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The word “Eurythmy” stems from Greek roots meaning beautiful or harmonious rhythm (“Eu” meaning “well”). It was created by Austrian scientist, philosopher and educator, Rudolf Steiner in 1912 as a form of artistic expression & then to support healthy development in children. Out of a sense of need for children in the original Waldorf school, Stuttgart, Germany, founded in 1919, the Eurythmy teacher asked for help. Dr. Steiner responded with the Eurythmy Therapy course given to physicians & Eurythmists in 1921.
When Dr. Steiner was asked: “What sustains life?” He replied “Rhythm sustains life.”
In our times, many of us have fallen out of rhythm. Illnesses arise when we are out of rhythm.
The human being is formed out of the formative forces of the cosmos.
Daily rhythm gives us day & night consciousness that has to do with sun & stars. We have sleep & waking consciousness. Some people have trouble falling asleep & others struggle to wake up. Sunrise brings new forces daily, as the sun is the source of life.
In evening we tend to be dreamy as we begin to relax & look to the stars for guidance.
Seven days give us a weekly rhythm. Every culture observes a different day of rest. Each day is influenced by a specific celestial being. The source is life is the sun and is a major guiding force. Sunday is followed by days named for the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.
The monthly rhythm is influenced by moon cycles (13 lunar cycles) of high tide & low tides. The moon waxes & wanes that might affect our own life forces. We are three quarters fluid & the moon can influence our soul life. It is known that there are higher rates of accidents & mental imbalances around the time of the full moon. The moon’s influence is evident in women’s menstrual cycle, if they are still in tune with nature.
Seasonal changes allow the “Earth” to breathe; breathing-out in summer & breathing-in in winter in the northern & southern hemispheres, while the equator holds the balance between with wet & dry seasons. This is also the picture of the threefold human being.
One can observe the development of the individuality in the yearly rhythm. Everyone has a unique life path, which is influenced by the forces of the zodiac. Each individual has a unique Constellation defined by their birth time & place.
Falling out of rhythm causes imbalances in the human being & also in the environment.
The formative forces come from the zodiac which is gifting us with Consonants that create human form. The planetary forces give us our inner music; each organ representing a specific planet singing its music through respective vowel sound; musical tones & intervals are creating our inner music as well.
As the earth has a north pole & a south pole, the equator in the middle holds the balance. Similarly, the human being has the polarity of head & metabolic-limb poles, while the Rhythmic system mediates the two poles.
Imagine if every speech sound in language had a gesture; that is Eurythmy as Visible Speech. The musical tones & intervals have Eurythmy gestures; that is Eurythmy as visible singing. Consonants give us our human form & vowels our inner organs & soul life, that is our Archetypal blueprint. The ether forces mediate between the earth forces & Cosmic forces and Eurythmy works in the ether realm to restore & maintain balance.
As long as we are in tune with these forces, we are healthy. When we fall out of rhythm & are no longer in tune with these forces, it causes imbalances which can lead to illness. Eurythmy Therapy can help you realign your rhythm & balance; and strengthen your life forces.
By doing Eurythmy Therapy, the inner doctor is activated & through practice of specific Eurythmy therapy sequence for the imbalance, rhythm & balance is restored.
Eurythmy therapists are trained to perceive imbalances, for example, between the Nerve-sense, Rhythmic, and Metabolic-limb systems. Imbalances can also occur in soul forces of thinking, feeling, & willing.
Human beings live in three-dimensional space. We are continually influenced by the forces of gravity & levity; breathing between self & the world; breathing between activity & rest.
The heart chakra is the centre of the chakra system maintaining balance between inner & outer, upper & lower, giving & receiving. This is the centre of Eurythmy.
Eurythmy helps us breathe between these forces so that we can maintain our inner centre of balance.
Daily practice of Eurythmy can help you maintain this dynamic balance, as a preventive measure before you fall out of balance.
Out of my experience when I began my Artistic Eurythmy Training in Spring Valley, New York, after a long flight from India to New York, I noticed that my hearing was affected. I could barely hear for the first four months. Then Eurythmy Therapy was prescribed for me. After the first session of one hour on Saturday, that night I could hear distant sounds so clearly. On Monday morning when I went to the Eurythmy school, in the morning circle I could hear everything acutely & I felt as if I should ask people to talk softly. My hearing was completely restored after one session of Eurythmy Therapy.
