Peter Levin lives with his wife Valbona Ava Levin and their
son Lian in Hamburg/FRG. He works as an Osteopath in private practice,
writes about clinical and conceptual issues in Osteopathy, and teaches
regularly in Europe and the US.
His teaching style is energetic and inspiring; he brings together qualities
of touch in the therapeutic relationship with a biomechanical
interpretation of health and disease. Peter published several books
and articles in which he attempts to situate Osteopathy within the
scientific discourse of the 20th century. |
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Peter was co-editor of the German Journal of Osteopathy from 2007 to 2012 and a driving force in the
development of the first osteopathic curriculum for a master program.
Peter's professional life is shaped by a fascination for the medical as well as the experienced body in
therapy, movement and dance. He studied Sociology, Social Anthropology and Religion in Freiburg, Berlin |
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embeddedness of human nature in the natural world and was introduced
to the work of Helmuth Plessner and Jean Piaget on phenomenology and the
developmental process. Later in his career he was infused with American
pragmatism. At the Berlin Free University Peter took part in interdisciplinary
discussions about medicine and power, the role of language and culture in
the construction of our bodies and our selves.
The lively and openhearted atmosphere at the Berlin Institute for the Study |
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of Religion, the seriousness with which questions where asked and answers tested, were key to Peters appreciation for an open and public discourse at eye-level. Especially the lectures of Klaus Heinrich on
embodiment and the relationship of inner and outer nature had the strongest impact on Peter's
understanding of the body and body politics. Heinrich's lectures were a great inspiration to experience the
interplay of religion, art, psychoanalysis and the living body. They extended a grand invitation to develop
solidarity with the needs, desires and urgencies of our common human nature. The Berlin Institute was a
safe heaven for critical and creative thinking and a major contributed to Peter's strong support for a
university- based self - reflective approach to Osteopathy. The seminars of Carolin Neubaur and
Lorenz Wilkens combined professional attitude with personal integrity and the joy of thinking, of moving
in thoughts while balancing emotions.
Peter deepened his experience of the living body and embodied anatomy while training and teaching Contact
Improvisation and Body-Mind-Centering. The work of Elsa Gindler is an ongoing challenge and reminder
to stay within the realm of our sensual experience and bodily perception. Gindler's work on sensory
awareness - being there with someone else and being yourself in the process - is at the core of Peter's
interest in an action and perception based osteopathic approach.
Being there, in contact with oneself while staying in contact with a patient, is the key requirement in
developing a therapeutic relationship. Peter's osteopathic approach is in keeping with the major scientific and
social experiences of the 20th century.His practice as well as his writing and teaching focus on sensory-motor
experience and palpable qualities, on proprioception and touch, on building a therapeutic relationship and
interpreting the biomechanical expression of biological activity. His teaching bridges the gap between the
medical and the experienced body; his texts foster a culture of questioning the osteopathic body image.
Peter Levin D.O.
Praxis für Osteopathie im Zenith
Mittelweg 161, 20148 Hamburg
Peter.Levin[at]Levin-Hamburg.de
0049- 170- 34 14 742
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