Somatic Movement

My restorative movement classes are a combination of Pilates and Somatic Movement.

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What is Somatic movement? 

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Much like Pilates, Somatic movement is performed mainly on a mat. It consists of slow, gentle and focused movements that encourage a more introspective, thoughtful approach to 'exercise' and movement.

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Your body is made up of all the life experiences you've had up until this point, the injury you had as a child, the posture you moved around with as a teenager, the type of work you do and maybe have done for many years, the ups and downs in your emotional life. Whatever your life history, it can manifest in various ways from general low back pain to a dodgy knee/hip, from hunched shoulders to tummy problems or headaches, things you've lived with every day for years. 

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A Somatic learning environment often begins by quieting the mind-body "chatter"in order to become fully receptive and responsive to the moment of movement. It is like a moving meditation. We use a process called Pandiculation. Pandiculation is a neuromuscular re-education technique developed by Thomas Hanna, the founder of Somatic Movement Education. Pandiculation involves contracting and releasing muscles in various ways to give feedback to the nervous system, attempting to reset the level of tension in our muscles, thus easing muscle and joint pain and forming better movement habits and patterns. 

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This class will give you the tools to become a bit of a detective, become aware of areas of stress in your body and then explore a variety of exercises and movements to begin to create a little more balance enabling you to move with more ease.

 

 

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