Introduction to Rhythmical Einreibung

Eva-Marie Batschko

Introduction to Rhythmical Einreibung

as developed by Wegman / Hauschka

Drawings by Nadja Holland

Translation by Jeff Martin and Prof. Dr. med. David Martin

Edited by Christian von Arnim

To my teacher Dr. Margarethe Hauschka 1896-1980

ISBN 978-3-924391-94-2

Publisher: Info3 Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

All rights reserved, © 2019 by Carus-Akademie, Hamburg

Original title in German: Eva-Marie Batschko: Einführung in die Rhythmischen Einreibungen, Stuttgart 2003 (Verlag Joh. M. Mayer), ISBN 978-3-932386-73-2

Table of contents

Introduction to Rhythmical Einreibung

Introduction

History of Rhythmical Einreibung

About the teaching method

Exercises for training observation‘Finger exercises’ as preparation

The water exercise

The warmth exercise

The group warmth exercise (circle)

The follow-up exercise

Performing the treatment

1. The space

2. The massage table, bed or chair (without armrests)

3. The patient

4. Positioning of the patient

5. Covering the patient:

6. Direct preparation of the practitioner

7. Outer posture of the practitioner

8. Inner attitude of the practitioner

9. Archetypal image of Rhythmical Einreibung

Einreibung of the back while sitting

1. Downstroke on the back

2. One-handed circles on the back

3. The Good Night lemniscate

Einreibung of the back in prone position

4. Downstroke on the back

5. Two-handed circles on the back

Variations of two-handed circles on the back

6. The Good Morning lemniscate

7. The Good Night lemniscate

Einreibung of the shoulder girdle

8. Neck release (‘Christmas tree’)

9. The shoulder-neck Einreibung

10. Einreibung of the shoulder joint

Einreibung of the upper limbs

11. Two-handed circles on the upper arm

12. One-handed circles on the forearm

13. Two-handed circles on the hand

14. The finger lemniscate

Einreibung of the trunk

15. The combined upper body downstroke

16. The side lemniscate

17. Two-handed circles on the abdomen

18. The combined abdominal Einreibung

Einreibung of the lower limbs

19. Lemniscate on the hips

20. Two-handed circles on the thigh

21. Two-handed circles on the knee

22. One-handed circles on the calf

Einreibung of the feet

23. Two-handed foot downstroke

24. Two-handed circles on the foot

25. The heel

26. Two-handed circles around the ankles

27. One-handed foot downstroke

Whole-body Einreibung

28. In a supine position

29. In a lateral position

The archetype of the life body 30. The pentagram Einreibung

I. Einreibung of the forehead

II. Two-handed circles on the right foot

III. Two-handed circles on the left hand

IV. Two-handed circles on the right hand

V. Two-handed circles on the left foot

VI. Einreibung of the forehead:

Organ Einreibung

31. Einreibung of the spleen

32. Einreibung of the liver

Variation of the liver Einreibung:

33. Einreibung of the heart

The calming heart Einreibung

The stimulating heart Einreibung

34. Einreibung of the kidneys

Variation of kidney Einreibung:

35. Einreibung of the lungs

36. Einreibung of the forehead

37. Einreibung of the bladder and reproductive organs

Substances for organ Einreibung

Einreibung for pregnancy

38. Whole-body Einreibung (in lateral position):

Einreibung for new mothers

39. Touching the head

Einreibung for infants and toddlers

Einreibung for infants

40. Touching the head

41. Two-handed warmth circles on the lower limbs

42. Two-handed warmth circles on the upper limbs

43. One-handed circles on the stomach

Variation of the abdominal Einreibung:

Einreibung for infants and toddlers

44. Two-handed circles on the back

45. Two-handed warmth breathing on the lower limbs

46. ​​Two-handed warmth breathing on the upper limbs

APPENDIX Preparatory exercises

47. Two-handed circles on the back

48. One-handed circles on the calf

49. two-handed circles on the thigh

Questions and answers about Rhythmical Einreibung

Oils and indications

The Autors

Bibliographic Information of the German Library

Translators’ Note:

Bibliography

Introduction

This book was written at the suggestion of seminar participants from the Rhythmical Einreibung training at the Carus Academy in Hamburg. It is the result of more than 30 years of practical experience and intensive engagement with this treatment method.

It is based on Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophical understanding of the human being. The book aims to give the reader a deeper insight into the living essence of this new technique by providing a detailed description of the individual treatment steps with numerous illustrations.

Clearly the content of this introductory volume cannot replace actual training. I therefore mention only a small section of the entire range of indications alongside the effects of Rhythmical Einreibung we can experience ourselves.

I would like to thank Alexander Holtappels and Prof. Dr. Volker Fintelmann for their encouragement and support in making this textbook a reality.

The book is the result of the joint work of the Trainers' Group. I would especially like to thank Helmut Hilberer for his tireless work on the composition of the texts and Nadja Holland for her professional illustrations.

I would also like to thank Susanne Dengler who worked with me on this second edition.

Eva-Marie Batschko, Hamburg, Spring 2010

A supplementary volume of this book with essays and lectures is available through the Carus Academy Hamburg.

Carl Gustav Carus Akademie, Theodorstraße 42-90, Westend Village, House 3, 22761 Hamburg. Phone +49 40 81 99 80-0 Fax +49 40 81 99 80-20 www.carus-akademie.de info@carus-akademie.de

History of Rhythmical Einreibung

Dr. Ita Wegman (1876-1943) founded the Clinical and Therapeutic Institute in Arlesheim near Basel on 8 June 1921.

This was the beginning of her intensive collaboration with Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) in the course of which ‘rhythmical massage therapy’ was developed out of ‘Swedish massage’ (as developed by Per Henrik Ling, Stockholm, 1813).

Ita Wegman liked to practise this form of manual therapy herself – whereby the nurses watched and learned by imitation.

Rhythmical massage therapy was one of the subjects taught in the nursing courses at the Clinical and Therapeutic Institute alongside the theoretical and practical understanding of the human being. These courses were initiated by Rudolf Steiner but could not be carried out until after his death.

In twelve years of collaboration with Dr. Wegman, Dr. Margarethe Hauschka deepened the basics of rhythmical massage therapy, rendering it more teachable. In 1962 she founded the ‘School for Artistic Therapy and Massage’ in Boll, at the foot of the Swabian Alb.

In addition to physiotherapists and massage therapists, she also trained nurses here. The question began to arise in the latter about a method by which the effect of the applied substances (ointments and oils) could be enhanced and supported. Margarethe Hauschka responded in 1967 with the first course for Rhythmical Einreibung.

When the community hospital was opened in Herdecke in 1969, it was the nurses who welcomed this method and integrated it into their nursing practice. Rhythmical Einreibung became an integral part of further and advanced training not only in Boll, but also at the Further Training Institute for the Nursing Professions founded in Unterlengenhardt in 1980 (since 1982 ‘Haus Sonnenblick’).

Meanwhile it is taught and practised worldwide in anthroposophical institutions specialising in the fields of therapy, nursing and special needs education.

The designation ‘Rhythmical Einreibung, as developed by Wegman / Hauschka’, which has been officially used since 1999, reaffirms both its origin and its connection with the anthroposophical view of the human being. There are meanwhile training centers for this treatment method worldwide. In Germany it is available at the Margarethe Hauschka School in Boll near Göppingen, the Carl Gustav Carus Academy in Hamburg, the Herdecke Community Hospital, the Filderklinik near Stuttgart and the Havelhöhe Community Hospital in Berlin, among others. Information and further contact addresses can be obtained through the Association of Anthroposophically Oriented Nursing Professions (Verband anthroposophisch orientierter Pflegeberufe) in Filderstadt.

Even though different areas of focus have developed in these training centres, they have all sprung from the same source. The training centre for Rhythmical Einreibung in Hamburg at the Carus Academy has been awarding recognised certificates since 1999. Since 1998, the Working Group for Training in Rhythmical Einreibungh has also been located there. In 1998, Edelgard Große-Brauckmann started a pilot project to train teachers in Rhythmical Einreibung. In 1998, Eva-Marie Batschko founded the Working Group for Rhythmical Einreibung Instructors at the Carus Akademy in Hamburg.

About the teaching method

Our training seminars for Rhythmical Einreibung at the Carus Academy in Hamburg each start with an introductory evening lecture on the nature of the human being.

The participants then review this lecture using a learning method for adults developed by Coenraad van Houten (1) in collaboration with Bernard Lievegoed. Rudolf Steiner's research on the life processes forms the basis for this approach.

These seven learning steps take place both consecutively and simultaneously – as is also the case with the life processes of the body (unconsciously).

The second part of the seminar is devoted entirely to practical work which takes place in groups of three. Every participant assumes each of the three different roles of patient, practitioner and observer:

The patient with the question: how does it feel? (Too firm – too light – too fast – too slow, etc.).

The practitioner with the question: what effects come about? (Warmth – deepening of the breathing – vitality, etc.).

The observer with the question: is the technique correct? (Direction of circles – start of the movement – course of treatment, etc.).

The process is carried out in seven different stages (cf. Rolf Heine (2) who describes the process in three stages).

Stage 1:

The treatment is demonstrated – without comment – with the participants at first only observing.

Stage 2:

The participants imitate what they have observed in groups of three: posture, gestures and technique are absorbed. What they have experienced, including for themselves, is then communicated in the plenum.

Stage 3:

The same treatment is now explained by way of preparation and then demonstrated again. With increased attentiveness, what has been demonstrated is repeated in groups of three. In doing so, the basics of the technique are learned. The experiences are then discussed in a more differentiated way. The new experiences are examined in the plenum.

Stage 4:

The same treatment is performed again in groups of three and the acquired insights and experiences are applied. There is again an exchange of views about what has been experienced, including by the participants themselves. In the plenum we seek to understand the inherent laws and thus also obtain an understanding of the indications.

Stage 5 as a mirror of Stage 3:

The knowledge obtained by each person for themselves is repeatedly practised with new aspects.

Stage 6 as a mirror of Stage 2:

Higher abilities can develop through our own cognitive process.

Stage 7 as a mirror of Stage 1:

We can now become creative for ourselves in what we do.

Consideration of various substances completes this practical part of the seminars.

Exercises for training observation ‘Finger exercises’ as preparation

The water exercise

A basin filled with water is put on the table. Standing at one end of the basin, I touch the water surface with my hands held in parallel.

First I can feel the temperature of the water, then its surface tension. Slowly I submerge my hands deeper and deeper into the water and can perceive that this is possible only by exerting pressure.

If I release the tension from my hands under water, the water carries them back to the surface. The water has tangible buoyancy.

When I lift my hands from the surface, the water is sucked upwards slightly before contact is completely broken.

In a next exercise, I slowly let my hands glide in a straight line over the surface of the water.

Here I can observe the flow and the formation of the vortex within the water. A more subtle feeling for this process of immersion is developed through regular practice.

The warmth exercise

I lift a hand to shoulder height, the palm of the hand facing forwards. I bend my fingers towards the heel of the hand without completely closing them in a fist.

I gradually perceive the warmth developing in the palm of my hand. It forms with ever greater clarity into a 'ball of warmth' with a 'boundary'. Now I open my hand again and slightly spread my fingers; as a result the ‘ball of warmth’ can expand and be ‘held’.

This exercise supports the warming of the hands before the Einreibung. Slightly spreading the fingers during treatment can preserve the warmth developed in this way. (If, on the other hand, the fingers were spread completely apart, the warmth would dissipate and coolness would surround my palm!)

The group warmth exercise (circle)

The participants stand in a circle and hold their left hand in the supination position (the ulna and the radius are in parallel), the right hand is in the pronation position.

Then they move their hands towards one another so that the circle is closed. The participants do not touch their neighbours’ hands directly but instead perceive only the warmth that arises between their hands.

This exercise requires attentiveness to the quality of the warmth: do the left and right hands show any differences in generating warmth?

What is the quality of the warmth arising in the space between the hands (e.g. radiating, rapidly developing or slowly building up)?

This exercise trains a sense of the warmth envelope created during the treatment.

The follow-up exercise

All the participants are moving about at the same time; therefore a lot of space must be available (possibly outdoors). The participants separate into pairs.

One participant in each pair goes ahead, thereby revealing their ’movement melody’. The other participant follows, trying to immerse themselves in the bearing of the leading participant’s movement (posture, movement approach, step length, etc.) and imitate it. As soon as the leading participant perceives that the following participant’s movements correspond to their own, they give the signal to change. Then the follower becomes the leader – and the exercise is repeated.

Subsequently, still in pairs, they discuss the types of movement of the leading participant (e.g., purposeful, soothing, tiring, refreshing, invigorating, energetic, powerful, etc.).

In the plenum, this is then put in the context of the three-fold human constitution and the question is considered as to whether the gait was respectively dominated by the head, metabolic and limb or rhythmical system; ’head-types’ are dominated by the nervous and sensory system and thus their gait reveals excessive control by the head; the movement flow is halting. If the metabolic and limb system dominates, the movement brimming with life starts in the hip area, sending impulses to the limbs – and sometimes the head also begins to ’dance’. When the movements are in harmony with the rhythmical system, a harmonious, light and graceful gait comes about, the source of which is initiated between the shoulder blades. This exercise trains the perception of the threefold nature of the human organism revealed in walking.

Independently of such exercises, we can also in our day-to-day lives try to sense the manifestation of the four constitutional elements of the human being in their handshake as we greet another person:

Physical body:

Findings – Form or deformation of the hand (large – small – narrow – wide – long – short, etc.)

Etheric body:

State – Condition of the hand (moist and warm – moist and cold – dry and hot – dry and cold –sticky with sweat – drops of sweat, etc.)

Astral body:

Mood – Psychological state revealed through the handshake (shy – cordial – limp – squeezing – powerful – gripping – listening – shaking – calm – assertive, etc.)

The I:

Presence – Revelation of the spirit through the handshake (presence of the distinctive personality – spiritual presence – authenticity – interest, etc.) Here eye contact is important as well!

Performing the treatment

1. The space

A quiet space (patient’s room or practice) without interference from radio, television, telephone, visits, visitors, etc. Ventilate well before treatment, but keep windows and doors closed during treatment (absolutely avoid draughts!).

Provide a pleasantly warm room temperature. Place the massage table or bed so that the patient is not exposed directly to the sun or to electric light sources (this also applies to the chair when seated).

The massage table should be accessible from at least three sides; all-round access is necessary in the case of whole-body and pentagram Einreibung.

The substances must be kept within easy reach.

2. The massage table, bed or chair (without armrests)

Soft underlay

Pillows of different sizes

Knee rolls

Sheets (brushed cotton)

Woollen blankets for covering the patient

Towels for covering the patient

Hot water bottles if preheating is needed

Possibly footstool or stool for seated treatments.

3. The patient

Meet with the patient to inform them about the place (e.g. patient’s room) and course of the Einreibung, the substances used and the necessary rest period after treatment.

The patient should keep a small booklet in which they describe their state (e.g. ‘pain’ – ‘pleasantly warm’ – ‘cool’ – ‘more mobile’ – ‘shivering’, etc.) before and during treatment, after the rest period and before going to sleep at night.

The practitioner should also documents their experiences and perceptions in a work report.

The indication must be checked with a doctor.

4. Positioning of the patient

The patient should be able to lie comfortably and relaxed.

Lying on the back:

A pillow so that the cervical spine relaxes.

A knee roll so that the stomach remains relaxed.

Possibly hip cushions on the sides in order to avoid outward rotation of the legs.

Lying on the abdomen:

A cushion under the abdomen so that the chest can lie without pressure.

Possibly two small cushions under the armpits to relax the shoulders and the neck.

A knee roll under the feet to avoid too much stress on the ankles.

Sitting position:

A cushion on the thighs, so that the neck and upper arms are relaxed.

A pillow under the soles (or a footrest) if the feet do not touch the floor.

5. Covering the patient:

The whole body of the patient is wrapped in a brushed cotton sheet and covered with a woollen blanket (of sufficient size!).

The part of the body to receive treatment is wrapped in a towel and only uncovered during the treatment.

A pre-heated brushed cotton sheet is required for the whole-body Einreibung (use oven or hot water bottles).

6. Direct preparation of the practitioner

Before starting, picture the course of the treatment (sequence of Einreibungen) inwardly such that flowing transitions can arise (parts leading to a whole) – consciously shape the beginning and the end (e.g. ‘end legs downwards with foot Einreibung’ – or; ‘begin legs upwards with foot Einreibung’).

Calm covering up and uncovering are essential parts of the treatment!

Take off any jewelry or watches before treatment!

Wash your hands before each treatment!

The oil is poured into the cupped left hand immediately before the Einreibung.

The bottle is closed again with the right hand (essential oils evaporate easily!).