The Grinberg Method - Learning to be Well

The Grinberg Method is an emerging learning approach whose goal is to train yourself to improve your own wellbeing and health. In order to do this, it primarily uses not the reasoning power of the mind, but the wealth of experience of the body.

A fundamental observation is that mental, bodily and emotional states always correspond to an individual expression on a bodily level (posture, tension, breath etc.). As soon as you have enough awareness to recognise these patterns in your body, you can learn to put an end to them.

Avi Grinberg found out that the most powerful forces of change in this interaction are pain and fear. Pain is an experience that reminds us of our possible demise. Fear is a perception that drives us on, sharpens our senses and enables our survival.

Suffering usually springs from an attempt of our mind to avoid these forces. Our reactions to them are influenced by our own history and culture. Limitations in our daily lives and a loss of vitality are the unconscious price we pay for that.

The Grinberg Method teaches how to systematically reduce these interferences of our mind in our inner world. It shows ways to allow fear and pain in order to grow and heal. Hereby you win back the ability to be more connected to yourself – to your body – and to manifest your wishes in reality.

There are two aspects to the Grinberg Method, which although being based on the same principles, have distinct goals and approaches.

You can choose whether a Learning Process or a Recovery Process according to the Grinberg Method seems more suitable to you.

A Learning Process according to the Grinberg Method requires that you are willing to take responsibility for your current actions and experiences.

You need to have the wish to change and be prepared to allow new and intense experiences.

Ailments or dissatisfaction mostly arise through the repetition of out-of-date behaviour patterns. These include thought processes, reasoning based on past experiences, motion sequences, emotional states or body postures that limit us in our daily lives or in specific situations.

Awareness of these bodily reactions gets heightened through touch, breath, movement and description. You learn to recognise or even allow them, to reproduce them, and ultimately to end them. Energy that was previously invested in these automatic repetitions can now be redirected to where you consciously choose. Personal qualities and skills are given room to unfold. You win the chance to independently raise your quality of life and attain your personal goals.

The general aims of a Learning Process of the Grinberg Method are bodily wellbeing, more energy and vitality, the ability to concentrate, to relax, to manage stress, a growing self-awareness, and the ability to act according to your wishes.

Individual goals get established through the Foot Analysis.

The Recovery Process of the Grinerg Method comes in where a Learning Process is not possible due to acute or chronic pain.

The best results are obtained before and after a fresh injury, accident or operation. But even so, if you do not want to resign yourself to constant or recurring pain, physical disability or impaired ability, this approach can offer you the possibility of managing your complaints differently.

A Recovery Process does not in any way replace necessary medical treatment, but it can go along with it. The Grinberg Method teaches people who want to be actively involved in their healing process in order to reach a fuller recovery in a shorter time.

Usually we are afraid of experiencing pain and its effects. We try to forget unpleasant events, to ignore discomfort, to numb out, to avoid, or we resign ourselves to the damage. In doing so we increasingly loose touch with our body, yet the memories stay recorded.
The consequences of such lack of attention can lead to increasing pain, postural damage, poor wound-healing, deformities or limitations of movement.

In a Recovery Process you learn to use your pain and fear, to get back in contact with the reality of your body. In such a crisis the vital forces of your body get woken up, and the body is able to use its own intelligence and power to heal. Stored history can be relived and finally let go of.

Each session of the Grinberg Method is individually tailored to your needs. The principal objective is to reduce pain and to find a new way to handle it. When you stop holding tension and trying to avoid sensations, the body can do what it needs to heal.

Especially for people who are dependent on their bodily fitness for work or home life, the Recovery Process is a chance to recover the full use of their body in the shortest of time.

The very first session will show if your body responds to the Recovery approach of the Grinberg Method.

In contrast to the weekly rhythm of a Learning Process or a Recovery Process, an Intensive Process is composed of two sessions a day for several consecutive days. Following the Intensive phase there is a period without any sessions.

Through this rapid succession of treatments, it becomes easier to focus on the chosen topic. You will save time, particularly at the beginning of each session, which is usually spent in greeting and refocusing. Fewer sessions are required than in a weekly process to learn the same amount.

An Intensive Process is recommended for people who:

have little time in their routine for a weekly session (e.g. frequent travelers)
want to make a change which they cannot remain focused upon through weekly sessions or in their daily lives
have intense pain or physical discomfort which necessitates rapid change

Your schedule for these days should be oriented toward creating the best possible circumstances for your body to digest and integrate this experience. This means: no obligations, lengthy parties, or any other types of taxing activities. Instead you should make space for resting, sleeping, and nourishing yourself with good food.

This learning structure provides an intense and special experience for all involved!

A free consultation to define an appropriate focus is required prior to participation. Customized arrangements are available upon request.

In the Grinberg Method the Foot Analysis is used to articulate your wishes for change.

It is based on the simple observation that tensions in our body lead to weight shifts in our feet. When these take place over a long period of time, traces appear on the soles of the feet that allow us to make inferences.

Each section of the foot roughly corresponds to a part of the body, though there is no strict correlation as in foot reflexology. Furthermore, various parts of the foot have specific qualities allocated to them.

Based on the characteristics and interplay of the various elements, a practitioner can assess where the individual strengths and talents of a person lie. Likewise, temperature, sensibility, lines and skin condition allow to draw conclusions as to what obstacles/ailments are interfering with the personal potential or body part.

Foot Analysis is no pure system of knowledge, for the practitioners bring in their own experience, knowledge of human nature, intuition, logical thinking, directness and humour. They can read your body regarding a certain ailment or postural pattern. They can also describe in dialogue with you the various states and behaviour patterns that you yourself create, that you know in your daily life, and that keep you from living the life that you want.

Individual goals of a Process according to the Grinberg Method can be set on a bodily level, for instance the removal of restrictions to your movements, suddenly occurring palpitations or headaches. On the behavioural and experiential level, possible goals could be to learn to be direct, to make decisions, to express rage or to allow intimacy.

A taster session follows the Foot Analysis, where the body parts or qualities that came up in the discussion are touched upon. You get a chance to experience it in your body and gain an idea of how the Grinberg Method works.

The Foot Analysis can constitute a stand-alone session to gain clarity on current issues, or it can be the impulse to start a Learning Process according to the Grinberg Method for your personal development.