ABM NeuroMovement® Positively Impacts Performance, Healing, and Vitality
Stories of a Martial Artist and a Woman Seeking Enhanced Vitality and Pain Relief
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts featuring the stories we received in our Share Your Story About the Anat Baniel Method® (ABM) Contest. We hope that you are finding these stories helpful and inspiring! If you missed any of the previous posts, you can go directly to the NeuroMovement Resources in our Blog to read them.
The Story of Peter
Believe it or not, I was Anat Baniel’s mailman when she lived in a house situated high up on Christmas Tree Hill in Corte Madera in the 1990’s. There was a cottage on those grounds where she would give one-on-one Anat Baniel Method movement lessons. But of course I knew nothing of that at first.
One day I asked Anat: “What is it exactly that you do?”
Anat said: “Why don’t you come to one of my weekend group workshops and find out?”
“Okay,” I replied, polite but non-committal.
“One of these days you’ll be curious,” teased Anat.
And, after a few months, so it came to pass.
My first group workshop, as I remember, involved floor work—movements done while lying on mats—as well as lessons accomplished in the standing position. Though verbally directed and precise, these movements were also highly varied and creative, emphasizing personal exploration.
As a Chinese martial artist with decades of experience, I realized experientially then and there that what Anat was teaching could be deeply useful to me—both in my daily discipline and in life.
It quickly dawned on me that this was a way of learning optimal skeletal movement through recruiting brain and nervous system as co-partners. Never before had I experienced such highly pleasurable, liberating movement—movement stripped “to the bone” through the elimination of personal chatter and interfering habitual patterns.
Yes, the method was science-based—integrating body, mind, and feeling. That made the results highly predictable.
But so also was the spontaneous magic. The magic came in the healing.In such a context, healing flows by itself.
—Peter Hensel
For more information on Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement® and how to reach new levels of performance, see High Performance.
The Story of Christine
A friend of mine told me about Anat Baniel and her work. So, I got Anat’s book Move Into Life and started by trying the exercises in her book and integrating her 9 Essentials, in my daily life (going slow, trying new ways, experimenting with variations, moving with attention and more gently, etc.).
I was amazed at the immediate effects that I felt! My body would move better, my thinking felt clearer, and my energy level was higher. Overall, I felt better from just a few movement exercises and simple changes I made on a day-to-day basis (like brushing my teeth with each hand instead of just my left).
Next I tried some exercises from the Desk-Trainer online program. These are quick and easy, and I got similar results. What I noticed most is how I was able to learn new skills much easier. (I was training on a new job.)
Then, I tried the Anat Baniel Method (ABM) for Healthy Backs Introductory Program DVD. First of all, I couldn’t believe how gentle and small the movements were. Then, I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t able to do some of them. (I had hip pain for awhile and didn’t realize how bad it had gotten. It was even affecting my gait, and apparently simple movements like the ones on the DVD.)
After the first lesson on the DVD, I felt the tension in my jaw release. (I didn’t even know I had tension there!) I went through the DVD a number of times and by the last time, I was able to do all the movements and my hip pain was gone!
What I have noticed since then is that I move totally different. My whole body moves more fluidly and I pay much more attention to what I feel as I am moving. My mood is always better and my thinking gets clearer whenever I make it a point to do a quick movement lesson or practice one of the 9 Essentials.
I am a 55-year-old woman and I no longer believe that pain and slowing down cognitively or physically are unchangeable outcomes of aging.
Anat Baniel has turned my world upside down with these simple tools. I received more of the ABM DVDs and will be continuing with them. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
—Christine Buss
Special Note: In full disclosure, I want to let you know that I currently work with Anat Baniel as her Social Media Coordinator. I can honestly say that I would not be doing this work for Anat if I had not experienced the positive changes myself and did not fully believe in this NeuroMovement® approach. I am passionate about the work that Anat and her ABM NeuroMovement® Practitioners do. And I am continually inspired by the testimonials from clients about the groundbreaking outcomes and results that they experience.
Thank you, Peter and Christine, for sharing your stories with us. So happy to hear that ABM is making a difference in your lives!
Anat Baniel
If you are interested in trying our ABM NeuroMovement® DVDs and CDs, check out our online shop.
