Lowen Alexander - The Way to Vibrant Health: A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises

The Way to Vibrant Health:

A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises

Books by Alexander Lowen, M.D.

The Language of the Body (1958) Originally published as Physical Dynamics of Character Structure

Love and Orgasm: A Revolutionary Guide to Sexual Fulfillment (1965)

The Betrayal of the Body (1967)

Pleasure: A Creative Approach to Life (1970)

Bioenergetics: The Revolutionary Therapy That Uses the Language of the Body to Heal the Problems of the Mind (1976)

Depression and the Body: The Biological Basis of Faith and Reality (1977)

The Way to Vibrant Health: A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises, co-author Leslie Lowen (1977)

Fear of Life (1980)

Narcissism: Denial of the True Self (1984)

Love, Sex, and Your Heart (1988)

The Spirituality of the Body: Bioenergetics for Grace and Harmony (1990)

Joy: The Surrender to the Body and to Life (1995)

Honoring the Body: The Autobiography of Alexander Lowen, M.D. (2004)

The Voice of the Body: Selected Public Lectures 1962-1982 (2005)

A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises

Alexander Lowen, M.D. and Leslie Lowen
Illustrations by Walter Skalecki

The Alexander Lowen Foundation
www.lowenfoundation.org

The Way to Vibrant Health

Published by The Alexander Lowen Foundation
1852 Texas Hill Rd.,
Hinesburg, VT 05461 USA
Phone: 802-338-2866
www.lowenfoundation.org

Copyright 1977 by Alexander Lowen, M.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number 2003112233 (2003)
ISBN 978-1-938485-14-5 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-938485-15-2 (ebook)

First Edition by The Alexander Lowen Foundation, 2012
Printed in the United States of America

I am dedicating this book to my wife Rowfreta Leslie Lowen, who demonstrated in her body the grace and graciousness of vibrant health. The photograph of my wife supporting the male is symbolic of the belief of the ancients that the mother earth holds up the sky father.

Alexander Lowen, October 2003

The Way to Vibrant Health:

A Manual of Bioenergetic Exercises

Bioenergetics is a way of understanding personality in terms of the body and its energetic processes. These processes, namely, the production of energy through respiration and metabolism and the discharge of energy in movement, are the basic functions of life. How much energy one has and how one uses his energy determine how one responds to life situations. Obviously, one can cope more effectively if one has more energy, which can be freely translated into movement and expression.

Bioenergetics is also a form of therapy that combines work with the body and mind to help people resolve their emotional problems and realize more of their potential for pleasure and joy in living. A fundamental thesis of bioenergetics is that body and mind are functionally identical: that is, what goes on in the mind reflects what is happening in the body and vice versa. The relationship between these three elements, body, mind, and energetic processes, is best expressed by a dialectical formulation as shown in the following diagram.

As we all know, mind and body can influence each other. What one thinks can affect how one feels. The converse is equally true. This interaction, however, is limited to the conscious or superficial aspects of the personality. On a deeper level, that is, on the unconscious level, both thinking and feeling are conditioned by energy factors. For example, it is almost impossible for a depressed person to lift himself out of his depression by thinking positive thoughts. This is because his energy level is depressed. When his energy level is raised through deep breathing (his breathing was depressed along with all other vital functions) and the release of feeling, the person comes out of the depressed state.

Fig. 1. Energetic processes

The energetic processes of the body are related to the state of aliveness of the body. The more alive one is, the more energy one has and vice versa. Rigidity or chronic tension diminishes ones aliveness and decreases ones energy. At birth, an organism is in its most alive, most fluid state; at death, rigidity is total, rigor mortis. We cannot avoid the rigidity that comes with age. What we can avoid is the rigidity due to chronic muscular tensions resulting from unresolved emotional conflicts.

Every stress produces a state of tension in the body. Normally the tension disappears when the stress is relieved. Chronic tensions, however, persist after the provoking stress has been removed as an unconscious bodily attitude or muscular set. Such chronic muscular tensions disturb emotional health by decreasing an individuals energy, restricting his motility (the natural spontaneous play and movement of the musculature), and limiting his self-expression. It becomes necessary then to relieve this chronic tension if the person is to regain his full aliveness and emotional well-being.

The body work of bioenergetics includes both manipulative procedures and special exercises. The manipulative procedures consist of massage, controlled pressure, and gentle touching to relax contracted muscles. The exercises are designed to help a person get in touch with his tensions and release them through appropriate movement. It is important to know that every contracted muscle is blocking some movement. These exercises have been developed in the course of more than twenty years of therapeutic work with patients. They are done in therapy sessions, in classes, and at home. People who do these exercises report a positive effect upon their energy, their mood, and their work. The authors do them regularly to promote their own well-being. Wherever we have introduced these exercises, for example, at workshops for professional people, the response has been enthusiastic. We are constantly asked for a list and description of the exercises. This manual is our response to that demand.

We wish to emphasize at the outset that these exercises are not a substitute for therapy. They will not resolve deep emotional problems, which generally require competent professional help. Very often people who are not in therapy and who do these exercises decide that they need and want such help to work through problems that may have risen to awareness during the course of these exercises. But whether or not you are in therapy, the regular performance of these exercises will help you significantly to increase your aliveness and capacity for pleasure.

These exercises can help you gain more self-possession, with all that this term implies. They will do this by (1) increasing the vibratory state of your body, (2) grounding you in your legs and body, (3) deepening your respiration, (4) sharpening your self-awareness, and (5) enlarging your self-expression. They can also improve your figure, heighten your sexual feelings, and promote your self-confidence. However, they are exercises, not skills, and much depends on what you put into them. If you do them mechanically, you will get little out of them. If you do them compulsively, their value will diminish. If you do them competitively, you will prove, nothing. However, if you do them with care for and interest in your body, the benefits will astonish you.