Joukje Pothoven

For many many years I have been a physiotherapist working in an anthroposophic setting. Working in a multidisciplinary team has been very satisfactory.  Learning from each other gives the possibility to develop new insights also in one's own specialization. For me meditation and a meditative way of turning toward phenomena was very fruitful for my examination and treatment of adults and children. It gave me a foundation for my personal life and my work. Working with rhythmical massage has strengthened this attitude of listening.

Out of the Medical Section in the Netherlands we organized meditation workshops for people working in the field of health care. We learned that supporting one another in working with exercises and meditation is meaningful. Several times I was asked to give meditation workshops in the conferences for physiotherapists at the Goetheanum and it was a pleasure to work with my colleagues on this subject. To share experiences and learn from each other.

At the conference Living Connections, Madeleen Winkler, who is a medical doctor, and I are looking forward to sharing our experiences with people who work in a healthcare settings. We will work on objective observation exercises, some exercises which can help to develop a meditative attitude in our work with patients/clients, and we will share with each other what we can perceive in doing so. Then we will work on meditation itself exchange our experiences and support each other in our path with exercises and meditation. Meditation can give us a solid basis for our work.

Joukje Pothoven will be part of the workgroup <Meditation in Medicine - For all workers in health care>