Basic Concepts of the Grinberg Method

Stopping what limits you - Breaking patterns

Throughout our lives we learned to respond in a similar way to certain situations. By repeating ourselves we developed patterns of movement, thought, emotion and behavior. These patterns alienate us from our bodies, causing pain and discomfort and generating recurring moods that diminish our experience of life. They lead us to an automatic and routine way of relating to ourselves and others.

The Grinberg Method emphasizes that an essential key to any change or achievement is the willingness and ability to stop the habits that would otherwise limit us. Since we often experience our habits as “who we are,” breaking them presents a challenge.

Learning a different approach

Fear, pain, unwanted feelings, loss and the like commonly appear in life. Today, with any effort to realize a change or a goal, we may encounter them in different volumes. They would normally be perceived as obstacles, and we would continue to relate to them as we did in the past; overcoming, ignoring, avoiding, being overwhelmed by them.

The Grinberg Method offers a new approach. Here are a few examples of what would be taught and experienced through the body:

• Fear
  • Not to look at it as an enemy
  • To let it flow in the body so it strengthens rather than paralyzes us
  • Not to reduce our options as a way to avoid it
• Personal history
  • To gain back qualities we have lost in our past
  • To ensure that it does not repeat itself
  • Not to allow past conclusions to define who we are
  • Not to let it dictate the future
• Pain
  • To allow it, so we can let go of it
  • Not to resist it, as this makes it even stronger
  • To notice that it is not bigger than us—no need to collapse or give up to it
  • To experience it in our bodies rather than try to deal with it as an ongoing dialogue in our heads or by talking about it to others
• About the body
  • To let our ability to perceive through the body enrich our experiences
  • The body could heal itself better given the right conditions—attention, relaxation and allowing the flow of fear and pain would allow it to get stronger
  • The difference in the outcome when situations are experienced through the body rather than through the mind
• About will
  • At any moment we can start implementing our will
  • It is like a muscle—the more we practice it, the stronger
  • We need it to achieve what we want
  • When we do not contradict our intentions, we get a stronger will
  • By exercising our will with our whole body, we increase the chances for our intentions to happen

Personal freedom - Choosing who and how to be

Although we sometimes perceive life as happening to us or as being out of our control, things can stop and others can start. Even when circumstances cannot be changed, we can still choose who and how to be within the situation. Recognizing this and acting upon it allows us to exercise our personal freedom.