About Our Program

BRMT has been changing lives around the world for over 30 years

Some children are working harder than anyone realizes.

The child who can't sit still. Who slumps over the desk by mid-morning. Who skipped crawling and now struggles to copy from the board. Who is bright, capable, and still not making the progress you'd expect.

You have tried the strategies. You have adjusted the seating, modified the environment, broken the task into smaller steps. And still, something isn't reaching the root of it.

BRMT is where that changes.

What is Blomberg Rhythmic Movement Training?

BRMT is a program of innate, stereotyped movements that follow our natural patterns of development. These are the same spontaneous rhythmic movements a baby performs in utero and during the first years of life — movements that stimulate the brain, integrate primitive reflexes, and relax the central nervous system.

When those movements are missed, interrupted, or incomplete, development can stall. Primitive reflexes that should have integrated remain active, and the brain functions as a set of poorly communicating parts rather than an organized whole.

BRMT is more than a primitive reflex integration program — it is a brain maturation program. By supplying the specific sensory input the nervous system needed and didn't fully receive, BRMT supports the development of higher-level basal ganglia function, the integration of primitive reflexes, and the emergence of mature postural reflexes.

An active reflex is not a diagnosis. It is a sign of incomplete neurodevelopment — and an opportunity to grow.

A method with a 40-year lineage

BRMT was developed by Dr. Harald Blomberg, a Swedish psychiatrist who first encountered this work in 1985 through movement pioneer Kerstin Linde. Watching Linde work with children with significant motor challenges, Dr. Blomberg observed something that would define the rest of his career: the more severe a child's motor difficulties, the more their speech, emotional, and cognitive development was affected as well — and as movement improved, so did everything else.

He brought this work into his own psychiatric practice and continued developing it over decades, drawing on the research of Svetlana Masgutova, Peter Blythe and the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, and Sally Goddard's foundational work on reflexes and learning.

Today, BRMT is taught worldwide and has been used by thousands of practitioners and parents across four decades.

Multiple hands of different ages stacked on top of each other, showing connection and unity.

Taking Courses

There are 3 levels of BRMT courses. Level 1 is a prerequisite for all other courses, and provides a comprehensive, hands-on overview of BRMT, including 17 rhythmic movements and 3 isometric integration techniques. Level 2 addresses the fear and stress reflexes, including the Moro, Fear Paralysis, and Tendon Guard reflexes, and Level 3 addresses Vision, Reading, and Dyslexia. All courses provide information on the use and application of BRMT techniques in different contexts, depending on students’ needs and interests.

Specialty courses include the Pain Resolution courses, Exceptional Children courses, Diet for Detoxification and Chronic Inflammation, and Dreams - How our Inner World Connects with Reflex Development. These courses are available to anyone who has taken a Level 1 course and allow students to pursue their particular interests in an in-depth way.

FAQs

  • BRMT is a program of innate, stereotyped movements. They are all done on the floor with a rhythmic, rocking motion - the only equipment you need for BRMT is a blanket and a pillow.

    These movements can be done passively (one person initiates the movement for another, who passively receives the input), actively (independently initiating the movement for yourself), or in an adapted manner. In addition to the rocking movements, we teach isometric integration techniques for each reflex.

  • Dr. Harald Blomberg developed the original Rhythmic Movement Training Program based on the innate movement patterns he observed through clinical observations and research during his career. He has worked and studied with other primitive reflex integration specialists around the world. He designed BRMT to be simple, effective, and easy to implement by parents and therapists in a variety of contexts.

    A fun fact about rhythmic movement training - it is the only reflex integration program that can be used with infants, and some of our oldest clients are almost 100 years old!

    BRMT instructors are highly trained practitioners taught to work with a cause-oriented, client-centered, evidence-based approach.

  • We advise most clients to start with 1-2 minutes of gentle, rocking movements per day - it’s that easy! We have a saying in BRMT that “less is more”, and that “the pause is as important as the push”. These movement patterns are very powerful and are easily recognized by the central nervous system since they are based on innate movement patterns. Because of this, change can be observed very quickly (sometimes immediately). In other cases, it can take a few months of a consistent BRMT program to begin to notice change, depending on the person and their goals.

  • Yes! BRMT can be learned and implemented by anyone, including parents looking for an effective intervention to help their child grow and achieve their goals.

  • It’s never too late to integrate your primitive reflexes! Many adults experience chronic stress, chronic pain (neck, back, lower back, hip, knee, ankle, and/or foot pain), vision or reading challenges, auditory processing challenges, coordination challenges, and more. These symptoms can all be related to primitive reflexes, and can be addressed with BRMT.

    Almost everyone has active reflexes. Chronic stress, car accidents, injuries, and traumatic or highly stressful events can all reactivate our primitive reflexes - or maybe they never integrated! Regardless of why they are active, many adults benefit from primitive reflex integration work.

  • Yes! BRMT is loved by physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, lactation consultants, psychologists, teachers, and more. We also teach hands-off methods for teachers and professionals who do not use touch in their practice.

  • Yes! Every movement is adaptable for every person and every body. In fact, there is an entire BRMT course dedicated to primitive reflex integration in children and adults with cerebral palsy.

  • All BRMT courses are accepted by NBCOT for continuing education credits for occupational therapists. They are accepted by the New York state board of physical therapy and all states which share reciprocity with New York (most do - check with your state board for more information).