ATHLETIC, BUT WITH LOW MUSCLE TONE
“Sports has been an important part of my life since my teenage years. Cycling, swimming, handball, jogging – I did all that and more. I loved to let off steam, but I didn’t show any sensitivity to my body’s needs. Back then, I did not care about stretching or engaging my deep musculature!I was 25 when my first daughter was born and 26 when her sister came. My pelvic floor was still weak after my first pregnancy, and I stumbled headlong into the second one. And what a pregnancy it was: I gained a huge amount of weight (more than 55 pounds) and had an enormous baby (10.5 pounds) in a precipitate delivery. As a consequence, I developed symphysis pubis instability and massive hemorrhoids. Knocked out completely by appendicitis, peritonitis and ensuing psychological crisis, I did not manage to do any substantial postnatal pelvic floor training. At some point I came across the book Tigerfeeling. I was impressed by the method, but it was a 60-mile drive to the closest CANTIENICA® instructor, and I felt I couldn’t spend the time nor money. In 2009, my overall circumstances looked better, so I drove to Saarbrücken once a week and went to Cordula Wennekers’ body work practice. It felt soooo good! My feeling for my own body and my pelvic floor improved so much, as did everything else. I’m convinced that the initial change took place in my mind, which learned “Cantienican” relaxation, focus, and meditation. The actual Tigerfeeling came later, this feeling of strength and power and alignment from the pelvis through the spine to the top of my head. Today, I feel in better physical shape than ever and like to race around with my girls.” (Testimonial condensed, full length in the e-book.)

CHANGING FATE
“I did fourteen years of competitive sports. Many of my former fellow athletes developed arthrosis after their active times – surprisingly many. Some of them needed to get artificial knee or hip joints. And they all seemed to consider it normal that their athletic pasts would catch up with them in this manner. About the time I turned fifty, I also started having hip problems. I went to a specialist and got x-rayed. “The blood supply to your bones isn’t sufficient any more,” my doctor said. “You’ll need to have surgery in the foreseeable future.” He wrote me a prescription for physiotherapy and told me to come back every three months for checkups. Instead of physiotherapy, I placed myself in the stern hands of Benita Cantieni. She developed a customized exercise program for me, which I followed to the letter. At my first checkup examination my joint socket and femoral head (the head of my thigh bone) were in perfect condition. All suspicious shadows had gone. “It’s a miracle,” my doctor exclaimed. “It’s very rare that I get to see something like this.”I have since stuck to the CANTIENICA® method, training twice a week. At some point I noticed that the hemorrhoids that had bothered me so much were also gone. I tried to integrate the method’s principles as far as possible in all my activities. And when I’m in danger of slipping back into old habits during strength training – shortening my muscles and compressing my joints – I can rely on my body to send me a warning signal, telling me it doesn’t like that. I am convinced that stretching and expanding the bones from the core of the pelvis and the resulting activation of the deep musculature can be valuable assets in every type of sports. The body gains flexibility and can protect itself against those jerking movements that are so harmful for the joints.”

THE PROLAPSE THAT VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE
“It was in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell; I was about to graduate from university; in Berlin, everything was in flux. And I was found to be pregnant – mistakenly so, as it turned out. Back then, in East Berlin, doctors’ offices didn’t feature all this medical equipment they have now. Through palpation, my doctor discovered that my uterus had sunk, and my irregular period did nothing to exclude the diagnosis “pregnancy”. When I went to the hospital, they found out that I wasn’t pregnant at all. I then tried more or less anything to get my uterus back to “normal”. But none of the methods available thrilled me, and what’s more important: nothing really helped. Then I saw Benita Cantieni on TV, talking about Tigerfeeling. Her approach was interesting, and I wanted to learn more, so I looked for CANTIENICA® instructors in Berlin. There were only a few back then. I found a dance studio that also offered an intensive course in CANTIENICA® pelvic floor training. I took it, and it felt really good. When the first weekly class was offered, I joined right away. After a while, I was asked whether I thought I could work as an instructor myself – I was hugely surprised! I asked for a little time to think it over. And then I decided I wanted to. I remember my instructor training in Karlsruhe very well – it was the weekend after 9/11. Ever since, I enjoy working with others and of course also on myself. The uterine prolapse has vanished completely, and I have no pain in my back and neck. One more reason to keep doing it!”

Testimonial to the E-Book “Tigerfeeling – The perfect Pelvic Floor Training for Men and Women
“In a world of wishful thinking and faddish practices, Benita Cantieni’s Tigerfeeling is a godsend. It strips away illusions fostered by the fitness industry to reveal that much of what we have been told (and sold) is a red herring. Take the ‘core,’ the holy grail of 21st century gym bunnies and marketers everywhere. What if there was one book that could show you instantly that there is no such thing – at least not in the punishing and boring way you’ve been taught to believe? Meet Tigerfeeling! In clear language and with exercises that will have your body singing, YES!, Tigerfeeling opens a door onto a different world and a very different body. It’s the agile, upright body that everything from Pilates to gyms promise, but rarely, if ever, deliver. It’s a body free from injuries and brutal exercise regimes to make the business of living effortless and easy – the way it was when we were children. This is the genius and the paradigm shift that is Tigerfeeling and I highly recommend it.”

SINGING MORE BEAUTIFULLY WITH TIGERFEELING
“My first two deliveries were followed by sudden deafness and dizzy spells, which is why I was very scared of the birth of my third child. But then things got even worse: three weeks after giving birth, I suffered a slipped disc. I spent two interminable weeks lying on my stomach, then I had emergency surgery. Even two years afterwards, I was in chronic pain. Up to this point, I had never heard of such a thing as an active pelvic floor, and I hadn’t taken care of it after the first two deliveries. Why “form back” something you don’t even know is there?My natural health practitioner told me about Tigerfeeling, and I started doing the exercises – with almost immediate results.I could finally go jogging again without my knees acting up and I could move around without pain. Deeply convinced by this method, I took the CANTIENICA® instructor training course in Zurich and soon learned how much there was (and is) still to do. On my quest to recognize and activate the different layers of my pelvic floor and find my core, I placed Thera-Bands around my chest, let my muscles vibrate, and struggled through many a dry spell. When I started to become more erect and stretch my sternum and neck, it finally dawned on me what my husband meant when he told me to straighten up and show my full height. Today, my back is pain-free! And I also have a great new physical awareness. My singing voice has improved so much that I feel confident enough for evening-filling programs of Brecht/Weill songs (though I can also sing other music). Breathing from my diaphragm gives my voice space and allows me full control over it. And my pelvic floor supports everything as a stable bowl. Hooray for Benita Cantieni and hooray for a strong pelvic floor!”

A DISCOVERY OF UNKNOWN MUSCLES
“24 years ago, I had a hysterectomy, followed by a major life crisis. Eight years ago, I needed to have surgery again, this time to lift my prolapsed rectum and bladder. After a while, I felt my organs hanging down again. I suffered severe pain in my pelvic floor, I felt weak and as if everything would just drop down and out. If I did even the slightest bit of lifting, I felt that painful downward pressure. I felt burned out and panicky; it was all just too much. Earlier attempts to avoid surgery through working less, bravely training my outer musculature, and lots of therapeutic support had failed. Now my doctors told me that the next operation would be very complex and complicated – and without any guarantee for lasting results. I felt desperate! Considering my current state of exhaustion at the time, the physicians did not recommend any further surgery, anyway. Instead, they said that the best thing would be if I went to Tenerife and into the care of a doctor friend of theirs who ran a center for salutogenesis and offered CANTIENICA® training. Maybe, they said, there was a chance for me … In any case, I had to reduce my workload immediately and get some rest. I began to hope again. I was ready to do anything, as long as I didn’t have to have another of those doubtful operations. I found out that a certified CANTIENICA® instructor gave classes in my village, so I immediately booked some private sessions and practiced 1-2 hours at home every day with a CD. Even though I love my job, I gave it up almost completely for the time being. I just took care of myself, got lots of rest, and did something nice for myself every day. Feeling that things were really serious this time, I treated myself to a three-week cure in Tenerife (www.eridanos.org) where I took daily CANTIENICA® sessions with Dr. Solveig Hoffman and enjoyed lots of rest and After six months of disciplined pelvic floor training, I had almost entirely overcome my symptoms. I could go hiking again and lift small weights. Today, eleven months later, my pelvis feels younger and stronger than ever, completely symptom-free and robust! By now I have also realized that at almost 60, I may well approach work a little more slowly. I keep doing my weekly training as it does me good. I am very, very grateful for this method and will keep recommending it!”

FINALLY FREE OF PAIN AFTER MULTIPLE PELVIC FRACTURE
“In March of 1995, a car accident left my pelvis fractured in six places. As a result, my whole pelvis was displaced and my left leg was almost an inch shorter than the right one. Half a year later I was diagnosed with pelvic instability. My physiotherapist gave up on me. I was on my own. I started my self-therapy odyssey … My entire body had to rearrange itself. I needed pain medication to function – not every day, but often enough and with increasing frequency. The turning point came with the CANTIENICA® method. My pelvis started getting better. I learned how to align my bones anew: with subtle exercises and sometimes only through the right kind of breathing. I regained flexibility and mobility in my pelvic and hip joints. My pelvic bones changed their position, my entire pelvis returned almost all the way to its original form. I’ve almost stopped needing pain medication altogether. I can do any type of sports safely and with a good feeling for my body. I am endlessly grateful to Benita Cantieni for developing this wonderful method, which has been a true course in self-healing for me.”

Keeps more than promised.
For your best Body ever and forever. Fitness, Therapy, Fun. All inclusive. “For me personally, CANTIENICA® is more a life style than a training method. I practise at the bus stop, when standing in line, while jogging, talking on the phone, drying my hair, cleaning the bath tub, picking up kids etc. It’s a MUST HAVE, I couldn’t live without it any more…”

A NEW PHYSICAL AWARENESS“
The CANTIENICA® method gave me a new physical awareness. After the birth of my first child, my pelvic floor felt a bit unstable, and I sometimes dribbled urine when I sneezed or coughed. Shortly after my second child was born, I came across the CANTIENICA® method with Benita Cantieni’s book on postnatal workout. Training at home, and especially my coaching sessions with a CANTIENICA® instructor, improved my physical situation so much that I now like to go jogging again. I am grateful to Ms. Cantieni for her work and to Brigitte for being such a wonderfully empathic mediator of this method.”

AFRAID OF HIS OWN COURAGE?
Afraid of his own courage?“ Mr. D (73 years) arranged for a private CANTIENICA® pelvic floor training session. Two years before, he had a radical prostatectomy. Since then, he’d been suffering from incontinence. Regular, conventional pelvic floor training with a focus on the sphincter had brought no improvement whatsoever. I explained the structure of the levator ani with the CANTIENICA® anatomic model – an epiphany. Mr. D, who used to be very athletic, responds very well to the instructions. His coordination is admirable. He is happy with the way things are going, and so am I! By the end of the first session, we do the crash test: stand up – and sit down. No leaks! As he leaves, Mr. D seems to be floating on air, smiling and happily shaking his head. A miracle just happened to him. Second session. How did he fare after last time? Mr. D had diligently practiced and used his new-found musculature and posture wherever he went. He was thrilled! Then came the big “but”: “My conscience is plaguing me.” – How so? – “I’m not doing what my doctor ordered. He is getting me into rehab.” Mr. D canceled his third session. I never saw him again. His doctor won, but his pelvic floor probably didn’t.”

“Dear Ms Cantieni, I recently came across your book, Tigerfeeling, and would like to let you know how very impressive I find it.” I first heard of CANTIENICA® Method in 2008. At the time I was going through a period of 2 to 3 years of chronic pain from playing competitive sports, and despite my best efforts I couldn’t find the underlying issue as to why I was constantly getting injured. ​ A friend told me of CANTIENICA® Method and I travelled to Switzerland to meet with Benita Cantieni. I spent 3 days in her studio taking classes and learning the CANTIENICA® Method. As soon as I started my body felt different. My muscles began to relax. I felt taller, lighter, and free in my movement. Pain and tightness around my hip and pelvic regions disappeared. This is where I was having the majority of my pain, but it went away as I continued to practice the CANTIENICA® Method. ​ I wanted to learn everything about this system but unfortunately there were no English courses. So I continued to use what I learned in Switzerland until finally in 2014 CANTIENICA® Method was taught in English. I jumped at the opportunity to learn the method! ​ The certification was held in Berkeley, California, for 5 days. I live in Ireland so it was a long journey to get there but I didn’t mind one bit. I was very excited to learn everything I could. Each part of the certification was insightful, however what I enjoyed most was the choreographies that we performed each day. Benita would instruct us through very precise movements that worked my body from the inside out. ​ The movements looked simple, yet I found them very challenging. CANTIENICA® Method helps awaken the parts of your body that you’ve forgotten how to use. Everything gets realigned, and muscles and bones are free to do the work they are designed to do. ​ The feeling that you get after a CANTIENICA® choreography is just amazing. Simple movements such as walking become a joy, because when your body is free to move optimally it’s like giving yourself an internal massage! I am currently practicing CANTIENICA® on a daily basis and going through the training manuals that I received at the certification. The exercises are very detailed, and they require my full attention. But as I practice and explore I feel myself improving and developing. ​ I’ve also started to teach this method to others. They feel the same way after one of our sessions. It’s a delight to be able to help someone rediscover pain free and enjoyable movement. ​ I want to thank Benita and everyone who has helped develop CANTIENICA® for giving me the chance to learn this wonderful method. I see myself practicing it for the rest of my life, and I aim to become an excellent instructor. ​ If you are curious about the method I encourage you to give it a try. Visit a class or perhaps a personal training session. If you can dedicate the time, I would highly recommend the certification.”

“I had tried different training methods to strengthen and shape my body, but none of them was as effective as CANTIENICA®. “