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May 2009

Rosen Movement invites the body to find ease

By Louisa Castner

Where can you spend an hour moving your body with gentle awareness to fun and inspiring music in the company of others? At a Rosen Movement class! Described as a “work in” rather than a workout, Rosen Movement invites a person to notice how moving feels from the inside out.

Rosen Movement is a system of range-of-motion and stretching exercises. These movements are designed to lubricate the joints, expand the chest, and loosen the diaphragm. As founder Marion Rosen says, “The task in every class is to move every joint of the body by loosening the muscles around the joints. The tools are good music, simple movements, and clear instructions.

Rosen, a pioneering influence in somatic therapies, was originally trained as a physical therapist first in Sweden and then at the May Institute in Minnesota. As a physical therapist early in her career (in Berkeley, California, where she eventually settled), she was asked by patients how they could prevent pain and avoid physical therapy treatments in the future. So in 1956 she put together a well-thought-out set of movements, which eventually evolved into the classes offered worldwide today, centering on fun, social movements accompanied by music.

Rosen Movement classes invite more ease into the body through awareness, relaxation, and expanded breath. A person’s “holding patterns” may be explored. It is Marion’s fervent belief that by shedding these holdings a person can be (and can move as) the person he of she truly is.
Each Rosen Movement class is designed to accomplish these goals: joint lubrication, chest and rib expansion, releasing of the diaphragm, muscle lengthening, and relaxation, reshaping the body, and preparing the body for more strenuous movements.

The hour-long class is arranged around different kinds of movements. In the warm-up, the upper-body movements stretch the chest, allowing oxygen to be available for more active parts later in the class. In the circle we focus on moving the legs and hips, paying close attention to all the movements out of the hip joint. By holding hands in the circle for balance and connection, we can feel how much easier it is to move when we are supported by others.

In the across-the-floor segment, we move the whole body, combining movements in more complicated sequences. Working with partners, class members move in relationship to another person. Sometimes this means pushing a stretch a bit past what we could do by ourselves; at other times, partner work involves trust and intimacy as we move in space with another body. On-the-floor movements are designed primarily to support and move the spine, allowing a person to feel the smaller musculature that steadies the backbone.

Pausing for breath in between movements is also an important feature. A brief rest allows the person to feel the effects of the movement while they catch a breath. Rosen Movement teachers pay close attention to all class members, inviting them to respect the limits and abilities of their own bodies. Classes accommodate people with and without disability.

While Rosen invented these classes so that her clients could avoid re-injury and stay limber, Rosen Movement has become much more than that. Over the years, Marion and countless Rosen teachers have seen that moving bodies stay young and continue to function with ease. And this ease in the body seems to cultivate an equally fruitful ease in mind and spirit.

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