Bioenergetics was started in the 1950s by a Psychiatrist named Alexander Lowen. He found that we store emotions in the body when it’s not safe to express them and that over time this manifests as chronic patterns of muscular tension and psychological stagnation. This often shows up as physical pain, emotional emptiness, depression, anxiety, self-sabotaging behavior or relationship problems, personally and/or professionally.

Even later in life, when we are safe to express our feelings, our bodies inhibit this expression and our minds still don’t believe it is safe.

Lowen, now 92 years old and living and practicing in Connecticut, was a student and patient of Wilhelm Reich, who died in 1957. Reich was a patient and student of Sigmund Freud, the father of all psychotherapy. While Freud paid attention only to the verbal productions of his patients, Reich introduced to psychoanalysis the observation of the body, such as expressions of eyes and face, quality of voice and muscular tension patterns. What we today call body language was first described by him. Just as Freud noted a split between a conscious and unconscious memory, Reich noted a split in the expressions of the body. For example, a person may smile but be unaware that his face looks mournful. He may say kind words but not realize that his eyes look resentful, that his jaw is set in an expression of spitefulness.

As his patients improved through psychotherapy, Reich noted that muscular tensions also changed. The depressed person's shoulders and arms became less tense, the jaw became relaxed, the teeth were no longer clenched. The reason he determined we restrain the impulse to reach out and instead repress the painful memories in the first place is to prevent being vulnerable. With the relaxing of the chronically tense muscles the patient therefore re-experiences the vulnerability. By his set jaw and clenched teeth he had adopted a bodily expression which spoke of never wanting to reach out and be hurt again.

Reich experimented with attempting to relax chronically tense muscles by pressing on them directly. He discovered that it worked. People would often experience strong emotions and recover long forgotten, painful memories. The unity of body and mind and emotions became clear.

He also noted that people started looking more alive, their skin pinker, their voice fuller and stronger, their movements more graceful and flowing, their eyes brighter. It was as if they had more energy.

Dr. Lowen broadened the scope of body work and introduced bioenergetic homework. Instead of only pressing on chronically tight muscles, he also made use of stress positions which cause chronically tense muscles to let go. Evidence of this relaxation could be seen in a trembling and fine vibration of the muscles.

Lowen could actually observe the blocks to energy flow caused by chronically tense muscles. For example, a chronically tight diaphragm interrupts the respiratory wave, causing shallow breathing. As a result the oxygen intake is reduced and the person's energy level drops. Such shallow breathing is one way we keep our emotions controlled. To help people breathe more deeply, Dr. Lowen introduced the bioenergetic breathing stool.

This intricate combination of body work and psychotherapy work constitutes the essence of bioenergetics.