well as ask for anything we needed in terms of support. That was heart-warming. Such amazing, gifted women in the circle – wow!

Then it was my turn – I had only half an hour to introduce myself, tell a bit of my story and explain Systemic Constellations (https://silviasiret.com/what-are-systemic-constellations/); not really possible, I thought. But what shall I say, … I did it. And it felt amazing. I spoke without concept, just from my heart. I’ve taken another courageous step forward and the response and feedback was absolutely wonderful and positive. The group felt drawn to this therapeutic approach and wants to do a whole session with me. I feel THRILLED and soooo motivated.

You have no idea how much I needed this boost. I was about to find another boring admin job and surrender to fear instead of faith. It was not only that I gave a great talk, but I was also hearing what all the other healers and service providers had to say and to offer. What a great bunch! I feel so at home there and know that I will be supported all the way, but I also know that I have a great gift and will be able to help everyone who asks for it.
I also learned that giving workshop spaces away for free is unnecessary.

And g
uess what:  Thanks to my friend Lottie Moore, I’m taking part in a 30 day video challenge. In a closed, safe Facebook Group (Light It Up) I am submitting a video of myself to my sub-group every day for 30 days. Wow – that is so empowering! If you think you should do this too, you can still enroll here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/lightitupvideochallenge  – I’m happy to help.

So here I go, all fluffed up, encouraged, motivated and full of beans. Yesterday I’ve signed up for a Weekend Workshop in London with the amazing Stephan Hausner, who facilitates constellations for people with illness (his book: ‘Even if it costs me my life’). I know I will learn so much from him; so, this is an investment in my growth. The week before I’ll be in Zagreb, Croatia, for an international gathering of systemic constellators, an amazing opportunity to get to know other practitioners and their individual approaches; but also gives me the feeling of being part of a huge community – I am now one of THEM.

But before all this I’ll give a workshop on parenting this Friday (https://www.meetup.com/Systemic-Constellations-Oxford/) and then I’ll go on holiday to Cornwall for 2 weeks with my Beloved. I’ve never been, and I can’t wait to see its beauty.

Wishing you all the boost you need to get/keep going. Here and happy to help and give emotional support. You do need to let your community know if you are looking for support, though; don’t expect them to mind-read 😉

With love and a gratefulherz-rosagrun-gif

My Oxford YES Group talk and Demonstration

Talking to my friend and business coach Joanna Byrne yesterday over a lovely cup of tea at Rosie’s Tea Room, I had to realise that I haven’t reflected on this very exciting and moving experience in my life, that happened a few weeks ago. She said “It’s never too late!”, which convinced me I could still tell you all about it.

Weeks and days before the Oxford Yes Group talk, I was unexpectedly calm and wondered about that, thinking “I should be nervous”. Now I think, I pushed my feelings away, even the thought about it. The nervousness came full-on on the morning of the day I should give my talk and had the roller-coaster feeling in my tummy all day and most of the evening. I hadn’t prepared myself at all, as I had given a talk before and I knew I could do it – somehow. I hate preparing a talk. I’ve done it last time, and in the end my notes were really just in the way. I prefer to talk from my experience and my heart.

When I arrived, I felt a warm welcome from the Oxford YES Group members. I had my daughter and my friend with me, which made me feel safer. At first only a few people entered the space, but closer to the beginning of the event, the room was nearly full – my heart was bouncing with joy and excitement. I was also pleased to see my friend Jo Woodcock from Fe-line Women, who has been a great supporter through the past years and really is the person who helped me push myself to speaking publicly and gave me the first opportunity to do this at one of her great Word of Mouth events.

Even though I was nervous and not very well prepared at all, I think I did a fairly good job at explaining the work by starting on my personal experience as a child and youngster (although I should have told them why I was talking about that part of my life – I saw some puzzled faces). I went on bringing light into constellation work and how it relates to my own experience as a young person and how it helped me healing my issues and becoming the captain of my boat. It was great that questions were asked in order to clarify things. This made me aware of the difficulty of explaining constellation work, as it is very experiential and intuitive stuff.

The audience seemed really engaged and interested, and they didn’t run away screeming when the break started, even though I threatened to offer a demonstration of a constellation for the 2nd part of my presentation.

For the demonstration the room was kindly changed by the YES crew, the chairs were put into a big circle. When everybody was back on their seats, I guided them all into a very short grounding meditation in order to get them into a collected, supportive state of being. I then asked for a volunteer, and soon somebody raised their hand. That was indeed very exciting, as I had not expected that anyone would come forward to do such deep and intimate work in front of so many ‘strangers’.

And then something happened that is still bringing a smile to my face: A family constellation formed that was giving such deep insight and turned out to be so powerful that all our minds were blown away. I received amazing feedback and made lovely connections as a result, and I think that the person who did their constellation on that evening, got a great deal out of it. I would love to go into more detail, but of course this is sensitive stuff and what happened will always stay only with the people involved. But I would like to say that I was truly touched and moved by the sincere, supportive involvement of all participants and the fantastic Oxford YES team. I’d also like to mention that my daughter, who for the first time saw me perform in the role of the facilitator and speaker was amazed by both my professionalism and the power of constellation work. She observed it all and gave me such valuable feedback, also on the way I could improve my talk. She felt really proud of her mum, which makes my heart swell and pour over with love and gratitude.

I feel, my talk and demonstration were a huge success, and I can’t wait to give further presentations of this unique, powerful, fantastic work called Systemic Constellations (or Family Constellations).

Bless all Beings x*X*x

Healing

Hello Fellow-Healers and Supporters,

I signed up for and have now started a co-counselling training with the wonderful Celia Wilson, teacher at Co-Counselling International, and the lovely co-teacher James Nichol. Having been through coaching and counselling trainings before, I was a bit uncertain that this was the right step, as I thought I might be bored or ‘underchallenged’, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was the right time to do this course. I am learning different techniques and – being part of a group – experiencing new challenges and touching undiscovered emotional places. I already get a sense of also being part of a wider community, that is there to support me and to be supported by myself. This platform gives me the opportunity to not only reflect myself on a regular basis (without paying ridiculous sums of money) but also to get to know amazing, interesting people and share their and my knowledge and wisdom, and – of course – make new friends.

Last weekend was very intense; we worked from 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. I felt emotionally drained but at the same time totally enriched and blessed to be part of such an amazing bunch of people.

Co-counselling is for everybody. You don’t need to have a background of counselling or coaching at all. You just need to bring the need or desire for self-development. There are naturally more experienced co-counsellors (or teachers) and less experienced ones. But really – it doesn’t matter. The idea is to empty your mind and give ‘free attention’ for a set amount of time and then receive the same for the same amount of time. Intervention tools can and will be learned, but really, what you need is a listener, who gives you their unconditional regard, in order to encourage exploring hidden or covered up places in you.

You basically learn to become a wonderful listener and you learn that there is a network of people who listen to you whenever you feel the need to off-load or just talk.

I had such deep insights last weekend, that I already feel changed and transformed.

Feeling much more self-confident and having created a very powerful constellation session with friends on Monday, I have now decided to run a healing support group (see tab “What’s on?“).

I had been waiting for an impulse and the idea, what kind of group to run, and I’m glad I gave it the time it needed to show itself to me.

Good night and bless all beings!
xxxx

Reiki

Yesterday I became attuned to Reiki, 1st level, by Wayne Lee in Bournemouth. He is such a nice guy – and so relaxed and easy going. At first I didn’t notice anything in terms of energy change, but during the day and the four part-attunements I received, my energy level raised and raised, and my hands started to tingle in a nice way. By the end of the day I was able to give Reiki to the other participants and received great feedback. I sensed different things in different people, some needed hands-on touch, some only aura healing.

I have been giving healing sessions for a long time and I always felt more like a channel for the good energies, but Reiki makes a difference, as the energy is much clearer. I only ever sensed with my right hand, but since yesterday I sense with my left hand as well. I feel a better connection between both hands.

And would you believe it – Wayne cooked a fantastic, delicious meal with a yummy pudding for us all, which I had not at all expected (all included in the very reasonable course price). He was a cook before he became a healer. In the afternoon we were also indulged with very nice chocolate bars. Lovely!

I look forward to using Reiki a lot and will certainly go to Wayne to get my 2nd attunement, when I’m ready.

Love & Blessings!