Alexander Lowen (1995) demonstrates with John who is dissatisfied with his body. Through exercises, Lowen helps John use his body to express his full range of feelings. Lowen explains that he does not rely on the mind to change behavior because of its lack of power. Lowen expects the body to free itself. The demonstration concludes with Lowen’s elaboration on his work.
Patients come to therapy because they have problems. These problems range from difficulties in working, in social and sexual relationships and in functioning. Symptoms may be depression, anxiety and fear, or a general sense that life has no meaning. In all cases it can be seen that the body is emotionally crippled by chronic muscular tensions which limit the person's energy and decreases his vitality. In this workshop Lowen explains how one recognizes these tensions and how they can be released.
The split in the modern personality is between the head and the body, between the rational mind and irrational gut feelings. It reflects the split in this culture between science and the natural forces in life and nature which science attempts to control. The modern individual lives largely in his head and is out of touch with his body because he had deadened it to suppress the fear, the pain and the despair which he experienced in childhood.
This workshop will focus on physical (muscular) tension in the body and relate it to emotional conflicts in the present, derived from early childhood experiences. Specific attention will be paid to temporomandibular tension and to disturbances in breathing. Asthma will be examined as an emotional problem. The dynamics of headaches will be studied, and techniques for releasing underlying tension will be demonstrated.
Topical Panel 11 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Transference / Countertransference
Featuring Alexander Lowen, MD; James Masterson, MD; Rollo May, PhD; and Erving Polster, PhD.
Moderated by Ruth McClendon, MSW.
Topical Panel 07 from the Evolution of Psychotherapy 1990 - Sexuality
Featuring Albert Ellis, PhD; Helen Singer Kaplan, MD, PhD; Alexander Lowen, MD; and Judd Marmor, MD, PhD.
Moderated by Joseph Barber, PhD.
Recognition of body-mind unity requires acceptance of the fact that the body in its form and motility expresses the individual's personality as much as behavior and thinking. If there is to be a change in personality, the body must reflect that change. To change bodily attitude, one should work directly with the energy dynamics of the body. By mobilizing a person's energy, one opens up deep feelings that are otherwise inaccessible. This is critical in the treatment of depression which is directly connected to an energetic collapse in the body. The address will describe how one increases an individual's energy to promote his pleasure in life.