Bodymind Ballwork

Bodymind Ballwork is a bodywork system that can benefit people of any age or physical condition. The distinct feature of Bodymind Ballwork is the use of rubber balls of varying sizes and textures (as small as a walnut and as big as a melon), which support, massage and stretch localized areas of the body.  The balls directly address tight connective tissue and muscles, restoring healthy circulation and glide between layers.  There are techniques for every part of you, from head to toes. The result is a wonderful feeling of lightness and ease in the body, and quiet alertness in the mind. To quote one student: “It’s like having a massage therapist in your pocket”.

My method is called Bodymind Ballwork to underscore the truth that any and all experiences register in the body and the mind simultaneously. Our mental state will shift from working on the body, and our physical state will shift from mental focus. We are already “integrated” but we don’t always feel that way. This technique is an elegantly simple and profound pathway toward the experience of an integrated self.

Bodymind Ballwork evolved from my forty-year practice of Kinetic Awareness, a bodywork method developed in the 1960’s by Elaine Summers who was a dancer, choreographer, film-maker and teacher.  The origins of this approach to bodymind education go back to pre-war Germany, to the work of Elsa Gindler, an innovative physical education teacher.

For those who have studied with me before, you will find no change in what I teach now even though the name has changed. The new name represents what I have developed, while giving due credit to Kinetic Awareness, and it marks a stage in my own evolution as a practitioner and teacher.

I practice 15-30 minutes of Bodymind Ballwork before I practice yoga. I find that it loosens stiff areas and refines my awareness so that the yoga practice is more enjoyable.

My latest book The Bodymind Ballwork Method: A Self-Directed Practice to Help You Move with Ease, Release Tension, and Relieve Chronic Pain,  was published by North Atlantic Books in 2018. You can order it now on Amazon, and if you like it, please post a review – even just a sentence or two.  I’m thrilled that the book was included in the Independent Publishers Listing of the New York Review of Books in December 2018, and reviews have been posted on various online sites.

Once live classes resume, you can join me in my NYC studio any Wednesday at noon to practice Bodymind Ballwork in a class, or you can contact me to book a private session.  There is a list of teachers trained in the method here, and I encourage you to find a class near to you experience this method for yourself.

In the fall of 2017 I recorded a YogaUOnline webinar entitled Yoga & Myofascial Release: The Bodymind Ballwork Method. Purchase of  the webinar includes a recording of the webinar, a transcript, and a practice video.

To learn the method, consider enrolling in the  Full Spectrum Course, an online series of 6 classes, each one highlighting techniques for one area of the body. See the workshop page for details.

Teacher training is available as well. The process would begin with the Full Spectrum Course or its equivalent (ask me), and then the Deeper Study Course. This course is four modules of four hours each. Module 1: Why body awareness is essential and how to develop it for yourself and teach it. Module 2: Anatomy of the spine and torso, with ballwork techniques for common problems.  Module 3: Anatomy of the shoulders, arms and leg, with ballwork techniques for common problems. Module 4: Psychological aspects of the body-mind connection and how emotions express in the body.

To purchase the balls we use, visit Lifesaball.org.

One student’s comment: To participate in Ellen’s ballwork classes, in an intensive series as well as in weekly sessions, gives me an exceptional chance to heal my body and lighten up my mind. Ellen is one of the most dedicated teachers I’ve ever encountered: her knowledge of the body is superb and she knows how to convey that knowledge; her style of presenting the exercises combines compassion and humor. Attending her class enables me to be disciplined and gentle to myself when doing the exercises at home – often getting totally rid of any pain. What a blessing !  —JK