Get under the skin of a woman we admire.
You may not know her yet – but Anne Breinberg has already made her mark in the world of massage. She previously worked in banking, surrounded by numbers, deadlines and spreadsheets.
Today, she works with something entirely different: the human body.
Since changing careers, she has won gold and silver at the World Championships in Massage, among other things, and now runs her own clinic, Breinberg, in Næstved, where she offers massage, reflexology, acupuncture and birth support (doula).
We discovered Anne when her award-winning self-massage technique was featured in The New Yorker. It emerged after an injury that forced her to think innovatively just to be able to take part in a competition. The result? A different approach to bodywork.
In this interview, Anne talks about her journey from banking to the treatment table, about working with the body as a tool – and about why the most unconventional ideas sometimes turn out to be the best ones.
Get under the skin of Anne Breinberg.
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“I was heavily pregnant with my little girl when one day a flyer came through the door. It said you could train as a massage therapist for DKK 10,500. So I thought, I’ll just do that while I’m on maternity leave. So that was actually why I chose to go down that path.”
What started as a maternity-leave project quickly turned out to be something entirely different. For Anne, massage didn’t just become a profession – it became a way of being in the world. In a treatment room, the pace naturally slows down. That’s one of the reasons Anne loves her work.
“It gives me time for calm and presence. When I work with a client, a special space emerges. In a way, I’m treating myself just as much as I’m treating them.”
It’s a point many therapists recognise: touch works both ways.
When you work with the body, you also work with your own awareness, your breathing and your presence.
“It was actually quite a special situation. I’d had hip surgery twice within five months. When the world championships took place, it was only 17 days after my last operation. So I couldn’t massage other people. I couldn’t stand on my legs.
I was walking with crutches and using a walker. So to think just a little bit innovatively – and to be allowed to participate – I chose to do a self-massage where I really thought outside the box. I used the walker and my crutches to keep my balance while doing different mobilisation exercises and stretches.”
“It was actually quite a special situation. I’d had hip surgery twice within five months. When the world championships took place, it was only 17 days after my last operation. So I couldn’t massage other people. I couldn’t stand on my legs.
I was walking with crutches and using a walker. So to think just a little bit innovatively – and to be allowed to participate – I chose to do a self-massage where I really thought outside the box. I used the walker and my crutches to keep my balance while doing different mobilisation exercises and stretches.”
“I take deep breaths. And I really enjoy practising yoga. It’s wonderfully relaxing.
Mentally, it gives me so much.”
“It really is yoga. It’s access to everything, and I also integrate it into my treatments.”
“Yes – cosmetic facial acupuncture. I realise that the average Dane can’t exactly do that themselves, but it’s fantastic. It’s calming and deeply relaxing.”
“Yes, I do. And no – you should NOT go home and try it yourself,” Anne replies with a laugh.
“Well, I really love lavender. It’s wonderfully calming. But if I sometimes need a bit more energy, I’m very fond of lemongrass.”
“Well, I really love lavender. It’s wonderfully calming. But if I sometimes need a bit more energy, I’m very fond of lemongrass.”
“Inner beauty, natural beauty. I think there should be much more focus on that. There’s far too much focus on Botox and everything else, when many things could be achieved in a more natural way. I wish that would take first place.”
“It’s probably that I need to dare to believe in myself and my very, very crazy ideas. I have quite a twisted mind. But if I just choose to believe in it myself, others will come to believe in it too in time.”
She pauses briefly.
“But it takes time.”
Even if you don’t use aromatherapeutic skincare or products for the home, nature still ensures that aromatherapy is all around us. Trees and plants release invisible plant compounds, phytoncides, which research links to lower stress levels and increased activity in the body’s natural defence cells. This is a beautiful account of forest bathing, nature’s aromatherapy and the scientific evidence behind it.
