Elsa Gindler
Encyclopedia
Elsa Gindler was a somatic
bodywork pioneer in Germany
.
Born in Berlin
, gymnastics
teacher, student of Hedwig Kallmeyer (who, in turn, had been a student of Genevieve Stebbins
).
From her personal experience of recovering from an attack of tuberculosis (by concentrating to breathe with her healthy lung and rest the diseased lung) Gindler helped originate an entire school of bodywork, in close collaboration with Heinrich Jacoby
.
What Gindler had called Arbeit am Menschen (work on the human being) emphasised self-observation and growing understanding of one's individual physically related condition. Simple actions such as sitting, standing, walking etc. were explored, also in everyday situations.
This became one of the bases of body psychotherapy
since many of the most influential body psychotherapists studied with her or "Sensory Awareness" with Charlotte Selver
at the Esalen Institute
around 1962.
During the Nazi-period of Germany, Gindler used these investigations and experimental exercises with her students to covertly help people who were persecuted by the regime. For her assistance to the Jewish population of Berlin, she was distinguished as a righteous among the nations
and a tree was planted in Yad Vashem
in her honour.
- Germany: Sophie Ludwig (1901–1997)
- Hungary: Emmi Pikler (child-care) (1902–1984)
- Israel: Moshe Feldenkrais
(1904–1984)
- Switzerland: Ruth Matter (1904–1995)
- Switzerland: Heinrich Jacoby
- France: Lily Ehrenfried:Methode Ehrenfried / Gymnastique Holistique
- United States of America:
in English:
Somatics
The field of somatics encompasses holistic body-centered approaches that help people reconnect with self and transform through movement practices that promote psycho-physical awareness and well-being...
bodywork pioneer in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
teacher, student of Hedwig Kallmeyer (who, in turn, had been a student of Genevieve Stebbins
Genevieve Stebbins
Genevieve Stebbins was an American author, teacher, and performer of the Delsarte system of expression.-Early life:Genevieve Stebbins was born on March 7, 1857 in San Francisco, California to James Cole Stebbins and Henrietta Smith. Her mother died when she was two years old...
).
From her personal experience of recovering from an attack of tuberculosis (by concentrating to breathe with her healthy lung and rest the diseased lung) Gindler helped originate an entire school of bodywork, in close collaboration with Heinrich Jacoby
Heinrich Jacoby
Heinrich Jacoby , originally a musician, was a German educator whose teaching was based on developing sensitivity and awareness. A great role in his researches played the collaboration with the colleague Elsa Gindler, whom he met in 1924 in Berlin...
.
What Gindler had called Arbeit am Menschen (work on the human being) emphasised self-observation and growing understanding of one's individual physically related condition. Simple actions such as sitting, standing, walking etc. were explored, also in everyday situations.
This became one of the bases of body psychotherapy
Body Psychotherapy
Body psychotherapy, also referred to as body-oriented psychotherapy and somatic psychology, is a significant branch of psychotherapy, with origins in the work of Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud and particularly Wilhelm Reich....
since many of the most influential body psychotherapists studied with her or "Sensory Awareness" with Charlotte Selver
Charlotte Selver
Charlotte Selver was a German music educationalist.The central point of Charlotte Selver's work was "experience through the senses"...
at the Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute
Esalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
around 1962.
During the Nazi-period of Germany, Gindler used these investigations and experimental exercises with her students to covertly help people who were persecuted by the regime. For her assistance to the Jewish population of Berlin, she was distinguished as a righteous among the nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
and a tree was planted in Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in her honour.
Influences on other therapies by Elsa Gindlers work and by Sensory Awareness
Gindler's work has been continued and influenced the following movement and health-care therapies/originators:- Germany: Sophie Ludwig (1901–1997)
- Hungary: Emmi Pikler (child-care) (1902–1984)
- Israel: Moshe Feldenkrais
Moshé Feldenkrais
Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais was an Israeli physicist and the founder of the Feldenkrais Method, designed to improve human functioning by increasing self-awareness through movement.-Biography:...
(1904–1984)
- Switzerland: Ruth Matter (1904–1995)
- Switzerland: Heinrich Jacoby
Heinrich Jacoby
Heinrich Jacoby , originally a musician, was a German educator whose teaching was based on developing sensitivity and awareness. A great role in his researches played the collaboration with the colleague Elsa Gindler, whom he met in 1924 in Berlin...
- France: Lily Ehrenfried:Methode Ehrenfried / Gymnastique Holistique
- United States of America:
- Marion Rosen "Rosen MethodRosen Method BodyworkRosen Method Bodywork is a type of Complementary and alternative medicine. The psycho-somatic approach of this bodywork is intended to help to integrate one's bodily and the emotional/mental experience, helping to identify unconscious patters of muscular holding, feeling, and behavior...
" - Carola Speads "Physical Re-Education"
- Charlotte SelverCharlotte SelverCharlotte Selver was a German music educationalist.The central point of Charlotte Selver's work was "experience through the senses"...
"Sensory Awareness" - Esalen Massage
- Gestalt TherapyGestalt therapyGestalt therapy is an existential/experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating...
, Fritz PerlsFritz PerlsFriedrich Salomon Perls , better known as Fritz Perls, was a noted German-born psychiatrist and psychotherapist of Jewish descent....
and Laura Perls - Body-Mind Centering
Sources
- History of Esalen InstituteEsalen InstituteEsalen Institute is a residential community and retreat in Big Sur, California, which focuses upon humanistic alternative education. Esalen is a nonprofit organization devoted to activites such as meditation, massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, and spirituality...
- German Wikipedia article on Elsa Gindler (translation requested)
External links
in German:- Swiss Association for Elsa Gindler/Heinrich Jacoby
- Jacoby/Gindler Foundation Germany
- Ways of Development, German Association working on pedagogy following Gindler/Jacoby
- Ruth Matter Foundation
in English: