"Experiencing Osteopathy Through Continuum Movement": by Bonnie Gintis, D.O

Experiencing Osteopathy Through Continuum Movement
by Bonnie Gintis, D.O.

This is a condensed version of an article that accompanied a presentation at the 2001 Cranial Academy Annual
Conference. To read the full version, refer to: http://www.continuummovement.com/article5.html)
I had to perform many serious experiments on my own cranium because of my

skepticism about the mobility of the cranial bones. I could not perform these experiments
upon the heads of other people. However, I did need to perform them on a living head
because it was necessary to have the knowledge that is unobtainable from the study of a
dead specimen in an anatomical laboratory. . . Had I tried them on another person I
would only have had information; they would have the knowledge.i
William G. Sutherland, D.O.
As an Osteopathic student with an intense desire to develop my diagnostic and treatment skills, I
often found myself wondering why I was working so hard to learn how to feel what was happening in
someone elses body when my own body was in many ways much more accessible. I found myself as the
patient lying on the table in Osteopathic Principles and Practice class learning more by sensing my own
mechanism, my own anatomy and physiology, than I did when I was the student physician sensing my
patients body. As Osteopaths, we are trained to be attentive to other peoples anatomy and physiology,
but not to our own. Most people dont know how to listen to the deep messages conveyed by the wisdom
of their own biological process, and to use this sense. Once I learned to recognize a physiological
phenomenon in myself, it was much easier to perceive it in someone else.
I discovered that when studying anatomy and physiology if I embarked on my own inner Tour of
the Minnow, like Dr. Sutherland, I could deepen my knowledge by exploring my own living human
body, rather than merely gain information from reading the book or listening to a lecture. Along with the
development of my perceptual field and the knowledge that came with it, I realized I could also apply
these self-sensing principles to the treatment process. I hoped that some day I could find a way to teach
this to my patients and empower them to care for themselves without always being dependent on someone
else to treat them.
Years later, as I developed into an Osteopathic educator, teaching at New York College of
Osteopathic Medicine and eventually becoming Course Director of the Cranial Academys 40-hour Basic
Course, I wondered why our basic educational process was so externally oriented towards diagnosing
and treating others. If Dr. Sutherland began his Osteopathic inquiry as an inner exploration of his own
cranial mechanism, why dont we all begin with that orientation? I began to develop my own methods of
teaching students to perceive Osteopathic principles in their own bodies.
I have always searched for ways to reproduce or support Osteopathic experiences outside of the
usual clinical context. I have explored many methods of increasing awareness and self-care and I try to
convey what I have learned to my students and patients for their own use. Continuum Movement is the
most effective approach Ive found that offers an opportunity to experience Osteopathic principles in
ourselves. Continuum teaches us to access an expanded perceptual awareness that enables us to recognize
and respond to internal cues. We can use this wisdom to guide any aspect of our own lives or we can
apply this expanded array of perceptions to our practice of Osteopathy.
The following is a brief description of some of the essential principles of Continuum Movement
and an explanation of the common ground they share with Osteopathy.
History & Basic Philosophy of Continuum

Continuum Movement (usually referred to as simply, Continuum) was developed in the early
1960s by Emilie Conrad, a professional dancer. She discovered a way of approaching movement and
somatic education based on intrinsic felt movements, rather than on imposed exercises or prescribed
1
routines. She continues to develop her work and teaches internationally. Conrad states that, movement is
what we are, not something we do.ii Continuum is not an exercise technique, in the same way that
Osteopathy is not a treatment technique. Much like Osteopathy, Continuum is based on a philosophy that
trusts in a deep wisdom that will guide the body to move in a way to allow the fullest expression of
healing forces.
The mutability of our anatomy and physiology is evident in every instance of growth,
development, and healing. Continuum, like Osteopathy, addresses our ability to change. Form follows
function, and function alters form; they are interrelated throughout life, from the embryonic phase until
death. We can always enter the realm of potential, the primordial state that allows us to cultivate the
ability to fluently shift our context and thus promote Health.
The Fluid System is Fundamental

Continuum considers the fact that the human body is primarily (70%) composed of water.
Biological systems are fluid-based, so that nutrients, neurotransmitters, most waste products and other
substances are exchanged most freely through the fluid of a relatively less dense environment. Stimulating
the movement, and hence the vitality of the fluid aspects of the body is central to the practice of
Continuum. Both Continuum and Osteopathy acknowledge the material fluid system, and the non-
material Potency expressed in the fluid within the fluid. By refining our attention and intention to allow
our fluctuating fluid nature to express itself, Conrad assures us that an exchange of information and
nourishment will occur in our system that carries a divine and complex intelligence that is not limited by
the boundaries of our own thought process or of any treatment technique.
Anne Wales, DO in her reminiscing of Dr. Sutherland, refers to how he described the goal of an
Osteopathic treatment as the movement of all the fluids of the body across all their interfaces.iii The
movement of fluid at the cellular level delivers nutrients and other information-containing substances into
and out of the cell. Waste products are carried to their final destinations. The gross physical effects of this
exchange of fluids include the stimulation of blood flow, venous and lymphatic drainage, visceral
mobility and motility, and fluctuation of cerebrospinal fluid. Sutherland did not focus on alignment, range
of motion, relief of pain, or release of physical strain patterns. These are all secondary benefits of a
functional fluid system. In the elaboration of the phenomena of the Primary Respiratory Mechanism, Dr.
Sutherland stated that the phenomenon of the fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid and the Potency of the
Tide is the fundamental principle of the cranial concept.iv If we embrace this as true, then we can develop
this principle and apply it to every aspect of our lives. Continuum provides a fascinating way to explore
this path.
Breath, Sound, & Vibration

The primacy of breath is one of the foundations of Continuum. Emilie Conrad states, All
movement begins with inhalation and exhalation.v She frequently speaks of respiration poetically and
metaphorically, Breath will start to activate our fluid systems and bring about novel intrinsic interactions
where the throb of life becomes apparent.vi Her understanding of breath and fluid movement as
something greater than their simple mechanical actions shares common philosophical ground with
Osteopathy and parallels the Osteopathic concepts of the Primary Respiratory Mechanism, the Breath of
Life, and the Potency of the Tide (the fluid within the fluid.)
Continuum utilizes hundreds of different breaths and sounds. Each one has a different texture and
resonant effect on the body. Our breath is one of the constant life-sustaining motions in our vast repertoire
of movements. The rate and quality of breath can be consciously altered to elicit a change in function.
Respiration has a cellular effect, a gross motion effect, and a profound effect on the function of the
autonomic nervous system. Breath can mobilize tissue, blood, lymph, somatoemotional holding patterns,
change heart rate, innumerable physiological functions, and stimulate our general constitutional vitality.
Refining our relationship to secondary respiration opens the door to a more intimate relationship with
Primary Respiration.
2
Sound is the vibratory movement of the breath. Vibration coupled with breath can change the
focus of attention and can have a direct effect on many aspects of the body and its function. Increasing the
dexterity and capacity of our breathing, and engaging in a wider variety and greater complexity of
movements, enhances our sense of our internal intrinsic world and gives us an opportunity to mobilize
inertial states and disrupt dysfunctional habitual patterns.
Redefining Fitness Without Mechanical Habits

Both fitness routines and rehabilitation regimens tend to focus solely on the mechanical model
and externally prescribed regimens that address the known aspects of the gross workings of the neuro-
musculoskeletal system. If our bodies were able to move freely, the way they were designed to, without
the constraints of habit, we would more readily self-correct and strengthen. Strength can only emerge
from a system that is responsive and adaptable. Habit is an expression of efficiency and is necessary for
survival, but if it persists beyond its physiologic need, to the point of inertia, it creates a closed system
with no room for creativity and flexibility. Nonphysiologic habit becomes a rut and disables the healing
process. Continuum asks us to disengage from our habitual approach to movement, in order to experience
a novel chance to be present with our bodys necessity and have access to a wider scope of choices and
responses, and increase our adaptability and ability to heal.
What happens in a Continuum class?

The focus of a class may range from engaging in breathing, meditation, and small nearly invisible
micro-movements, to aerobic activity using weights or a variety of unique exercise equipment. The
context of a class is set by presenting an idea, an image, or a theme, and performing a variety of breaths
and movements with attentiveness to that theme. Sequences of wave-like motions are combined with
breath and sound. Wave motion is created by allowing the body to mimic the flowing, undulating, and
curving patterns often found in the movement of water.
In a class of mine we may combine an anatomical fact with an Osteopathic concept and explore a
movement sequence. For example, we may explore feeling the relationship between the pharyngeal
tubercle of the occiput (from which the posterior pharyngeal wall is suspended) and the sacrum. Cueing
our sense of the anatomy by breath and movement allows us to enter a state of open attention and observe
this relationship from a new perspective. Depending upon the theme, the work may be done with music,
or in silence. Continuum can be done in a group class or at home alone as a daily practice.
Conclusion
In practicing Continuum, I experience many of the basic principles of what I practice
Osteopathically. Continuum is a great venue for exploration and discovery that universally applies to
personal physical, emotional, mental and spiritual life as well as work as an Osteopathic Physician.
Exploring Continuum empowers us to develop and deepen our diagnostic and therapeutic skills, to
cultivate a sense of devotion to caring for ourselves and our patients, and to re-integrate movement as an
instinctual therapeutic aspect of our lives. My synthesis of Osteopathy and Continuum is an invitation to
follow A. T. Stills encouragement to dig on and explore the depths of our experience and
understanding of Osteopathy beyond our known limits.
____________________________________________________________________________________
References
i
Sutherland, William G., ed. Wales, Anne L. Teachings in the Science of Osteopathy, Rudra Press, 1990, p.4-5.
ii
Conrad, Emilie. Life on Land. Santa Monica: Continuum Publications, 1998, p. 49.
iii
Wales, Anne. Personal communication, 1997.
iv
Sutherland, William G., ed. Wales, Anne L. Teachings in the Science of Osteopathy, Rudra Press, 1990, p 176.
v
Conrad, Emilie. Continuum, in Groundworks, ed. Johnson, Don Hanlon. Berkeley: North Atlantic Press, 1997, p. 74
vi
Conrad, Emilie. Life on Land. Santa Monica: Continuum Publications, 1998. p. 52.

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Experiencing Osteopathy Through Continuum Movement

by Bonnie Gintis, D.O.

I had to perform many serious experiments on my own cranium because of my

History & Basic Philosophy of Continuum

The Fluid System is Fundamental

Breath, Sound, & Vibration

Redefining Fitness Without Mechanical Habits

What happens in a Continuum class?

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