Background History

Professor Middendorf began practicing her work in 1935. Her interest in movement and dance brought her into contact with a group of people known by the name of “Mazdaznan.” Their main purpose was to develop a healthy body education, with a strong emphasis on principles of nutrition and methods of breath. Ilse was trained in these particular breath exercises and in a form of massage for the nervous system. Her success as a somatic teacher was not enough for her.

Ilse was searching for the essence of a person’s Self within these movements, and for a medium to relate to that essence or to create a connection to it. An intuition from her childhood and her deep conviction made her want to follow the path of breath, and what it had to teach her. Ewe Warren, a dancer, taught her about the unity of human expression by means of movement, breathing, and meditation. A Jungian analysis furthered her personal and professional development. C.G. Jung mentioned the psychological root of the world of breath and Gustav Heyer emphasized it. Cornelis Veening and Margarethe Mhe intuitively knew about the potential of breath, and elaborated on their original insights along a “breathing-psychological” path. They made clear that connecting with breath in depth meant connecting with the essence of Self and its creative and inspiring nature. Veening became a very important teacher for Ilse, supporting her over a long period of time in the search and development of her own work. In 1965, after many years of research and practice, she founded the Institute for The Perceptible Breath in Berlin, Germany, to train practitioners in her artistic form of breath education—which she now calls The Experience of Breath. Since its inception, her work has achieved international attention for its effectiveness as a process leading to therapeutic, artistic, and personal growth as well as a way to support the healing and re-balancing processes of one’s self as a physical, emotional, and spiritual being.

In her mid-nineties, Ilse still lives and works in Berlin, Germany. She has maintained a full schedule—leading workshops and training practitioners throughout the world. In June, 2005 she is holding The Experience of Breath Congress in Berlin.

In 1986, Advanced Seminars of Berkeley, California sponsored the introduction of Professor Middendorf’s work to the United States. She came with her close associate, Juerg Roffler, returning often to the U.S. to conduct workshops and training seminars in The Experience of Breath.

The U.S. Middendorf Institute for Breathexperience™

In 1989 Juerg Roffler directed the first professional training program leading to certification of Middendorf Breath teachers. Practitioners of that first class have graduated and are practicing throughout the U.S. Every other year another group of trained practitioners joins them.

To support the increased interest in breathexperience™ in the U.S., the Middendorf Breath Institute of San Francisco was founded in 1991. In October 2001, the Institute moved to Berkeley, California, and is now called The U.S. Middendorf Institute for Breathexperience™. In 1992 Gryta Coates joined Juerg to become the first member of the teacher-training team. In 1996, the team expanded to include Margot Biestman and Faith Hornbacher as teacher-trainers. In 2005, after Gryta’s departure from the team in 2004, to continue developing her work with breath, the Institute added Marty Barclay and Nell Smyth to join the teacher-training team with Juerg, Margot, and Faith in Berkeley.

Since its inception, the Institute offers on-going weekly classes, workshops, retreats, and a three-year course of professional training, leading to certification as a practitioner. Private sessions with certified practitioners are also available.

The Breath Center of San Francisco (BCSF) was founded in 1995 as a non-profit organization for the advancement of Middendorf Breathwork in North America. Its purpose is to raise the level of awareness of breathexperience™ to the general public, by offering workshops, demonstrations, and printed material to the general public, providing scholarships, and to support breath practitioners in the community.

In 2003, in response to a growing need, Juerg introduced breathexperience in relationship™, a program which he has developed to uncover, clarify, resolve conflicts, and restore and transform relationships. Presently (2005) he offers workshops for the public and a two-year training program for post-graduate certified breath practitioners.

In 2005 the U.S. Middendorf Breath Institute is experiencing expansion, with centers opening in Sausalito for the North Bay, with Margot Biestman, director, and in Palo Alto for the South Bay, with Faith Hornbacher, director. Both Margot and Faith offer classes, individual sessions, and a one-year program in breathexperience™ for personal growth. Additional certified practitioners will soon offer classes in specific areas of interest for the public, in the central Institute in Berkeley.

Biographies:

Juerg Roffler is Director and founder of the U.S. Middendorf Breath Institute, The Experience of Breath, in Berkeley, California. He was a former instructor in the professional training program at the central institute in Berlin for many years before coming to the United States. In 1986 Advanced Seminars invited Ilse Middendorf and Juerg Roffler to introduce The Experience of Breath to the U.S. in Berkeley, California. In 1991 Juerg founded The U.S. Middendorf Breath Institute in San Francisco, now in Berkeley. Juerg has developed The Experience of Breath further in its natural evolution—breathexperience in relationship™, a program to uncover, clarify, resolve conflicts, and restore and transform relationships. Besides his active role as director of the central institute in Berkeley, he is an author, and also maintains his private practice and conducts breathexperience™ workshops on a regular basis throughout the United States, Europe, and other international locations.

Margot Margot Biestman, M.A., is a certified practitioner of Middendorf Breathwork, and member of the training and teaching staff of the U.S. Institute for Breath Experience. She has a private practice in Sausalito and Sonoma, CA. She is also an author and artist, and has extensive experience in education for 40 years with people of all ages. Currently she offers weekly classes in “Breathexperience™ in Everyday Life” and workshops in “Breathexperience in Relationship™: Clearing, Clarifying, Resolving Conflicts, and Restoring and Transforming Relationships”. She has just opened a branch of the Institute for Breathexperience™ in Marin and Sonoma, where she plans to offer a one-year training program for those interested in breathexperience™ for personal growth. Jeff Crockett, guest teacher, will be part of the program’s teaching team.

Juerg and Margot, together with other members of the teacher-training team have participated as breath therapists in a research study at the Osher Clinic for Integrative Medicine at UCSF, San Francisco, for patients with chronic low back pain. They were both founders and members of the Board of Directors of The Breath Center of San Francisco (BCSF), a non-profit organization for the advancement of The Experience of Breath. Currently, they serve as members of the Advisory Board.