Thacienne Nyiraneza
Kigali, Rwanda
My name is Thacienne Nyiraneza, I am a Rwandan living in Rwanda. I was born into a family of 4 children and I was the eldest in the family. When I was 13 years old, my parents died in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. I had the chance to survive with my 3 little sisters whom I had to take care of. It was obligatory to my mind to change from child mind into adult mind because I had to replace my parents in taking care of their children or my little sisters. it was not easy for me, and it was something that I had to do. I grew up feeling helpless, afraid of people, hopeless of the future. I felt that I could not make it because there was nothing to start the new life with and no one was there to help me. This marked my life in extreme isolation and trauma, and I experienced that life until 2013 when I started working in Global Grassroots (which is an international NGO founded by Gretchen). There I had the chance to hear and to have basic skills about the Breath-Body-Mind program. Since that time, I started to practice various Breath-Body-Mind practices.
Later, little by little, I began to feel positive changes in my body, in my mind, emotionally, in my relationship with myself, and in my relationships with others. This has made me curious to know the strengths of Breath-Body-Mind practices, and I continue to practice and try to think about and feel the changes in me. After the training I received from Dr. Richard Brown in 2017 when he was in Rwanda, I had the opportunity to become a level-1 Breath-Body-Mind teacher.
Because of the benefits I had already gained from Breath-Body-Mind practices and the trust I was given of sharing Breath-Body-Mind practices with others, I started to receive testimonies which were the same as mine. Since that time, I started to hear some voice that told me, “Thacienne, You are useful because you are someone who has or who know something which is useful to others so you have to take care of yourself”. Through Global Grassroots philosophy and Breath-Body-Mind practices, I continue to feel better. Day by day, I feel more kindness to myself and to others. When I go back into my past experience, I get more energy of standing up for others; well-being instead of being traumatized with it. Here I can say that with Breath-Body-Mind practices, we increase our self-awareness and with this, we have many positives thoughts, approaches, ways, feelings, and how we understand things to replace negative ones. It is a long journey and it is unstoppable.
Today I am certified as a Breath-Body-Mind Teacher - Advanced Level 1. With this certificate, I am committed to continue practicing and to teach my community about Breath-Body-Mind practices.
Many thanks to:
Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg for their role in creating Breath-Body-Mind program and their willingness to teach many people in the wide world.
Gretchen Steidle: the President and Founder of Global Grassroots for her role in bringing me into this program.
I thank everyone with whom we participated together in 2021 Breath-Body-Mind training on Zoom.
Best Wishes .
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