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Continuum Movement®
Somatic Movement Therapist and Teacher Training



Why Continuum Movement?

  • Continuum Movement teaches that one’s body is a portal to explore, learn, and allow the primal intelligence from within to emerge and heal. It sees the world as a living process that we as humans are part of the whole. We are not separated from this earth or the universe. We are in an ongoing evolutionary process that we can and are participating in.

    Continuum Movement was introduced in the late 1950’s by Emilie Conrad. One of her main values was to make available to others the deep sense of exploring intrinsic movement to the very impulses from which we are born every moment. . . every NOW. The human body is not an object, but an ocean of flows and gushes.

    Rather than being overwhelmed by our current cultural challenges Continuum Movement accepts them as exciting opportunities to invent ourselves differently, not as bionic-humans but as the exemplars of the courageous and the daring. Let us see these times as seeds for a probable future with the wetness of the stars still gleaming in our eyes and the rush of the seas throbbing in our heart as we dream the future  – Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum Movement

    View the Continuum Movement Overview

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    Biology enables, culture modifies.

    Biology enables us to live on this planet; culture limits how we must live. Each culture shapes the human body according to its assumptions about what a human being is, and what is best for society. But the individual can become absorbed in the consensus, and the primal bio-uniqueness of the organism can be lost. A primary value of Continuum Movement is access to the universal processes within. That process is a transcultural, universal movement of fluidity.

    Our module program is designed to be an inquiry into how to thrive, not just survive.

    Continuum Movement offers a novel approach for working therapeutically with stress, trauma, depression, and other disorders. Through its unique combination of breath, sound, movement (fluid movement), sensation, and innovation, the method puts together a series of practices that are increasingly shown scientifically to support physical and emotional well-being. 

    From Dr. C Sue Carter (guest faculty), neurobiologist, neuroendocrinologist

    Oxytocin’s capacity to shift us from states of defense to openness parallels Continuum Movement’s invitation to dissolve rigidity and return to a more primal, fluid state of being. By engaging in slow, undulating movements that echo the body's natural oscillatory rhythms, we are fostering an internal environment conducive to healing and resilience. When we engage in fluid motion, we are synchronizing with the natural oscillations of these hormones, including oxytocin, and also supporting the body’s capacity to shift into states of restoration and safety.  

    We thrive on openness and curiosity about what is possible. CM is a process of refining our ability to sense, feel, and experience and therefore learn to consciously respond more versatilely to a variety of circumstances. As we develop the ability to return to a sense of safety, our homeostasis, we create an environment to process the effects of everyday life on our bodies and minds. 

    A deeper look at our five essential elements

    BREATH
    All movement originates with breath. Fixations, compensatory patterns, family history, trauma and emotional stress are all maintained in the movement or inhibition of breath. By engaging with variations in breathing, we are able to stimulate a wide spectrum of internal sensations, responses and movements. Healing, growth and all mobility, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, are enhanced by the dexterity of breath.

    SOUND
    Sound is audible breath, penetrating the density of locked tissue. It eases mobility while releasing areas of stagnation and stress. Specific sound frequencies engage various systems of the body. By coupling sound with movement, we increase the agility of both. Sounding further connects us with each other and to the resonant whole, providing another source for communication.

    MOVEMENT
    Continuum’s movements are designed specifically to enhance the undulating spirals and circularity of the fluid system. A full range of non-patterned movement, from dynamic full-bodied expression to subtle micro-movements, stimulates neurological growth and vibrancy. Undulating wave motion permeates tissue, softens boundaries and amplifies sensation. Wave motion is the primary access to our bio-intelligence that is not bound by  time, space or condition.

    SENSATION AND PLEASURE
    In Continuum, we use sensation as a guide for awakening the body’s mysteries and the activating principle of the life force that feeds and nurtures the entire system. Sensations of pleasure create an inviting climate for self-renewal.

    INNOVATION
    We learn the importance of being an open system that is able to be creative and adaptable to life and its changes.

          Conrad challenged conventional understandings of the body, emphasizing its fluid nature. She viewed movement not as a mechanical function, but as an adaptive, evolving process integral to neurophysiological coherence. Her Continuum Movement method, based on undulating, wave-like motions, sought to free the body from habitual patterns, fostering new possibilities. Once considered revolutionary, her insights now find empirical support in contemporary neuroscience, particularly in autonomic regulation and neurophysiological entrainment. Dr. Stephen Porges (guest faculty)

    In our program, you will come to:

1.  Understand how and why approaching health and wellbeing somatically has been scientifically shown to be effective in creating healthy changes in the body. 
2.  Discover ways to somatically teach through and with the body, not limiting oneself to cognitive understanding and meaning.
3.  Learn tools to help connect and listen to the body through interoception, our inner sensations. We call this developing a bodyfullness practice.
4.  Understand the science behind breath, sound, and movement and why it is such a beneficial method to help ourselves and others.
5.  Discover the latest neuroscience about the nervous system, including the polyvagal system, and how it can be used to help guide one’s awareness to help in self-regulation and teach others how they can learn to self-regulate.
6.  Learn many different breaths for helping to optimize one’s own health and methods to teach breathwork to your clients and students
7.  Explore and develop your understanding and ability to use movement, especially fluid movement, to unlock the body and therefore help change one’s patterns and fixations.

  • Watch this video about our 10-module Continuum Movement Teacher Program

    View Now


    Continuum Movement Teacher Training Testimonials


    CMTP was without exaggeration the most beautiful gift I could give to myself, and to the world! During this training I was diving deeper into my fluid system, connecting across the world with wonderful fluid being, exploring different facets of Continuum as a multidimensional inquiry into our human origin, evolution, purpose and challenges...My world view and perception have changed so much throughout these 2 years. I sense myself as a planetary process, intimately connected to all that is alive, resonating with the fluid field of this planet. And it feels incredible! I am infinitely thankful to my Continuum teachers and mentors for opening me to this inquiry, supporting, encouraging, mentoring with such love and sensitivity! At this moment I am teaching regular Continuum and somatic movement classes and give individual sessions in Brussels. Teacher training gave me confidence, love and awareness to spread the seeds of liquiditude, to be the messenger of Water.
    Tanya G


    My experiences with Continuum Movement have been profound.  Initially, in 2021, I spent over a year online in classes with Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz.  I then entered into the European Teacher Training Program seeking further somatic self-healing, not focused on the imminent desire to actually teach Continuum.  The inspirations I received from the many amazing teachers and new friends I met in my teaching cohort over the next two years (while completing the 10 Module Curriculum) opened my heart to the passion of sharing the magic of Continuum Movement with as many individuals as possible.  Beckah R.

     

    Executive Director of Continuum Movement, Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz, PhD was asked to steward Continuum Movement forward in 2013 by Emilie Conrad upon her death. The modules are a creation of her and Emilie’s work in the last months of Emilie’s life on Land.

    Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz has a PhD in Clinical Somatic Psychology and is a courtesy Research Assistant Professor atthe University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville.  Currently, she serves on the United StatesAssociation of Body Psychology as director at large. She is executive director of Continuum Movement®, founded by Emilie Conrad Da’oud, and a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, where she served as senior faculty in the U.S. and Europe as Dean of the third year. She has taught and been on the faculty of several educational institutions: the University of Florida, the University of North Florida, Esalen Institute, Open Center, Kripalu, and Hollyhock Educational Institute. Currently, she is involved in somatic research at the University of Florida and presents at trauma conferences worldwide. Currently, she is involved in somatic research at the University of Florida and presents at trauma conferences worldwide and providing the new foreword for the reprint and release of Life on Land by Emilie Conrad, North Atlantic Books.


Publications: 

Somatic- Oriented Therapies Edited by Herbert Grassmann PhD, Maurizio Stupiggia PhD, & Stephen W. Porges PhD published by Norton Professional Books.
Safe and Sound: A Polyvagal Approach to Connection, Change, and Healing. Karen Onderko and Stephen Porges. SoundsTrue.

 

Contact us:

Email  Office@continuummovement.com

Our website:  https://continuummovement.com

About our program: https://continuummovement.com/about-the-program/

Curriculum of the Modules: https://continuummovement.com/about-the-program/

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We believe that integration of the body and mind is essential to effective psychotherapeutic health. To that end, we develop and advance the art, science, and practice of body psychotherapy and somatic psychology in a professional, ethical, and caring manner in order to support our membership as they promote the health and welfare of their clients.”

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