After we completed the 2022/2023 training course at the Body Stress Release (BSR) Academy Europe, as a teacher I felt inspired to share some of our experiences and to give you a better idea of life at the Academy, so this is a slightly updated version. Becoming a BSR practitioner is most definitely a life-changing experience. It presents a rare opportunity to step away from your day-to-day life to immerse yourself in learning a technique that will not only change your life, but the lives of your future clients.
In the words of one of the founders of Body Stress Release, Gail Meggersee, the vision of BSR is “to be a catalyst for the dynamic upgrading of peoples’ lives……In BSR, we empower people in their lives, through helping to restore the natural self-healing capacity of the body.”
We were delighted to welcome the first group of students to our new home at Hall Farm Cottages in the beautiful Norfolk Broads, in November 2022, following an enforced two-year break. The students and teachers loved the new venue and we have continued to host the course at Hall Farm which is working really well for us all.
Hannah, the host at Hall Farm Cottages, could not do more to make us feel welcome. Nothing is too much trouble, and she makes sure that everyone is comfortable and has everything they need to make their stay the best experience possible.
The Norfolk Broads are located in a beautiful part of Eastern England with miles of inland waterways to explore, surrounded by beautiful open countryside. The students and teachers enjoy trips to some of the stunning stretches of long sandy beaches and some even venture into the sea for a bit of cold-water swimming! From October through to February a particular stretch of the Norfolk coastline becomes a nursery for the Atlantic grey seal colony who give birth to their young there. You can walk along the dunes at Horsey beach and it is incredible to see so many seals on the beach at one time with their pups.
Our midterm break falls at Christmas, so we tend to find a local pub to have a traditional British Christmas dinner before everyone heads home for the Christmas break and a well-earned rest. One year after Christmas, we joined in the fun of the local Christmas panto, Puss in Boots, in Horning village. There was plenty of laughter and we all had great fun. The students made the most of the opportunity to speak to many of the locals during the interval and even got a special mention at the end of the panto, as the cast were delighted to have ‘gone international’ with their audience.
Hall Farm Cottages has a private footpath down to the local river from where you can explore the waterways, take in the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey and visit the local village of Ludham. Heading in the other direction takes you into the village of Horning which is also right on the water. Norfolk is renowned for its enormous skies, and many of us enjoy evening walks to appreciate the night skies which are so bright on a clear night due to the lack of light pollution.
Local homes rent out their swimming pools on a private hire basis and some students have hired them out for an hour a week for the duration of the course. There are also outings to many of the local pubs, restaurants and cafes to sample the local fare, day trips to local forests and holiday resorts such as Cromer, and trips into Norwich itself, all of which are within a reasonable distance by car. Norwich is a vibrant city with everything within easy walking distance. It has a thriving market square and the magnificent cathedral (founded in 1096 and built using Normandy stone shipped from Caen) is definitely worth a visit. A famous local saying is that Norwich has a church for every Sunday of the year and a pub for every day.
The course runs over a 16-week period and students start palpation on the very first day of the course and over the coming weeks, whatever they learn in Anatomy (be it osteology, myology or arthrology etc.) is linked to the technique they are learning, as the course is designed to build the student’s anatomical knowledge at the same time as their technique skills develop, all under the careful guidance of the teachers. There are of course other lessons each day which include Client Management, Philosophy, Technique Theory, Principles of BSR and Communication. The students are very supportive of each other, and this is reflected in how they work together to achieve impressive results.
The Apprenticeship takes place during the last two weeks of the course where students have the opportunity, under supervision of the teachers, to work on clients. The students put in a huge amount of effort to find their clients through chatting to locals, distributing flyers, and getting articles printed in a local magazine wherever possible. The Apprenticeship is an exhilarating time for students, especially when they get the wonderful feedback from their clients.
We celebrate on the last evening of the course with our traditional South African braai (BBQ) where everyone is able to let their hair down and relax before the more formal graduation ceremony the following evening when the students are presented with their certificates and nameplates. Often the students have then entertained us – the creativity of each class never ceases to amaze me. We’ve had everything from a fabulous Abba themed BSR song and dance and a wonderful slideshow, to an incredibly funny presentation of the A to Z of BSR amongst others.
The teachers always look forward to hosting the next course at Hall Farm Cottages, which generally runs from the end of October/beginning of November until the graduation ceremony in early March, (with a two or three week break for Christmas). Although we start the interview process early, we still welcome new enquiries at any time of the year.
If you have been contemplating training to become a BSR practitioner, you will find it a life changing experience and one you will not regret. I qualified over 30 years ago and still love every day in my practice, it is a privilege to be able to share my client’s healing journeys and to share my passion for BSR with future practitioners. A copy of the Prospectus, with further details of the BSR Practitioner Training Course is available by emailing paul@bodystressrelease.co.uk
(For those in the Norfolk area interested in signing up as clients for the Apprenticeship, it usually runs during the last week of February and the first week of March so please email Paul and he will forward your enquiry onto us.)
Finally, I it is always an absolute pleasure to welcome the newly qualified practitioners to the BSR family and wish them a long, fulfilling and happy career as BSR practitioners.
With lots of love and gratitude
Tracy Highton
Body Stress Release Practitioner and Teacher at the Body Stress Release Academy Europe
P.S. – if anyone fancies a holiday in the Norfolk Broads I can of course highly recommend Hall Farm Cottages! https://hallfarm.com/
