Kristina Kostina, Pantarei Approach Client

The Body Understands

Kristina, from Russia, is 26 years old and has been living in Brazil for almost 4 years. Before choosing Brazil, she had spent some time traveling and living in Mexico, USA, and Spain. She is now working at Uber as a data analytics manager. 

Over a year ago, Kristina started exploring therapy in the more traditional sense, first with a psychoanalytical approach and she is now doing online sessions in gestalt therapy with a Russian therapist. She feels it is important for her to speak in her native language when discussing her emotions. She explains, however, that a bodily element was missing in these traditional approaches and she was looking for something to compliment her process.

Currently, Kristina is a client of Viviane Kao. She explains an important experience she had that guided her in seeking out bodywork. This then led her to the Pantarei Approach. “When I was working with my therapist a year ago, before I met Viviane, I was discussing this topic of men and boundaries. On the same day I was doing some yoga exercises and I felt myself able to stretch better than before. It was such a shock.”  Kristina shares that in this moment she realized how much the body is connected to the mind. She felt something that had previously been blocking her, open up. “I think this was the initial precursor to getting to Viviane as I realized I’m not connected to my body and I would like to get connected” she said.

The Body Speaks

What motivated you to get sessions from Viviane?

“As long as I can remember, since adolescence, I was rather curious about the processes that were happening to me; my mind, my body and how I react to things. I have always suspected there were certain processes that I could not explain and they were bothering me sometimes. That was the main reason to search for psychotherapy.  I had been doing therapy for several months and I was still missing some part that was related to the body. I realized some disconnection between how I was giving a message to the world with my body versus how I felt inside. Then a friend of mine recommended Viviane. I really liked what he was telling me, and it sounded precisely like what I was missing, and I wanted to give it a try.”

Can you give a summary of your experience?

“So far it feels like some kind of magic. I am a very skeptical and straightforward person. I am a strong believer in science and for me psychotherapy is related to science in that it explains how the brain and certain processes work. The work that I have been doing with Viviane, I cannot explain.”

Kristina adds that she had a couple of sessions where she anticipated something demanding or exhausting to happen due to the label of ‘bodywork’ and was surprised by how delicate a session could be. She noticed many changes on the inside.

“It always starts with some kind of discussion, about things that happened in the past or something that bothers me today. Then it gets into the bodywork part. I was expecting there would be some kind of hard or difficult bodywork, but that never happened. The work has been lighter, and I feel my whole body opening, my shoulders and my hips — an area always related to the topic that we were discussing. I honestly cannot understand what was going on, but it was really, really impressive. It helped me on the physical and the psychological level simultaneously. I discovered things about myself that allow me to feel lighter as I go through life and have a relationship with myself.”

The Body Lets Go

What has changed in your life as a result of your sessions?

“I’ve been able to approach the relationships with the people around me in a more direct way without all the game playing that can be so mind driven. Personally, a big thing has always been relationships with men and boundaries with them. I realized my body has always been blocking those relationships in certain ways that I consciously wasn’t aware of. After one specific session with Viviane, which I definitely felt the effect on both a mental and physical level, I realized that I started to be able to consciously set those boundaries in a very clear way. I learned to be able to openly state what I want and what I do not want. Simultaneously, my body felt more open. So, I was able to consciously protect myself from any negative effect, but my body didn’t have to do this work anymore.”

How do you describe the Pantarei Approach to others?

“I would say it is an approach that helps you live out your best self on both the mental and physical level. It allows you to see the world the way it is, without the defenses your mind or body may be creating.  It allows you to be more open to the things that are happening and more accepting to what is going on.”

By Mike