Home and people Therapeutic eurythmy

Press, 5 December 1988, Page 14

Home and people Therapeutic eurythmy

Two years ago, Lorna Hyslop was found to have breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. In order to cope with the trauma of the surgery and the uncertainty as to whether the cancer would reappear, Lorna began sessions in therapeutic eurythmy. The result is an "enormous .improvement” in Lorna’s physical and mental wellbeing. “It brought balance into my life,” says this Christchurch woman.

Eurythmy is an art of movement, incorporating music, speech and poetry, developed by the German philosopher and educationalist, Rudolf Steiner. It is an integral part of Steiner education. One of its three forms, therapeutic eurythmy, is used widely in hospitals and clinics in Europe. The psychiatry unit of a large London teaching hospital uses it with children who have learning problems. In Christchurch, it is used at the Hohepa School for handicapped children and young adults, and taught, on a one-to-one basis at Novalis House, a medical and therapy centre in St Martins. The teacher at Novalis House, Therese Holzmer, has studied eurythmy in Germany for five years. Lorna finds it difficult to describe eurythmy without sounding airyfairy, but believes it aug-

ments people’s “sleeping soul forces.” She has received so much benefit from it herself, that she plans to start an on-going class in January, at the Hohepa School, 23 Barrington Street. This will probably be a late morning class and will be for anyone, of any age, who feels bogged down by day to day necessities and wants to bring harmony into their

lives. The cost will be $25 a month for a weekly class Anyone interested is invited to a demonstration of eurythmy at Hohepa School hall in Barrington Street on Tuesday, December 20, at 8 p.m. Admission is $5. For more information, phone Lorna at 518-781, or Therese at Novalis House at 325-702, during working hours.