what is somatic exercise?
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Somatic exercise is a gentle and wonderful tool to take into your home practice. Developed by Thomas Hanna, PhD, somatic exercise is a safe and gentle approach to reducing and even eliminating chronic pain. For me, discovering somatic exercise has been a profound experience. Somatics was the missing link in my movement education, because it integrates the brain’s ability to make a permanent change in muscle length and integrity.
Learning about the three "stress reflexes" (how our body adapts to everyday stress) and how to “pandiculate” my body has had a significant impact on my overall health. Pandiculation is what you do in somatics--it means moving gently and intentionally into and out of muscle and fascial tightness, then sensing the changes to integrate the brain with the body. Animals do it 30-40 times a day. I use somatics for people who are hurting. Getting at the root cause of the pain, teaching them to pandiculate, and wiping out what we term "sensory motor amnesia" has been wildly successful, especially when combined with gentle core stability work. |
This fascinating article: "Stretching vs. Pandiculation: What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter?" written by a clinical somatics professional describes the differences in detail. If you would like to read more about somatics, take a look at my teacher Martha Peterson’s website: www.essentialsomatics.com.
Workshops I teach monthly workshops that include somatics at Pacific Northwest Pilates in Southwest Portland. I often integrate somatics with other techniques like restorative yoga or fascial movement, but I do teach traditional somatics-only workshops frequently. See more information on current workshops. Private Sessions I work with quite a few private clients using somatics as a primary tool. I have found that working one-on-one in this way leads to deep and profound results. Often, I combine somatics to unwind and repattern the body, then pilates to stabilize. See more information on private sessions. Schedule a private session. |
feedback from clients . . .
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Like many people, I struggle with chronic pain, and over the years I have collected several different tools for managing pain and improving quality of life. One day, Sue asked me if I would like to try Somatics as another possible tool for my toolbox? Sure! Why not? So there I was. . .taking my first Somatics class, and Sue walks us through a "soma scan" (that meant I had to tune into my body, thereby increasing my awareness of my pain). What?! Let's be honest. . . sometimes we learn to dissociate from our pain as way to cope. Needless to say I was more than skeptical, but I have great trust in Sue, so I stuck it out. By the end of the workshop, my body let go of a significant amount of pain, my movement was more free, fluid, and |
integrated, and I was walking better than I had in months. . . maybe even years. Since that first class, I continue to practice Somatics, and I continue to be amazed that such a gentle form of exercise can result in such immediate improvement in my movement patterns and diminished pain levels. It has become one of my favorite tools; it's easy to do at home or on the go, and it doesn't even require props or special equipment for you to succeed. Even just a few minutes invested makes for a happier body and a better day! If you haven't tried Somatics, I encourage you to come try the Koolaid . . . you have so much to gain and nothing to lose! --TF |
Photo credits: Mark Basarab (header)