Parish/Church Groups

Capacitar Practices
with a Parish Group
Alan and Leanore Rommelfanger, Wisconsin

Leanore: After working part-time for several years I am now a homemaker again, mother of six children, grandmother of six, doing volunteer work and one-on-one mentoring.

Alan: I have recently retired after working 33 years for large corporations in systems, project management, management, and organizational development.

We both have done retreat work and worked extensively with prayer groups and small faith sharing groups primarily in Catholic parish settings. We chose to work with a group in our parish. The program was announced in the parish bulletin and it was open to anyone who wanted to attend. Those attending were middle-aged men and women. We were new members of this parish and wanted to introduce ourselves and get to know others. Some of the challenges we encountered were we had no idea how many to expect and we had no idea of the background of the participants.

At our first session we worked on breathing, introduced Tai Chi, and gave a brief explanation of the Capacitar organization. Tai Chi was very well received and was included in all subsequent sessions. Two additional sessions included acupressure, guided, visualization, and listening.

Based on input from our training group we developed a program for Advertising the theme, "Advent is a Season of Vision." We pursued a search for our own personal vision through four sessions that wove together the Sunday readings, Capacitar healing practices and an exercise for getting in touch with our personal vision. The Capacitar healing practices taught were Tai Chi, breathing, intuitive journaling, an energy mandala, finger holds, acupressure, mandala drawing, and the River of Life.

Our Lenten program used the theme "Why are we on the planet Earth, a search for our mission." It included Sunday readings, healing practices, exercises for getting in touch with our personal mission. Healing practices taught were: breath work, finger holds, acupressure, visualization, the River of Life, an introduction to the chakras, and some simple massage techniques.

At the invitation of our daughter, who is at the Newman Center at the university, we were invited to present this program to students and adults. We are also doing a half-day workshop, introducing the chakras, at our parish. With this workshop we are experimenting with an alternative format in the parish setting.

We have incorporated some of the healing techniques, when appropriate, into a prison ministry at the Women's Prison. The women especially appreciate guided visualizations and techniques to deal with negative emotions.

The following are comments from some of the participants in these sessions:

"I was expecting classes… I was happy to find that it was not so structured. It provides a very relaxed atmosphere."

"Another quiet evening - putting aside the cares of the day and focusing in on God's word and His presence in those around us."

"I found doing the Tai Chi movements most helpful and getting the history and explanation of Capacitar."

"You did very well, such a relaxed atmosphere, soft-spoken and very comforting."

"The relaxing way all the material was presented - done with grace and genuine desire to share."

"Loved being in a circle, it felt as though we were all working for the same cause. It takes you outside of yourself."

"The movements brought a sense of peace and tranquility."

"The background music helped me to focus and keep from moving too quickly."

"I think this is excellent. It's a great way to tie your week to God."

"I realized how much I really need quiet reflection moments in my day."

"I really appreciated what a gift it is to be able to breathe fully and completely."

Parish Group of Women with Chronic Illness
Ann Kelley, OSF, Spiritual Director, Wisconsin

The group I targeted for the Capacitar sessions included women who have chronic illnesses, are limited in their energy and ability to work, can be depressed, and who need to access resources for living more balanced and healthy lives. Most of the participants are members of women's spirituality groups which I facilitate. Since others not chronically ill were interested in learning the self-healing practices, I opened the sessions to them as well. I chose to invite the chronically ill to sessions, realizing that some of the practices I learned from Capacitar training could enable them to feel more positive about themselves, give them new energy for living and be means of healing body, mind, spirit and heart. I also felt compassion for them and knew that the practices of Capacitar would offer them a vital gift.

A challenge included dealing with a flexible group determined by the current health conditions of participants. Because of their illness or tiredness some were unable to attend sessions to which they had previously committed themselves. Also due to lack of stamina during the process some needed to take breaks while the rest of the group continued on with practices. I needed to be continually sensitive to the permanent physical limitations of particular members and to encourage them not to push themselves beyond their capacity.

The pastor of the church facility we first used asked me to approach the workshops from a Christian healing perspective which would be in line with the parish mission. I was easily able to honor this request incorporating Scripture texts, prayers and songs which focused on Jesus as healer. I still continue this though we have moved to another building.

The practices I taught included Listening to the Body - a visualization for centering with music, Pal Dan Gum, Breathwork, Tai Chi, Drum Massage, Circle Massage, the River of Life: Visualization and the Poem on the River of Life, Simple Acupressure points, Meeting the Inner Guide, Hand Massage, Finger Holds, Seated Massage, Holding the Energy Field, Healing Circle, Teaching about chakras, Chakra T'ai Chi, the Finger Labyrinth and Thought Field Therapy. We repeated Pal Dan Gum, Tai Chi, Drum Massage, Chakra Tai Chi and the Healing Circle at various sessions.

The outcomes of the sessions included: Participants were more relaxed, felt their spirits were elevated, and were more at peace, learned the T'ai Chi practices to incorporate them in their daily lives, felt better psychologically, used the finger holds to reduce stress and anxiety, felt their pain was reduced during sessions and were always eager to learn more. To date I have held seven sessions, the first two having been one and one half hours in duration, the next five sessions were one and a quarter hours each. We began at a church site and later moved to a retirement center for a group of religious women. Because we moved our location, we picked up a few new persons, residents in the center. The number of participants varied from three for one session to ten for another. As mentioned above, the group changed in number because of various reasons, one being the current health problems individuals were experiencing. This often meant I needed to be aware that some of the participants had not been taught some of the T'ai Chi or Pal Dan Gum movements which others had learned. Also each time we needed to review some of the previously taught movements because participants did not always remember particulars. At their request I provided for them sheets describing the various Tai Chi movements. Participants were open and enthusiastic to learn new self healing and empowering practices. Frequently they would share how they had used their new learnings between sessions. Some taught others what they discovered to be most healing and integrating.

Comments from Participants:

"My body feels better after what we have done today. I am more relaxed and hurting less."

"I did feel tired and somewhat tense and stressed when I came. I feel less tension and more at peace."

"Chakra Tai Chi was the most helpful to me today. It helps me be aware of the energy sources."

"The repetitive movements of Tai Chi are helpful even though my shoulder is painful for a time afterward."

"Chakra Tai Chi helped most by moving the most muscles while breathing deep."

"The rocking front and back helped my back."

"My headache went away."

"I will use touch more with my hospice patients."

"I am much more confident in my own capabilities, more eager to be of help to others."

"My body is vibrating with energy. I was tired when I came."

"I have been using the chakra Tai Chi in conjunction with my prayer time. It helped me greatly yesterday when I was the guest on a TV program. Didn't feel like that was something I could do, but I did it! !"