"My intention is to share what I have learned about becoming more centered, grounded and balanced, both physically and mentally. From this sense of safety, so much better communication is possible.”
I am an enthusiastic Alexander Technique and Nonviolent Communication teacher, with the background in music and fiddle playing. Originally from Estonia, I am currently based in Edinburgh, but available for sessions worldwide through online platforms.
As a sensitive child and young adult I was always very much aware of stress and loss of wellbeing around me. It was just few years year that my father passed away, having suffered from trauma symptoms for as long as I can remember. Naturally I had to learn my own coping mechanisms, go through struggles of an autoimmune disease, anxiety and PTSD. What I discovered throughout the Alexander training and NVC process was a sense of wellbeing, an integration between the body and mind.
After becoming more connected with myself I became naturally more open to the environment around me. Today I’m passionate about not just personal, but the collective healing and progress towards balance in our behaviours as a society. My way to contribute to the reduction of manic behaviours, stress, pain and tension, is practical integration work through the Alexander Technique, and more efficient communication skills through NVC. My teaching is strongly influenced by the works of Thomas Hübl (ancestral and collective trauma), Gabor Maté (stress in the body), Tara Brach (radical acceptance), Thom Bond (Compassion Course), Carl Rogers (person-centered therapy) etc.
“There are efficient ways to support the health of the nervous system, decrease stress, and heal trauma.”
What fascinates me is the setting of this integration study - we can’t get it from books and podcasts. Trauma is not cognitive. In today’s world integrity is rarely natural to us, that’s why it is a skill to be learned and experienced. People leave my lessons with a sense of bodymind integration, having discovered new ways of thinking and experiencing themselves.
It happened to me and I observe it with my students, the Alexander process reduces stress, helps to heal past traumas, guides us to an easier relationship with our bodymind and even teaches us to be more kind to ourselves.
Becoming more strong and resilient without extra effort, without muscular tensions and without an obsessive mind has inspired me to teach and share the Alexander Technique. I am passionate about making this embodied knowledge more accessible to people.
Who Come To Me?
People who come to me are looking for solutions to various physical and mental symptoms such as
chronic tension, neck and shoulder tensions, tension headaches, back pain, stress, emotional reactivity, ADHD, breathing problems, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, burnout, depression, eating disorders, trauma etc
Medical science has now proven what traditional approaches have considered all along: physical and mental symptoms cannot be divided, hence won’t be curable as separate issues. This is the reason why mindbody integration work can help with so many problems. The root of all of them is some kind of fragmentation in the system - disconnection between the mind and the body, nervous system’s dysfunctioning. Read more about it from here.
Restoring and deepening that connection helps us improve our functioning in anything we do. Balanced state of being brings us better results in our job, improves skills and performance, helps with relationships, changing habits, productivity and even immune system. This is all possible thanks to neuroplasticity and co-regulation between people (as it was the case when the organism disconnected in the first place).
Trauma-Informed
"Trauma-informed" in my work means simply acknowledging your past experiences which is something that will enhance our process. Taking into account the fact that life has shaped us can bring lot of compassion, peace and acceptance to your current state of being. Whatever has happened to you, we'll grow with it, without diminishing it. Healing from trauma comes back to one key attitude component, which is maximizing safety.
Some of our life experiences have been more traumatic than others. When habits have formed, there's been a reason for that and we want to look into that part of you. The approach of labeling habits good or bad and changing the bad ones is very much outdated. "Bad habits", addictions, muscle tensions and emotional repression have been necessary adaptations that have caused you trouble in the long term.
Although we work with reactions and non-reactivity, it's not bad to have reactions either. Survival mechanisms have worked for you well, they have saved you in the first place. Acknowledging that part of your organism's natural functioning helps us forward in the integrity work.
CERTIFICATE
I trained 1600 hrs in New York City and London-based STAT-certified training schools from 2017-2021.
Big gratitude and appreciation to my many teachers and fellow students under the guidance of Anthony Kingsley, Ted Dimon and the late Ruth Murray from The Alexander Teacher Training School; The Dimon Institute; The Constructive Teaching Centre respectively.
My NVC training comes from Compassion Course 2020, 2021, 2022 (NYCNVC, Thom Bond); a 9-day intensive course in Sofia, Bulgaria 2023 (CNVC, Irmtraud Kauschat), and many 1-day trainings. I have been facilitating groups and mentoring on the Compassion Course since 2021.