Radix Institute
FoundationsFoundations of Radix® Bodywork
When our life force flows freely in our body, there is a grace and harmony in the body and a deep connection with all aspects of the body-mind. Feelings, actions and thoughts are integrated and the person feels fully alive.
Central to Radix theory and practice is the concept of a life force or the radix flowing through the body.
When this flows freely, there is a grace and harmony in the body and a deep connection with all aspects of the body-mind. Feelings, actions and thoughts are integrated and the person is ‘fully alive’.
The Radix practitioner is especially interested in the pulsation of this life energy as it gathers into the center or core (the instroke) and expands out to the periphery (the outstroke). These connect us respectively to our inner being (the richness of our feelings, intuition, dreams, fantasies etc.) and to the outside world (a way to express our feelings and visions, as well as our relationships, work and day to day functioning).
So whether listening and talking, or using other tools such as movement, posture, breath, sound, touch or visual work, the Radix body-centered therapist is always observing these aspects of the life force and aiming at enhancing its flow.
Building on this concept is the idea that we block and channel the life force in various ways. This reduces our aliveness but protects us from feelings, such as pain and fear. It can also reduce our capacity to express and experience love and pleasure. These patterns of interruptions to the flow of radix were learned as children to help us to survive emotionally (and sometimes even physically). They can thus be seen as protective or defensive responses, which have become ’embodied’, or a part of our ‘frozen history’.
Enhancing the flow of the radix in this work brings habitual responses to consciousness giving more choice in our ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Together with this is a deep respect for the historical need to have blocked the life energy.
Pioneers of Neo-Reichian Bodywork
– David Boadella
The work of David Boadella has contributed to our understanding of communication as a significant aspect of how our relationships ground us.
Centering means to deal with personal values and personal identities. This covers the somatic, psychological and spiritual identity of an individual. The fundamental question in this context is “Who am I?”
Grounding means the development of effective life management strategies, appropriate levels of assertiveness, efficient and compassionate behaviour. The question is “How do I get there?”
Bounding covers understanding, recognition, or negotiating of one’s own or other’s boundaries and borders, both private and public, personal and social. Social conflicts often occur for instance as a result of ambiguities when drawing up territorial boundaries. The question is “What and where are my boundaries and how can I approach conflict in a constructive way?”
Charging offers opportunities to release personal energy from a static or stagnant situation, to arouse vitality and nourish creativity. Question: “Where and what are my sources of strength, and how can I improve the uptake, circulation and output of my energy?”
