No Need to Be Elsewhere – Here Is Fine

by Dave Pratt

Like many students of Breema, I was initially attracted to this holistic system because of the bodywork. It’s not that I wasn’t interested in Self-Breema and the Nine Principles of Harmony, but as a new bodyworker, I was immediately drawn in by the beauty of the photos I saw of Breema bodywork. In fact, I wished to share the bodywork with clients—even before I’d experienced a treatment myself! 

Today, after two decades of practicing this art, I am delighted to say that Breema is much more than what I thought it was, and I am still a student. Lately, I have been re-learning that any moment can be an opportunity for refreshment, essential nourishment, and raising my level of Consciousness.

My wife and I own a small retreat center in Ohio—small enough that we are the whole staff. Sometimes, I call it a “mom and pop” kind of business. This means that we do everything from building our website and paying the bills to teaching classes, giving treatments and cleaning. I bring this up because there are so many different things I need to do each day, and honestly, any of those “chores” provides me with a way to be present when I remember and take a small step.

Earlier this week, I was sanding a large slab of wood that will become an outdoor table here. As I began to make a repeated movement with an electric sander, I remembered something very helpful: I’ve learned that I can benefit from any activity of the body with the tools that Breema provides. I decided right then that I would work with the principle Body Comfortable as I sanded. Since this was a large piece of wood, I knew I’d have many chances to put this principle into practice.

As I moved back and forth, letting the relaxed weight of my body lean into the sander and then allowing my body to find a natural rhythm as I leaned in the other direction, my mind began to quiet down. I can even say that the desire to be anywhere else faded, and I was simply experiencing Single Moment/ Single Activity, another of the Breema principles. I was nourished by the relief of not straining and using undue force. I also saw that I was equally nourished by dropping the familiar need to be somewhere else or to be doing something else. There was simple satisfaction in just being where I was and doing what I was doing.

Over the next hour, I lost the connection to the body many times, and I also remembered and returned my attention to the activity many times. When I saw that I had forgotten, I knew that I could simply begin again, and it wasn’t a big deal. This is one of the beautiful supports that Breema also teaches us, and which we can verify for ourselves—we can always begin. What a revelation this has been to me again and again! If I see that my mind has gotten involved in thoughts, I simply register the body breathing or moving and stay with that until the feelings come in, or perhaps until my mind wanders again. Either way, I have a clear direction. Because the physical body is so tangible, and it is newly manifesting in each second, my mind can come directly to the experience of the body for at least a little while.

Recently, I was standing outside, talking on the phone with a sales person. I needed to order some supplies, but I also saw that familiar tug of the mind telling me that I had other things to do. As I looked down at my credit card and was about to say the numbers there, I suddenly saw how much unnecessary tension there was in the body. For a moment, I simply experienced that and registered an inhalation and an exhalation. What happened next was very short in the sense of time, but there was great value in the moment for myself. I saw that I was so caught up in hurrying up to get this call “over with,” that I had completely forgotten what Breema has helped me verify many times: when I remember my desire to be present, any activity of the body is an opportunity to be nourished by my relationship to life. In fact, Breema gives me a clear way to enter into genuine relationship with life instead of getting lost in the separateness of “living” in thoughts.

As I spoke the card numbers to the woman who was helping me with my order, I heard my voice and knew I was present. I also heard the sounds of the birds and more clearly experienced the grass underfoot and trees around me. I was genuinely thankful for the assistance this person was giving me and sincerely wished her well as we spoke a little more and then finished the call.

I’m grateful for Breema because it shows me that there are always new lessons, and there is always something I can do to raise my level of Consciousness. I am also thankful that the path of Self-Understanding has no end, at least not that I can see! Each moment, I have an opportunity to more fully participate in life, and that is something to celebrate.

David Pratt is a Licensed and seasoned Massage Therapist, Certified Breema Instructor and author of over 170 articles on wellness and the healing arts. He and his wife are the owners of True Nature Holistic Retreats, in Millersburg, Ohio. Their guests receive Yoga and Self-Breema classes, Breema bodywork and massage therapy treatments, organic meals and the delicious medicine of nature.

For more information on the holistic system of Breema, visit breema.com.