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Birth Into Being

Twenty-five years of thorough research in the field of pre-natal psychology show a direct correlation between the way we were born and our subconscious behavioral and emotional patterns - defining the quality of our experience of being in the body throughout our entire life. We come into this world wide-open to receive love. When we receive it as our first primal experience, our nervous system is "limbically imprinted", programmed with the undeniable rightness of being. Being held in mother's loving arms, seeing the great joy in father's eyes, provides us with the natural sense of bliss and security; it sets the world as the right place for us to be in. But if our first impressions of being in our body are anything less than loving, then that "anything" imprints in our system as a valid experience of love!  It is immediately coded into our nervous system as a "comfort zone," acting as a surrogate for true love and nurturing, regardless how painful it actually was. Statistically, 95% of births in the USA are rated as "traumatic". As adults, we unconsciously re-create the conditions that were imprinted at birth.

 But it turns out it's not very difficult to create a brand new Limbic Imprint. Instead of trying to fix the old "programming" (by re-living the initial shock of being born), it's most effective to just acquire a whole new vivid, rich, wonderful and sweet birth experience! Birthshop participants can have an actual in-the-body experience of being conceived, gestated and born in love and natural ecstasy. The Birthshop combines seminar/guided mediation/movement/breathing exercise/role-playing... and it's very entertaining!

This Birthshop is for anyone who was born into less then blissful circumstances and would like to change the way it is affecting them in the Present. It Is Not only for pregnant women, but for all interested in shifting their behavioral patterns.

The way we were born, defines the quality of our experience of being alive, as shown by 25 years of research in the field of prenatal psychology. How we access and use our creativity is a reflection of our emotional experiences during our early formative period, from conception through the first years of life. The workshop allows participants to heal their own birth trauma through having an actual “in-the-body” experience of being conceived, gestated and born in love and ecstasy. It is achieved through a sequence of steps that bring a group into a slightly altered state of mind – a shift that allows one to access Free Will.

From that place of heightened consciousness, we can make new decisions about the way we now want to experience being alive in the world of safety and loving nurture. We can create a brand new Limbic Imprint and a new memory of our blissful Beginning.

This Interactive birthshop is designed to clear the pathways for our creative flow through a mix of specific movement, specific breathing, guided imagery, role playing, ‘now science’, melting down of frozen patterns and heartwarming group sharing. The main ingredient of success is in simultaneously engaging the cortex with the reptilian and limbic brains and harmonizing them, in order to establish a new habit of living from a place of alignment. From understanding the correlation between specific characteristics of the birth trauma and behavioral patterns in adults, which were responsible for the blocked creativity in the first place, comes peace.

Elena Says, “What started for me in 1982, in Russia, as work with the Waterbirth Movement as a search for minimizing birth trauma for the babies, grew into a deep and beautiful healing experience for me personally. Now I call it Conscious Pro-Creation Movement, realizing that the whole picture is so much bigger than any one particular kind of delivery. I’d love to share it with you.”

Offers more of the processes and exercises that build on experiences from Level 1, where we focused on pre-conception, conception, gestation and birth. In Level 2, we will focus on what happens afterwards. We’ll create new reference points that will allow a new range of perception and experience of happiness. From that place, every aspect of life improves, all that we are and do, including people-making.

The emphasis of this training entails personal alignment with the Birthing Field and learning the skills of navigating one’s energy within the intensity of the experience, whatever the source of the intensity is, including giving birth to a child.

Birth cannot be taken out of the context of life as it reflects everything and multiplies it hundredfold-- especially, the stress level of everyone present in the field—their past unresolved relations and anxieties. The good news is that it’s possible to find the switch, and turn on a powerful flow of the Life Force through a new riverbed.

The shift into healing can be very fast and easy. It’s like having an old, infected splinter in one’s foot that has been there for so long that the nervous system is used to it, learned to cope with it and the walking pattern reflects favoring of the hurt foot. And one goes to a professional to talk about it, to apply medication, etc., while what needs to happen is for the splinter to be removed so the healing can rapidly happen.

The pain that most of us carry deep inside from our formative period is like that old splinter. It’s a tiny bundle of a highly compressed, huge volume of energy, frozen in the very core of our being, like a needle stuck in the heart, preventing us from being who we truly are. It can be removed in minutes. All it takes is recovering our attention about what we are capable of.

In the first 4 days of the Training, the participants will have a chance to experience it on the receiving side—what it feels like to go through my processes and exercises as if taking level 1 & 2 of my birthshops. Then for 6 days, we will learn the techniques—how to facilitate this kind of experience for other. In my trainings, learning ‘what’ to do is secondary to ‘how’ to do it, and ‘who’ you are as a person. And not only in regards to the Birth, but to all things in life – Living! ~ Elena

To watch a video from previous trainings and to hear Elena’s interviews, go to the ‘Media’ page on BirthIntoBeing.com. For more testimonies and calendar of events – go to the ‘Calendar’ page.

May and Ty, Pregnant Couple, Berkeley, CA: "Hello family! This is May from the "Birth into Being" workshop in Berkeley in October 2006. I had my baby! And just wanted to share with everyone! I had an incredible, ecstatic, and blissful experience. It was definitely a beautiful blessing. My water broke around 8pm and he slipped right out at 8:58pm! It was very short, pain-free, and just simply one the most beautiful moments in my life. He was born in water, at home in our tub. I want to say thank you to everyone who was there with me at the workshop. I know that it was one of the biggest factors that helped me. Most of all, thank you, Elena! The workshop was amazing. I felt all the love and support from all of you. Much love and blessings, May"

Rose Mary Amantia, Florida: Dear Elena, I want to share with you about the amazing healing that happened at your workshop. I'm 64 years old, nevertheless, I am so happy to have attended it. I didn't really want to go, but my daughter, Ra-El, who had been to your workshop before and who is my biggest teacher, wanted me to go with her this time. So I went. My experience was amazing! So much good came out of it. And, it was done so well! The part where we experienced being born in Love was the most powerful. It was done with so much kindness and gentleness - it was just what I needed. The healing that I felt that weekend has had such long-lasting effects, especially with my heart. I have a pacemaker implanted because of a weakened heart condition. Two weeks after the seminar I had my six-month test following the implantation. For the past 7 years my heart's pumping efficiency had been at approximately 27, when the normal rate is 55. The test indicates that I am now at 50! I attribute this to the healing I received during your workshop. The doctors are overwhelmed, because they say it is extremely rare that such an improvement can occur. Another powerful gift from that re-birthing experience, has been my release of my daughter. She has been also re-born in my mind and spirit to be free to live the life she chooses. I have been freed now to accept that she lives so far away, in California, and freed from the overwhelming sadness from missing her presence. And finally, there was a first-time experience of being at peace with the other women. The loving, caring atmosphere was so nurturing to sooth my fears and anxieties. I've never had that in my life. The guidance from you, Elena, was so wise and focused on being unashamed, and supporting one another. It too was truly a gift! I can hardly wait to go on the second level, to continue the healing. Thank you!

Mahriah Blackwolf, Body Alignment Practitioner: The Birthshop was a powerful awakening into being more present in my life than I have ever been before. I am so happy I didn't miss this rare opportunity! Elena was a wonderful model to watch, as I don’t think I have ever met anyone who seems to be so fully at ease, comfortably and completely present in her body.


George C. Denniston MD, MPH:

• Retired Professor of Family Medicine, University of Washington
• President, Population Dynamics, Seattle WA
• President, Doctors Opposing Circumcision
• President, Doctors Opposing Circumcision
• Former Associate Medical Director, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

"Every young woman in the world, before she even thinks of having a child, should see this film. She needs to know that she has a choice. The choice is between fear, and joy. Which will she choose? Before she can make that choice wisely, she must see the film Birth as we Know It.
It is about the happiest day in a woman’s life: the day she gives birth. This film will help her to have a joyous birth, instead of a possibly wretched birth. This film will help her avoid the pitfalls of “modern” medicine, which fails to recognize that Birth is a normal, natural process that women have been carrying out successfully for five million years. This film will lead her toward experiencing the empowerment a natural birth will give her, which is her birthright. It is unlikely that she will ever see as important a film again during her lifetime."

H.,New York: "I'm terrified at the thought that I might have missed this class!"

Lahni Davidson, Mill Valley, CA: "A workshop with Elena is a time of Truth and Love. My experience was absolutely life-changing. I believe the main reason for this was that everyone intuitively felt able to completely trust Elena. And then, based on such deep trust, an atmosphere of trust formed between all of us. In this atmosphere, each of us could "go to" those events and relationships we needed to understand in order to heal them. The second reason is that the understanding Elena transmits gets to the very root of what "ails" us. And it is only from that place in ourselves that true healing can occur."

Christina Magdalene, Maui, Hawaii: "Aloha Elena! Thank you for facilitating such a wonderful experience here on Maui! I had a profound experience. I feel transformed. After the car accident in March, I felt like I lost my sense of self and was in constant reaction mode. I felt like there was something wrong with me. Well, I left your class feeling a very different person in many ways- most importantly, I simply feel good most of the time now! I almost forgot what it supposed to feel like! Again, thank you so much for being who you are. You are so appreciated."

Patricia Gale, Santa Rosa, California: "Thank you so much for the adventure! At the workshop, I felt so wonderfully connected with the people there, effortlessly, respectfully, and lovingly. There was a great ease in being together, working very personally, with great depth of feeling and meaning. And some very hard work was accomplished! Yet the spirit was light and freeing and celebrative. A very creative, satisfying process. A lot like delivering a baby, in fact! A lot like being born!"

Susan Bradford, Holistic Childbirth Practitioner: "Elena's onto something big! It's absolutely true! The process is simple, fast, easy and pleasurable; and yet, at the same time, it is profound, powerful, deeply transformative and undeniably effective. I've been seeing and feeling a big shift since I took the workshop. I highly recommend it for... well, everyone!"


Ra-el Corsini, Owner and Artistic Director of The Flying Lotus Movement Center of Mt. Shasta, California
Midwife Assistant (and recovered C-section Mother)
www.theflyinglotus.com
"Elena’s “Birth into Being” workshop moved through every part of my life. It assisted my relationships on all levels. I am now able to recognize the behaviors that are directly linked to my daughter’s c-section birth trauma. Through gentle guidance by Elena, my husband and I have applied techniques that have served tremendously for family harmony. My business has been positively affected as well. By reprogramming my thoughts, and deeply imprinting my subconscious with rebirthing my own birth, I am able to succeed in ways I did not have the confidence to handle before. This workshop is for all, not just the expectant mother. The bonding and peeling away of self is crucial for humanity’s growth and potential. Elena creates a fun, loving, safe environment that supports all types of people.
Repeating the program was a pleasant surprise for me. I got to climb to the next level of healing, and re-apply techniques that I thought I was done with. Of course they immediately served, and more success was created.  I believe in the profound, powerful, and enriching work Elena is gifting us with, and am open to answering any questions about my personal experience."

Michael T, 51, California:
"I was very impressed and pleased with the facilitation of the workshop by Elena Tonetti. She skillfully guided me to a deeply relaxed state in which I had a life-changing experience. By the end of the workshop I had practical tools and a deep grounded sense of optimism that my life had taken a turn for the better. Each of the other participants seemed to benefit equally as well, expressing enthusiastic interest in taking the next level of Elena's teachings."

Mary K., Writer/ Resource Planner and Community Pro-Activist, Oahu, Hawaii:
"This workshop saved my life! Recently, at the age of 54, I was at yet another “turning point”. I felt close to seeing my own mortality and wondered how long I was to be on this earth. A dear friend kept insisting I take a class about “birth”. Since I am well into menopause, I couldn’t see the value of such a class, but finally due to her loving insistence, I went to her house and began my new life. I have taken many seminars and self-help workshops, yet "Birth Into Being" was one of the most profound, powerful and life altering experiences I have been through. In the workshop, I realized the blockages, patterns and deep core issues that kept me from being my true self- a being of joy, pleasure, creativity and freedom. I shed many tears as I moved through old belief systems and let go of self-destructive images and behaviors. I realize I was a “good person” and worthy of having a happy and fulfilling life. The workshop was gentle, supportive and life transforming. I will always be grateful to my loving friend, to my Godself for guiding me to this moment, and to Elena, who supported me in this new birth with strength, compassion and great love."

Wes Vaught, Cranio-Sacral Therapist and Educator:
"Elena is a gift bearer. This workshop touched new places in my growth. I feel more at home and at peace. It also enhanced my creativity, spontaneity and ability to communicate. Thank you for this transformative occasion!"

Martha Landt, Midwife (Hilo, Hawaii):
"My experience was very powerful. We explored our preconceptions - the bliss, light, safety, the frequency. We re-patterned lovingly and consciously our conception, gestation and birth. As a result of that my old thought-forms were expelled, and my core cry arose. Our focus was to recode the imprints on our limbic brains and intentionally plant our true alignment with deeper wisdom. It was a healing that continues in the present as long as I am willing to be calm, consciously responsible for my own frequency. As a midwife/childbirth educator/massage therapist and a mother of four, this workshop gave me the experience of what I want to teach others. It brought me to my awareness of my inner child who seeks someone to trust, it brought me in full circle back to my eternal, radiant, light Soul."

Amani, Puna, Hawaii:
"Sharing such intimate space with people I had never met created a level of trust that I needed... Being guided through the birth canal with Elena created an experience of healing I've needed my whole life."

D. Sommers, Sebastopol, California: "Elena, I deeply appreciate your beautiful synergy of being both grounded and comfortable with your humanness and your obvious passion and connection to the unlimited potential of Spirit."

Donna, Mount Shasta, California: "I've had issues with communication most of my life. What I addressed at the workshop was the issue of not being heard. I am a facilitator for a program that works with high risk families. When I went back to work on Monday I facilitated two family meetings, both of which had difficult issues between parents and children and needed deep conflict resolution. During the meetings I felt empowered and unafraid to speak the truth about what I felt was going on. The meetings went well, and three people thanked me afterwards for being direct and honest, and thought it was of great help to the families we were working with. When I went home that night I got together with a man with whom I had been in relationship. Our main issue was poor communication; both of us were highly unsatisfied. What I got from all the work we did at the workshop with Elena, was how much I have been keeping people away from me. Holding my breath had been one of the ways of creating a barrier of protection. After the weekend, and choosing the empowering mantra for my truth and working with it, I did free myself up! That night my friend and I had true communion; totally nonsexual, but we clicked in with each other, and that was what we were both missing. Elena, what happened for me when you were talking at the Conference, is that my heart opened and I got tears when you were talking about what you are doing... that's when I knew I had to be there, in your class. And when you said at the end of the workshop "Thank you for showing up; not for me just here for the weekend, but thank you for the courage to show up in this life, for yourselves"... I had so many tears, because at that moment I recognized that I have succeeded in accepting and loving myself. Real tangible results...Thank you! Lovingly, Donna"

Johnathan, Mount Shasta, California: "I thrive on the hands-on approach that Elena has mastered. A week after the "Birth Into Being" workshop, a shift in perspective is still with me from the event. I am noticing more where I put my thoughts and energy, and observing old patterned responses before being acted out! It's like going into a self-judgment spin when I miss the head of a nail. I do carpentry work. I let it out in the moment, and after a miraculous pause, often speak the words that trigger my ability let it go and get back to enjoying life. I find this rearrangement all-encompassing, affecting my relationships, self-esteem, money, and my life in general. I've known how to do this, but after a difficult relationship I simply forgot. Spiritual concepts and theories don't cut it anymore, and I intend to apply some of the techniques I learned in the workshop in the Affinity Circle work I facilitate. Holding a safe, loving space where healing can naturally happen is what the Affinity Process is all about and Elena worked diligently to help us get to that place by letting go of our "stories" and opening to the love that surrounds us constantly. Right after the workshop I was stopped by our town 'bag lady', a woman who talks loudly and sometimes angrily to invisible beings from public street corners. In the past I have felt myself avoiding her. I knew I had to stop this time. After some time listening to her victim story I realized she just wanted to be heard and loved. Suddenly she stopped and saw me smiling at her, she burst out saying that she loved me! I tapped into some birth trauma at the event around mother-nurturing and crying out for help but getting no answer. The woman on the street was very much my little child inside me that needs sometimes just to be heard, instead of being judged. Thank you again, Elena, for the reminder to be all of who we are. I am so looking forward to the level two workshop!

Crystal S., Ashland, OR: In the days following this last workshop, I felt so much unfolding ... of the things you shared and the work we did. I feel deeply inspired to continue the work. Thank you so much! That was one of the most beautiful and inspiring workshops that I have ever attended!

Deidre S., CA: I felt the transmission of your life experience very directly and simply and received a subtle but very powerful healing. I have since felt a deep retrieval of my power and clarity of embodiment. For many years I have felt drawn to be involved with the conscious birth movement and I deeply resonate with what you have been a part of pioneering. I feel inspired again and open to how this passion might show up now. My primary focus right now is in creating conscious community. I intend to co-create a model of sustainable living and I feel that conscious birth is a huge piece of it. There are many facets of the jewel, but ultimately they all share the same essence, which is conscious awareness. My whole life has been dedicated to the healing arts and awakening to the truth of being. I feel some kind of coalescence emerging, with everything that has been my passion and focus of study. I felt the 'emptiness' within you recognize the 'emptiness' within me. It is a precious recognition and just about the only energy that I really trust. And thank you again for a wonderful weekend. I am grateful to have met you and I trust there is more.

Dorothy Mandel, MA, hypnotherapist: I have been in the pre- and perinatal community for a number of years and studied with a number of mentors. I especially valued this workshop because of its pleasure centered experiential nature. Many workshops and trainings address issues of past trauma. Few address the re-creation aspect of linking that missing sense of bodily pleasure and safety into the everyday reality of life’s mental challenges. I came away from this workshop with profound inner changes. For example, I noticed that my body felt roomier and more expansive inside in a very pleasurable way. A few days later I noticed that that inner roominess was mirrored in my outer life in a particularly interesting way. I had always felt crunched by time and I noticed a new sense of spaciousness in my perception of time. Reclaiming the physical pleasure and safety that is our birthright seems to me a foundational necessity for the kind of healing that invites the fullness of our souls back into the expansiveness of our bodies. I am very grateful for and feel gifted by Elena’s offering and my experience in this workshop.

Hadar, New York: I connected so closely to my soul, to my very core. My experiences in "Birth into Being" workshops were truly mind expanding. I felt certainty and safety after the "create your own birth" journey-meditation. All in all I felt the birthing workshop was an exercise in self-discovery. It was so simple yet so deep! Many protective layers that were no longer serving me were peeled off in a mere weekend! I feel I am now connected more to the universe, to nature. I believe this to be true since I felt myself to BE part of nature, not simply observing nature from afar or reading about it in a book.
I purchased the "Birth into Being" video and pass it to all my friends and now it's gone to friends of friends. I make sure it keeps going. Watching that video has made me aware of the natural and beautiful miracle of birth. I view pregnant women on the streets in a different light. They hold creation in their womb! I also view children now with a more clear and sensitive light. This in itself was worth it for me in meeting you.
I hope to keep in touch with you, Elena. You really helped me in a deep, profound way without even getting too personal. I wish you luck with your workshops. Next time you come to New York I hope I can help spread the word of your approach.
Thank you!

Tommy, New York: Thank you so much for the workshop! In record time, my life changed for the better. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to move on... Options are presenting themselves at a much quicker pace than I am accustomed to. I have a big interview tonight! One thing is certain, I am no longer stagnant. The last two weeks since the workshop have been a whirlwind and the nearest future promises to be very active as well. Infinite thanks!

Ras, New York: The workshop was a wonderful eye-opener and a reminder for me of what my real priorities in life are; and also how not to get bogged down in things that at the end of the day are not really important. I can only give it my highest recommendation to anyone who ever stresses over their work, life, family, etc. You will gain a true perspective.

Christy, Oahu, HI: "Birth Into Being" workshop was a day of nurturing for my heart and soul. Elena created a space of total acceptance. In this space, I was able to really look within myself and touch places that were just waiting to have Love touch them. Elena has such positive birthing energy and so being in her presence is like a reminder that I am free! I feel energized to share this experience with anyone who is willing to look within and take charge of their life and feel good. May the light grow brighter and brighter as we accept the waves of love that are always pulsating in the universe. MAHALO!!!" Best wishes on you journey, Elena!

Barbara Essman, Oahu, HI: It was a great experience! What a gift we got from you, Elena! It was a bit scary to know I would be going so deep into my being, and very exciting all at the same time. Stuff came up that I really thought I had fully processed and put into my past. It hit me fully, once again, and I had an opportunity to find a better way to deal with past trauma. I really liked finding my "key," and have found myself using this on a regular daily basis to unlock my energy and let go of the unwanted counter-intentions. It is nice to be free! - to know I AM free, at peace and fully included in whatever I choose to be included in. I hope to never feel excluded and isolated again. Thank you for giving us this opportunity and the path to a life full of pleasure! Thank you for your manao (wisdom) with us. You touched us deeply and I know many seeds were planted for the kind of birthing and parenting this world needs. I hope Hawaii can be a place of change for what has to happen in order to move us all on a path to peace, love and harmony. Aloha nui - see you soon, Barbara

Paradise Newland, Puna, HI, Sirius Institute co-founder: I was very comfortable with Elena's manner, experience and wisdom and felt more at ease in letting myself go more deeply to my earliest moments. This in turn helped me identify my core cry which I found was other than what I had thought. This cascaded into a feeling body sensation of a very deep core of energy flowing through me. I felt this had been bound up inside my whole life. I have felt lighter, more overall serenity and elation since our work together. I am excited about sharing Elena's work here again as I know it will be helpful in our work with the "DAWN" birth camp project.

Photos through-out site taken by Mikhail Paist, Marina Bauer & Marshall Leffert,
courtesy of Amber Hartnell & Nassim Haramein.