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Center For Human Integration
 
 

At the Center For Human Integration, we blend the wisdom of the East (Aikido and Zen) with the science of the West (Somatic Experiencing and the Feldenkrais Method) to assist individuals who have chosen a path of healing - who have chosen a path of restoring their sense of wholeness - via self-awareness.

The healing we refer to here is not solely on the bodily level, but rather on all levels (body, mind, spirit, soul).

The supplemental materials produced by MCHI Press are written toward this end and are meant to enhance one's understanding of what is learned in the private sessions or classes that we offer.

   
  

   Mumonkan-Do Aikido

Mumonkan-Do Aikido, located in Orange County, California, was formally established in June 1990, though its development began in the mid-1980's. Our intention was (and is) to embrace and maintain the original meaning and purpose of the Japanese martial ways in general, and Aikido in particular (as understood and set forth by the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba).

We focus on the cultivation of the mind and spirit through physical training. We view the physical techniques as means to an end, rather than as ends in themselves. The end goal is the cultivation of the mind and spirit as well as the ultimate realization of the universal principle of harmony.

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   Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing® is a naturalistic approach to the resolution of traumatic stress reactions and other stress-related symptoms and conditions. It is based upon the observation that animals in the wild utilize innate balancing mechanisms to regulate and neutralize the high levels of arousal associated with the perception of threat.

Somatic Experiencing normalizes the symptoms of trauma, which bind this arousal, and offers the steps needed to resolve the activation and heal trauma. This modality can also be used to help heighten one’s awareness of how one’s body responds to stressful stimuli, thereby assisting individuals in ridding themselves of stress-related conditions.

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   Embodied Mindfulness

The Embodied Mindfulness Method™ involves: 1) Using mindfulness and movement to expand one's internal (subconscious) self-image; 2) Using mindfulness to transform habitual and unskillful coping mechanisms into spontaneous and skillful responsivity; 3) Using mindfulness to transform habitual reactions to stress into organic self-regulation and resilience; and 4) Building one's capacity for tolerating strong feeling states (both "pleasant" and "unpleasant").

The method can be used to increase one's sense of freedom and choice, to build one's capacity for spontaneous self-expression, to increase one's capacity for connection to self and others. It can also be used to reduce and - in many cases - eliminate anxiety and depression, chronic pain conditions, obsessive and compulsive behavior, as well as a variety of stress-related conditions.

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   The Feldenkrais Method

Grounded in the processes of learning and awareness, the Feldenkrais Method® teaches new, more effective ways to address neuromuscular limitations that contribute to pain and dysfunction, and/or limit our ability to carry out certain actions with grace and fluidity.

The singular genius of the Feldenkrais Method is that it uses bodily movement (actual and imagined) to focus learning at the juncture of thought and action. By paying attention to sensory-motor differences, we create the awareness necessary to free ourselves from habitual actions and behaviors.

Being human, our capacity for learning is unparalleled. However, in adapting to changing situations, our learning can work for us or against us. When it is necessary or desirable to adapt to change, this method provides the means to know what to learn and how to learn it. Our nervous system's self-organizing processes - accessed through intention, attention and movement - are used to transform and refine our every activity.

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   MCHI Press

MCHI Press was formally established in July 2001. The founder, Rev. Dr. Lori A. Parker, is an Aikido Instructor with her own private school and an ordained Zen Buddhist Priest. She is also a Guild Certified Practitioner of one of the most exciting and effective methods of mind-body coordination - the Feldenkrais Method® - and a Practitioner of one of the most innovative and effective trauma resolution modalities - Somatic Experiencing®.

These four disciplines (Aikido, Zen, Feldenkrais and Somatic Experiencing) are, for Dr. Parker, all means of awakening - of becoming more conscious. Central to all four disciplines are the concepts of awareness and potentiality. EMM is the culmination of Dr. Parker's 25+ years of experience, and brings together these various approaches into one modality. The material published by MCHI Press, therefore, focuses on the importance of becoming more conscious (on every level: body, mind, spirit, soul), and seeks to help individuals discover/uncover their vast potentiality on every level of experience.

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