I have been working with the CANTIENICA® method for almost 20 years now. It all began with my work as a gynecologist, where pelvic floor weakness was a common professional concern. Since then, I’ve encountered many people in my practice with a wide variety of orthopedic and other conditions, and I’m delighted to see how they can help themselves using simple, fundamental principles of movement and posture.

Exercise always affects the whole person. Standing upright, actively stretching, and moving the entire body systematically—often in a short period of time—good posture becomes a habit, damaged joints recover, and restricted movement and pain are alleviated.

The CANTIENICA® method promotes deep strength, flexible joints, an integrated pelvic floor, and a “positive mood.” It is not a form of therapy. A few years ago, I redefined my role, transitioning from therapist to teacher.

A holistic approach to treatment, recognizing tendencies toward illness, and preventing disease have always been important to me. When I first encountered the concept of salutogenesis, I began to distinguish between therapy and salutogenesis. Salutogenesis asks: What sustains or promotes human health?

In therapy, we treat the illness. From a salutogenic perspective, we support health so that the “other” is brought along to the best of its ability.

Salutogenesis is a relatively new concept developed by Aaron Antonovsky (1923–1994). Literally translated, salutogenesis means “the creation of health.”

Just like pathogenesis: suffering, illness, creation. The term “pathogenesis” has been around for a long time. It describes the origin and development of diseases. The pathogenesis model assumes that people are either healthy or sick. Illness is considered a deviation from the norm.

In the salutogenesis model, there is no such distinction between healthy and sick. Every person moves between the two poles of health/physical well-being and illness/physical discomfort.

A living organism cannot reach either of these two extremes—perfect health or total illness.

In what follows, I describe a life-changing experience in which the difference between therapy and salutogenesis really struck a chord with me. In an introductory group for the CANTIENICA® method, I was sitting across from a man I didn’t know. He was slumped completely askew on his stool. During our one-on-one session , I learned about his diagnosis and his story: paralysis of his left arm due to a birth injury.

His dedicated parents had made sure he received many therapies as a child. And even later in life, he was almost constantly doing something to help his arm. To put it a bit dramatically: everything revolved around his paralysis—including the rest of his body.

We began asking what was okay. The left shoulder is not affected by the paralysis, the chest can be held symmetrically, and the head can be centered.

It happened quickly and easily—he was able to straighten up, stretch out, develop broad shoulders, and radiate strength. Even his paralyzed arm could swing more freely. For both of us, it was a revelation in our understanding of salutogenesis. I’m still grateful to him today, and he knows that I often talk about him.

Solveig Hoffmann, physician, Tenerife
Appointed “Master Teacher for Life” by Benita Cantieni
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