What is Somatics Education & How can it help me
Over the past year we have introduced a sensory motor training called Essential Somatic Education to our studio. We have found that this method helps virtually all of our clients increase their body awareness and has help many deal with chronic pain. We teach the training in our privates. We also sprinkle it into some of our pilates classes as a warm up as it helps clients develop body awareness as part of their pilates practice. To really embrace the system and help our clients, we have created classes dedicated to it to teach the training and to have a place to practice in a group setting. Here is a little more information for you. Come join us to learn more.
What is Somatic Education? How Can it help me?
The way we unconsciously react to the stresses of our daily lives causes habituated movements and muscle contraction patterns. These patterns result in muscle tension that can cause chronic pain. The body can lose its ability to sense if a muscle is truly relaxed or not. Somatic Education is based on a series of safe and gentle movements that, when done regularly, can bring about more efficient, coordinated, and pain-free movement. It is scientifically-based sensory motor training that teaches you how most chronic muscle pain develops, and what to do to restore full nervous system control of both muscles and movement. The result is more awareness, control and freedom of movement. The exercises are for everyone, helping to free yourself of muscle tension and pain and to also prevent future limitations to movement.
What Thomas Hanna observed over the course of twenty years of clinical practice and research was that when muscles become habitually and involuntarily contracted due to real-life stresses such as accidents, injuries, surgeries, major illnesses, repetitive movements, and even emotional situations, not only do those muscles lose their ability to relax, but the brain actually loses sensation and voluntary control of the muscles. The result is tight, sore muscles, joint stiffness, a loss of smooth, controlled movement, and chronic pain. We call this loss of sensation and voluntary control: Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA).
What can I expect of a Somatics class?
You will be verbally led through a series of slow and mindful movements mostly lying on the floor to provide proprioceptive feedback. By focusing on your own internal movements, you become more aware of your movement patterns and you can make changes in your nervous system more effectively and efficiently. In this class, you will learn how to release Habitually contracted muscles and regain conscious voluntary control. You will reconnect your brain to your muscles and release muscular tension from the center to periphery.
