Léia Cardenuto
Bioenergetic Analysis • The Clinical Journal of the IIBA, 2025 (35), 7–8
https://doi.org/10.30820/0743-4804-2025-35-7 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 www.bioenergetic-analysis.comDear readers of this Journal.
Some of our members that were born in the last century, like me, might have memories of the beginning of Bioenergetics, in America, as a great school of psychotherapy. At that time, when Lowen started to teach he gathered a few brave men and women psychotherapists to form a team of pioneers on body therapy, a technique that was as revolutionary as it was bold.
To be part of that team required a lot of passion. One of the most passionate was Ed Svasta, who had lefts us last year. I would say that passion is a word that could not define him properly, but because I didn’t know him closely, I just stay of some of his acts that I could view.
I will tell you an anecdote, that happened when I was going to do a PDW (Professional Development Workshop) in Colorado. I am a Brazilian psychologist and had just received my CBT in São Paulo.
I went there by plane, with Liane Zink and Odila Weigand, my teachers, and we had a stop in New York that made us arrive a bit later to the place where the workshop was located. We missed the first meeting and Ed received us and gave us a lecture on how we couldn’t have missed it! I was ashamed and at that moment felt him as a very strict teacher. And I also hoped I will not be assigned to his group. I wasn’t assigned, but I was wrong!
I was with Virginia Hilton as my trainer there for those days, and I was enchanted with her way of teaching. But I, at the same time, I got to know Ed Svasta more. He was sweet, always caring of the students and schedules, and when the workshop ended, all groups and their trainers went to a place to dine. After dinner we stayed for a while, and each one sang songs of everyone’s countries. I don’t remember the music I sang at that time, but Ed, who was a very attuned singer, sang “Don’t fence me in”, an American popular song from “good old times”. My English was not that good, but I understood that the theme of the song, (fences as armors) fitted with Bioenergetics perfectly. This night we all sang and laugh, and this was a very good memory I have of him.
I changed my idea of him being a strict trainer and started to view him as a generous man, very concerned with the Bioenergetic Analysis interests.
So, that is why I was pleased to know, and not so surprised when I heard about his legacy. Ed Svasta, who was so loyal and committed to the IIBA, left some money from his state to our institute.
Dear Ed, wherever you are, receive our gratitude.
You teach us with your loyalty and strength, and I hope you will always be remembered by that.