Experiences with Eurythmy in Motion

Eurythmy in Motion Workshop 

28.11.2022  

I recently took part in a workshop called ‘Eurythmy in Motion’, led by Katherine Beaven and Caroline Westlake, in which they were teaching some of the outcomes of a collaboration between Wieger Veerman, Verena Staël von Holstein and Etschewit. The latter is the name of the water elemental being who has been in communication with Verena, who has clairvoyant abilities, while Wieger has been teaching the outcome of this communication as an extension of a training in eurythmy therapy.

My impulse to write something stems from my deep and sincere gratitude for my experience, which was strongly healing, transformative, reverential and profound, and because of the importance I feel this renewing impulse in eurythmy holds for the Earth and human beings. Since the appearance of Christ in the etheric in 1933 and humanity’s further evolution since 1912, including the development of new illnesses, the need for a development in eurythmy has arisen. One that comes through the etheric, through the waters, building upon the eurythmy that was given to Rudolf and Marie Steiner through a spirit-being of the air element, and which is thus more astral in nature. Etschewit has been preparing to deliver this new eurythmic content for the past five hundred years.

In the workshop we connected with the life streams; learnt sound sequences for protection and replenishing one’s forces; worked on harmonising the sheaths of the human being (e.g., physical, etheric, astral, and spirit/I); connected with the element of water more deeply in an exercise called ‘balance of water’, which allowed us to experience the qualities of the etheric body and the ethers; focused on the liver and kidneys, with corresponding rhythms and sound sequences; and in the ‘body surrounding web’, moved lemniscates on the three spatial planes. The latter exercise was particularly connected to the etheric heart, and all involved the consciousness of the points through which the beings of each sound enter one’s body.

I personally appreciated the slow tempo of the gestures, which allowed space to connect more deeply with the beings of the sounds, to really feel the process of forming and creating through movement – to fill these gestures with one’s soul – and really allow the beings of the sounds to be present. It allowed me more space for my own experiences of the practice, sensible and supersensible. I also found the focus on the portal points helpful when creating the sounds, particularly because of the increased consciousness this enabled at this point in the process as well as in my body, providing a feeling of anchoring in my body. It also generally enables one to be more of a master of the process, thus providing more protection from adversarial influences. Overall, I found the whole experience incredibly inspiring and masterfully taught.

Holland once again

It has been a pleasure once again to be in Holland and to take part in Wieger Veerman’s training Eurythmy in Motion Part III. Wieger gives his courses with much warmth, humour, matter of factness and a deep reverence. I sensed the presence of the Logos and an expectant touching into the future.

Eurythmy in Motion has come into being through the cooperation of doctors and eurythmy therapists together with the elemental being Etschewit who is responsible for water in the area of the Mill (and for water over the whole earth) where Verena Stael von Holstein lives. Verena S v. H is able to communicate with spirit nature beings and ‘translate’ what they say into our language. Work with eurythmy has been going on since 2006 and Wieger joined it 8 years ago.

Whilst there in Holland I enjoyed floating around on a bicycle from the Stadts Camping Platz, across the river and to the old town – exercising my muscles going up the bridge and exercising my mental faculties keeping a lookout for cross paths, pedestrians, traffic and other cyclists – having to be very alert to be able to stay in the flow. This was a very Dutch experience which made me feel that Holland is a wonderful place for this impulse to incarnate.

The course began with a two-day repeat of the introductory courses and was held at the Christian Community in Zutphen. Part III of the training was held, as in August 2019 and January 2020, at the Deventer Waldorf School. There were 38 participants (doctors and eurythmy therapists) from 10 nationalities (4 English speaking eurythmy therapists).

The special work with Wieger requires inner alertness and a willingness to invite the sound being in before moving the gestures. An awareness of the etheric heart is central to moving the gestures, and we learnt to connect with Ansatz points in different parts of the body depending on the sound.

We were also introduced to ‘therapeutic sentences’. The sentence is a vehicle for giving order to a sequence of sounds. It is a way of creating longer sequences that are multi-functional, working on different aspects of the human being. For instance, the ‘subject’ is one of the four members of the human being (physical body, etheric body, astral body or I). The ‘verb’ is the activity which we want to call on for example to detoxify, to relax, to reduce inflammation etc. The ‘object’ is the organ or body part that needs addressing. This sentence approach enables one to be specific, flexible, and differentiated. We also looked at a variety of organ treatments as well as wi-fi protection and post-covid.

A number of doctors have already been working with this approach for many years. One of them is Dr Elizabeth Kuhlemaijer (anthroposophical GP in Holland) who carries the course together with Wieger. Dr Astrid Engelbrecht also took part and gave the evening lecture. She spoke about the body elemental and cited from Steiner’s work where he referred to it in a number of places using a different name.

The course will continue in Holland twice a year and the next theme in January will be cancer. It is not possible to join it anymore, unfortunately, as the basic course is a requirement. Katherine Beaven would be happy to offer a course on the hygienic exercises to eurythmists and eurythmy therapists if there is enough interest. If you are one of them please contact Katherine: katherinemove2heal@gmail.com

“Eurythmy in Motion” is now recognised officially by a number of eurythmy therapy associations as a continued professional development. It is a great wish that Eurythmy in Motion be made accessible to the English-speaking world. Happily, a start has been made with translating into English although this will need more time and finances. We hope that in the future Wieger will be able to offer a second course like the one he is running in Holland. This may only be possible in a couple of years’ time.

Eurythmy in Motion

We have just attended a weekend course in Holland which might interest you. It’s the second weekend of a series, but it is still possible for you to join. The work is based on the indications for Eurythmy Therapy given by Verena Staël von Holstein who communicates with the spirit-nature being Etschewit. The many insights and indications that have arisen have been thoroughly discussed and worked through by anthroposophical doctors and eurythmy therapists. They have also been very positively received by many patients since this work began in 2006.
Wieger Veerman, Eurythmy Therapist, has been working with this impulse since 2012 and began collaborating with Verena Staël von Holstein two years later to develop “Eurythmy in Motion” as a post grad course for doctors and eurythmy therapists. This course is now recognised by the German and Dutch Eurythmy Therapy associations, also read the article about “Eurythmy in Motion” in the Goetheanum Newsletter 70 Easter 2019 (Section for the Performing Arts).
This impulse grows out of the fact that since the appearance of Christ in the etheric, the human being has become able to meet eurythmy in a new way. It is an extension and deepening of what Rudolf Steiner gave us. A central aspect of the work is the connection to the feeling flow of the etheric heart. New arm and leg movements have been developed, also specific rhythms for the organs, further ansatz points (entrance points) for the sounds, sound sequences for protection – including against radiation, as well as ways of working with trauma, cancer and many other illnesses.
It is planned that there will be four more courses (a total of six over 3 years in August and January), but it will be necessary to attend the next extended course if you wish to attend further courses. It will take place August 12-16, 2020 in Deventer, Holland. A good knowledge of german is essential. If you want to know more you can contact
either one of us

Katherine Beaven and Caroline Westlake, january 2020

katherinemove2heal@gmail.com

cjbwestlake@gmail.com

Inspiring and nourishing

“The two workshops with Wieger that I have attended were extremely well structured and rich with content that is both inspiring and nourishing. Wieger is an excellent facilitator in guiding participants in a focused and also gentle way.”