Mike O’Connor – Pantarei Approach Practitioner

Shaped by the Flow

“I really like the concept: ‘shaped by the flow‘. I think of flow as our ability to respond. Either in the way that feels authentic or in a way in which you feel in control, or through difficult situations, or even to be able to notice where there is movement or where to breathe. If you define that as flow, then we can be shaped by those capabilities.”

Setting the Scene

I’m meeting Mike for an online interview. Surrounded by a beautiful array of plants, we move through a thoughtful conversation about connection, cognitive sciences and communication through movement and touch. To be asked what he is doing makes him smile. “It’s a hard question to answer”, he responds. Maybe it’s because he is doing so many things. Originally from Ohio, and trained as a professional dancer and a choreographer, Mike teaches dance at the Inter-University Centre in Berlin. He is currently pursuing an artistic PhD in Amsterdam and is also working as a Pantarei Approach practitioner. “I’m between Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam.”

As a dancer and choreographer, movement and connection through the body have always been his way of understanding life. His choreographic work over the last ten years, integrates cognitive science theories and explores the connections between the mind, body and environment. Mike has researched how our movement is informed by our developmental experiences in early childhood, and he has used this as a tool in his performances and his art.

Making connections

At the same time he has always been curious to learn how his interest for connection through movement and touch could be transferred to somatic bodywork. He tells me that when he heard that Claudia and Vered had opened up their own school, he was intrigued. And once he heard the way in which they presented the Pantarei Approach, it was clear to him that this would be the right thing to study.

Somatic bodywork combines all his interests. “I can work with the alignment of the body, the muscles, and the breath. At the same time I can explore how we hold our history and trauma in our body. I can also understand how our emotions and our ways of communication are transmitted between people, from a neuroscientific perspective.” For Mike, there is so much wisdom in the breath.

Knowlege Intertwined

Mike finds that working as a practitioner has a lot of similarities with the concepts he is interested in as a performer and researcher. As such, the Pantarei studies opened up even more realms in which all knowledge is intertwined. “It’s deeper; as if another layer has been added to my existing knowledge-base.” There is a depth and an enchanting sensitivity in the way Mike talks about his work. A well-grounded passion guides him in how he empowers his clients to tell their unique story and to deeply experience a sense of wholeness.

Pantarei and Dance

I imagine that dancers are somehow in constant communication with their body. And I wonder how being a dancer influences Mike’s work as a practitioner.

Mike tells me that there is something about working with another dancer, where through touch, you understand their weight and where they are operating from. You feel whether they are connected or not. This is also where he sees a similarity with Pantarei. When working with the body, he can sense where someone is disconnected or not breathing. He likes that things don’t have to be a certain way and that they can be shaped by the flow. With dance there is a technique, and in Pantarei, it’s more of an exploration. It’s a shared moment in which two bodies meet. As a practitioner he guides his clients through the experience towards a different level of awareness and unique change. Integrating the body, emotions and mind, so that people feel empowered as their unique self.

Human becomings

“We are not static beings – we are constantly changing. We are human becomings. And can truly feel this unfolding when we know and recognize our full self with all its capabilities. Rather than to be defined by the pre-set boundaries of ourselves, we need to give ourselves the permission to be shaped by the unfolding, and follow the flow of our wishes, strengths and sensations.”

Apart from giving 1-to-1 sessions, Mike offers feedback and mentoring sessions using Pantarei facilitation and listening tools. It’s really interesting for him, how well he can apply the approach to the different areas of his work. Working with young artists, it’s important for him to truly understand what motivates each one of them. This allows him to give them the space to develop their unique strength and expression.

He tells me that he has experimented with giving feedback to artists after their performance. He had them lie on the massage table and talk about their work as he directed them through touch. “It was very interesting, because their work is so personal to them”. For Mike, it actually made a lot of sense. “I’m not giving a review, but telling them how their work affected me. We are usually touched by the feedback we get. If I add my hands to that, there is a stronger communication; like a deeper level. Of course this style of feedback is something that you have to agree on first, but most artists are keen to try it!” he says with a smile on his face.

Having Purpose

What is it that touches you most about working with people?

“I love the aspect of purpose. Being able to contribute to other people’s lives gives me a great sense of purpose and boosts my self-esteem. Every interaction for me, refelcts how we express ourselves. You cannot touch without being touched. On stage or as choreographer, I am expressing my idea in front of an audience. In Pantarei, it is helping someone else express themselves.”

Working with his clients, Mike feels honored and humbled by the abilities of the human body to heal and recover. “Knowing you helped one client and you can see that in their smile, can be so much more powerful than a whole theatre applauding you after a performance”, he says. “As a practitioner it’s really touching to simply be an outside eye, or to help the client connect to a part of themselves that they have forgotten about. It is amazing how quickly the work can guide people to a different perspective, through touch and empathic communication.”

Giving Space and Having Empathy

Mike mostly works with men, and the gay community has been of special interest to him from the beginning. For Mike it is important to create a safe space and to truly listen to his clients beyond their story. “Many people want a witness, or someone who accompanies them through a process. And sometimes it’s simply that the client’s family or friends just can’t provide this space.” As such, he wants to support them with empathy, creating an environment for thought, reflection and personal growth.

From his perspective there are multiple ways in which a small reflection or the act of naming something differently, can give so much. “It’s interesting that a lot of the things that worry you about yourself, you think are the things you need to change or develop, when in actual fact, a simple change in perspectice, allows you to value that quality and see it as a great part of who you are.”

Mike laughs and says: “There is also a lot of mystery and unknown. It’s a fact that the client’s body is doing the work. It is naturally shaped by the flow. And as a practitioner I’m pointing to something; to a door. The client is the one who walks through that door and then tells you what is inside. You are not recreating the room for them. Rather, they will tell you whats inside the room once you point them towards the door — and that’s touching.”

Contact Mike O’Connor: sh*************@gm***.com

Facebook and instagram: shaped by the flow

Photographer: Maik Schrank, and Johannes Berger

by Lena-Philine Zinser