Caroline: Dear Mandy, when you started your training to become a CANTIENICA® trainer, you already had 20 years of professional experience as a physical therapist. What was it like back then when those two worlds collided?

Mandy: Oh, I can truly say that it was like two worlds colliding. In fact, I first discovered the CANTIENICA® method for myself—for my own body. It wasn’t until later that I began to integrate it into my work. Little by little, I realized how well this method can be combined with physical therapy and what additional resources it offers. It’s fascinating how many possibilities this opens up—both for me and for my patients, or rather, as I now call them, my clients. I’ve moved away from a purely symptom-based diagnostic approach and now view people holistically, which brings me great joy.

Caroline: We’ll talk more about the way you work in a moment, as well as the shift from “patient” to “client.” I also think it’s nice that you didn’t actively seek out this method—it just came to you. There was a bit of fate involved, wasn’t there?

Mandy: Absolutely, and it’s actually a funny story. I was working at a rehab clinic when someone came up to me and asked me right away to help her with pelvic floor exercises. Back then, I was doing the usual physical therapy exercises, which didn’t really suit me—like “riding an elevator” with my vagina or picking up cherry pits. Still, I tried to meet her requests, and the patient was satisfied. As a parting gift, she gave me the book *Tiger Feeling* by Benita Cantieni, which was a revelation to me. At first, I just read it and put it on the shelf. It wasn’t until after my pregnancy and childbirth that I remembered the method again and looked for a trainer in Berlin. The training won me over, and my body’s responses were amazing.

Caroline: How soon did you feel the desire to pass on this method? Did it happen right away, or did it take a while?

Mandy: At first, I could hardly believe it myself and had to learn to trust my own body. I worked out for a while and worked in a neurology intensive care unit, which was physically very demanding. Many of my colleagues aren’t able to continue in this profession until retirement age. The CANTIENICA® method was a great way to keep my body healthy. It took a while before I gained the confidence to pass the method on to others.

Caroline: During our preliminary discussion, you mentioned that you were used to working a lot with your hands. However, coaching using the CANTIENICA® method is a different story. Could you explain the differences a bit?

Mandy: Exactly—one of the most amazing things I’ve experienced with the CANTIENICA® method is how much these gentle touches can do for the body. Physical therapy is a craft, especially manual therapy, where we often use a lot of force to realign joints and bones. With the CANTIENICA® method, I’ve experienced similar effects, but with gentle touches. These touches are more like guides, giving the body the chance to find its way back to the correct alignment on its own. You accompany the person on this journey and give them the confidence to move into the correct position by themselves. Manual therapy can sometimes be intrusive, and at times, stronger stimuli are needed. But starting with a gentler method can often yield more lasting results.

Caroline: Is this gentle approach to intervention—to sharing information—also tied to one’s history, whether one is a client or a patient?

Mandy: Yes, that’s very important. Patients often place a great deal of responsibility on therapists, doctors, and the medical system. As a client, you remain in control of your own life and take personal responsibility for yourself and your body. Even as a physical therapist, I don’t have X-ray vision and need feedback from the person to know how they’re doing and what helps them. The CANTIENICA® method takes a holistic view of the person and encourages personal responsibility. I see myself as a trailblazer or companion on the journey, providing the impetus for the body’s self-healing. Those are big words, but that’s really how I feel now.

Caroline: How do you handle it when someone still comes up and says, “Heal me—I’m going to lie down over there now”?

Mandy: That’s difficult because I can’t work or think that way anymore. I didn’t used to think I could help someone get better, either. Now, however, working together to develop new postures or find pain-free spaces has proven to be much more sustainable. Personal responsibility is a top priority.

Caroline: Do you also experience that evolution—which is part of the method—in yourself, or do you feel like at some point there’s nothing new left to discover?

Mandy: The brilliant thing about the CANTIENICA® method is that it’s so dynamic. Benita Cantieni is creative and continues to explore and conduct research. I never get bored. I’m gaining a deeper and deeper understanding of the instructions and exercises and finding them reflected in my body. The practice becomes increasingly subtle and profound, which helps me stay flexible in both mind and body. You don’t settle for what you have; instead, you strive for improvement.

Caroline: What’s a typical day like for you at work? Do you mainly work with individual students, or do you work with groups more often?

Mandy: I do both, about 50-50. Groups are great because they often run on their own and are inspiring. The exchange among participants is interesting and educational because everyone’s body works differently. These group experiences inform my one-on-one sessions, which are more specialized. People often come with a specific question and are surprised when we start at a different end of the body, but it always comes together.

Caroline: Is there an exercise that you always include in every lesson?

Mandy: There isn’t any one specific exercise that has to be included every time. Every CANTIENICA® exercise involves lengthening the spine and activating the deep muscles. It’s the variety of exercises that matters.

Caroline: Do you have a favorite exercise, or one you really don’t like?

Mandy: The “Frog on the Sole of the Foot” exercise was my first introduction to my pelvic floor. When I was learning the method, I thought I’d never really be able to find it or pass it on. But with the “Frog on the Sole of the Foot” exercise, I truly felt my pelvic floor for the first time.

Caroline: Then I suggest we end the video on a high note with the “Sole of the Foot Frog” exercise. Thank you so much for giving us a glimpse into your approach to work, your background as a physical therapist, and how that all came together with this method. Thank you very much.

Mandy: Thank you for the interview.

This interview is available as a podcast. It was transcribed using Audiopen (AI).