Rosen Method Questions and Answers

If you are considering a Rosen Method bodywork session, I hope you’ll find your questions answered here.

What is Rosen Method?

Rosen Method is an approach to relaxation and healing distinguished by its gentle, direct touch. The practitioner focuses on chronic muscle tension and the breath, encouraging and allowing the client to become more aware of body sensations and internal experiences. As relaxation occurs, memories, attitudes and unconscious feelings may emerge.

What has been held down by muscle tension is often what has prevented us from becoming who we really are. As clients become aware of and let go of suppressed emotions, they often report relief from chronic muscle tension as well as an improvement in physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

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What are the benefits of Rosen Method?

The benefits of Rosen Method frequently include less pain and tension, as well as increased aliveness and vitality. It is not uncommon to experience a new sense of clarity about one’s life purpose. This leads to an ease in making decisions that improve the quality of one’s life.

The most commonly cited benefits are:

  • Relaxation of muscle tension and chronic holding
  • Increase in flexibility and vitality
  • Deepening of physical and emotional awareness
  • Movement in areas of personal growth
  • An enhancement of the benefits received from other therapeutic modes and psychospiritual disciplines

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Who benefits from Rosen Method?

You can benefit from Rosen Method if you:

  • are under stress
  • feel over-extended
  • have physical pain and discomfort.
  • have unexplained somatic symptoms and suspect your body may be trying to communicate something through these symptoms
  • have muscle tension and postural problems
  • are looking for physical, emotional, and spiritual growth
  • have lost a sense of who you really are and wish to reconnect with your true nature
  • are receiving psychotherapy
  • are preoccupied with issues from the past that prevent you from living fully in the present
  • have become estranged from your body due to body image issues, Gender Identity Disorder (GID), or an overly intellectual relationship to your experience
  • have a meditation practice — Rosen Method allows clients to enter a healing, meditative state while maintaining contact with another person
  • would like to explore creative blocks
  • want to increase your ease in physical activity
  • use your body for self-expression, such as athletics, public speaking, performing

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Are there people who shouldn’t receive Rosen Method?

Because the work is so gentle, there are usually no physical contraindications for Rosen Method.

For clients who are in a state of serious emotional crisis or who have a history of psychosis, it’s advisable that they receive psychotherapy while they are receiving Rosen Method, since the work has the potential to unlock unconscious material.

Rosen Method is not suited for those who have severe mental illness, who are suicidal, who are not being treated for their ongoing substance abuse, or whose life situation is emotionally and psychologically unstable. The work is not normally appropriate for children.

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How are Rosen Method practitioners trained?

The training program to become a certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner requires a minimum of 500 hours of study over a four-year period. This includes a series of intensive training sessions or weekly classes, plus an internship program.

The first half of the program focuses on the personal growth of the student. Students must attain a level of self-understanding, in addition to competency in skills, before they are allowed to begin their internship.

The second half of the training includes an internship, during which the student must give 350 documented client sessions. Additional requirements include 25 Rosen Method sessions, 30 supervisions, five client reviews, and a written paper.

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How long is a session? How often should I receive sessions? How many will I need?

Sessions last one hour. It’s common for clients initially to have sessions every week or every other week and for new clients to receive at least three sessions. Rosen Method works with holding that has accumulated over a lifetime, and it may take a few weeks before one senses the benefits and changes.

Clients come for many different reasons, and the work is unique for each individual. Some clients come weekly or every other week for an indefinite period of time. Other clients have six to ten sessions, take a break, then resume sessions.

The work does not just happen on the table, but continues between sessions. Clients may want to observe their dreams, bodily sensations, and memories and to use this as a guide when deciding on frequency.

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Where can I get more information?

To read more about Rosen Method, please see the Resources section, where you’ll find information on:

  • Rosen Method Basics (books, articles, intensives, training centers)
  • Personal Growth & Transformation
  • Movement Awareness
  • Rosen Method Movement
  • Essential Motion
  • Continuum Movement
  • 5Rhythms
  • Alexander Technique
  • Feldenkrais
  • Trauma, Pain, and Stress
  • Scoliosis

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