28 Nov Somatic Movement Education and Pilates

Wow Wow WOW!!!

That’s what my client and I kept saying after our first session working together using Somatic movement. We just couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

This lovely lady approached me for help alleviating her neck and back pain, we chatted for some time about her symptoms, I watched her perform a few simple movements and decided rather than jump straight into Pilates, which is excellent for strengthening and mobilising,  we would take the Somatics approach to release the muscles first, re-train the brain and then continue later with Pilates to build and maintain her strength.

BEFORE:

Notice the tension in the hands and elbows and the forward head posture.

Somatics had been on my radar for sometime and I began my personal journey earlier this year, qualifying as a Somatic Movement Education Coach this summer.

Hanna Somatics was developed by Thomas Hanna, PhD over 20 years of working in the field of Somatic Education. He discovered that muscle pain in the body, is caused by chronically tight muscles that won’t relax.

He called this Sensory Motor Amnesia or SMA and categorised three full-body reflexes that can cause postural imbalances as a result of stress being held in the body. SMA not only changes how you move, but also how you experience yourself from within. This requires slow movement to allow the brain to fully sense what is happening and notice changes in the body.

Somatics put simply is ‘the body perceived from within’ and Somatic Movement Education teaches you how to reverse your pain cycle by eliminating SMA. and enabling free movement.

AFTER:

Notice how the arms fall more naturally and with less tension, see how the head is more balanced on the shoulders and the improvement to her posture.

Somatic exercises are currently being taught on a 1-1 basis with clients and within the Healthy Backs classes. Specific workshops to address Back Pain, Shoulder and Neck Pain and Low Back Pain will be running throughout the coming year.

This is a great addition to our ‘Tool Box’ here at Southsea Pilates and enables us to get clients pain free and maintain their strength and mobility for life with a combination of Pilates and Somatics.

WOW…..this is exciting!