Neil (Basel)

"Life is movement, movement is life"

As a therapist, I am always in motion and always open to new insights about how I can best accompany people in finding their physical and mental balance. Continuous education and training and the regular exchange with a wide network of recognized therapists and doctors are therefore essential for me.

Already in my youth at Lake Constance I was always in motion, among other things dancing, riding, skiing or athletics.

In 1972, I wanted to learn more about healthy movement, so I went to Basel to the School of Physiotherapy at the Cantonal Hospital. There I found my first great teacher, Susanne Klein-Vogelbach, who at that time founded and taught functional movement theory.

After completing my federal diploma as a physiotherapist, I worked for 1 year with Professor Erwin Morscher at the Orthopaedic University Clinic in Basel and then for 8 years at the Ambulatorium am Wiesendamm, where I built up and managed the physiotherapy department together with a colleague.

In search of a deeper understanding of movement, I discovered Rolfing in Canada in 1984 and after my first Rolfing sessions as a patient, I was free of tension pain for the first time in my life.

Ida Rolf then became my second great teacher.

From 1984-1985 I trained as a Rolfer at the Rolfing Institute. Among the most important instructors for me were Jim Asher and Michael Salveson, whose knowledge of the connection between body and psyche and the importance of movement for the human being have deeply influenced me to this day. In 1985 I founded my own Rolfing practice in Basel and began further training in depth psychology.

In 1990 I lost my right vocal cord after a serious operation and through processing my own trauma I found my next great teacher, Peter Levine. With him I trained in "Somatic Experiencing", the processing of trauma through the body.

Also in the 1990s, I began my work with Hubert Godard, the great movement expert and teacher.

Together with my partner Elmar Abram I built up the Masavoi training center in South Tyrol, where we regularly offer workshops with Hubert Godard, Jim Asher and other great teachers.

I had always missed the lake in Basel, and so in 1998 I moved to the French part of Switzerland, where I built up my second practice, and today I take care of clients in addition to my practice in Basel.