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Somatic Movement
About
What is Somatic Movement?
Somatic Movement is the movement that is performed consciously with the intention of focusing on the internal experience of the movement (how we feel) rather than the external appearance or the result of the movement (how it looks). It requires awareness of our own body sensations or Self Awareness. With Somatic Movement, we learn how to listen to our body with neutrality and curiosity and let it move freely with pleasure. It is how Conscious Movements help dissolve the restrictions that have cumulated in our bodies from all the life stressors.
Somatic Movement is a great tool to re educate the way how our brain senses and how our muscles move without engaging our Fight, Flight and Freeze Responses.
Any movement can be a Somatic Movement as long as it is performed slowly, consciously and with the intention of focusing on its internal experience.
Early on in my career as a physical therapist, I have learned that in order to teach my patients to move again, I had to listen to what their bodies were telling me and move along with their capabilities. There always had to be an “unspoken agreement” between my hands and the patient’s body that they could trust me and that I would listen and guide them from a “grounded place” and to the best of my own abilities!
This “discovery” lead me to attend additional classes offering me the knowledge, the framework and the tools to be and remain present in my own body and neutrality so I could in turn be able to consciously identify and address the bio individuality of my patient’s body and guide them towards functional movement.
I was fortunate that my Physical Therapy curriculum exposed me to many “movement philosophies” including the Alexander Technique, The Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) and the NeuroDevelopmental Treatment (NDT). It is through added knowledge that my awareness of “feeling” the movement versus “executing” it found its roots. (button to bio)
My practice of Somatic Movement and Exercises is initiated with an Assessment of your posture, how you move and what your functional goals are. This is achieved by using my palpatory and listening skills, my knowledge of function, movement and anatomy.
Once the Assessment is completed, we begin the journey of letting your body lead and consciously listen to what it is telling us as you SLOWLY move with the guidance of my hands.
Rather than just talk about the exercises, I will ask you to focus on the internal physical sensations you feel as you move. I may incorporate visualization and guided imagery. Each movement will be equally monitored with your feedback and with my hands.
Together we will discover where your ease and restriction of movements are and how your tissues are responding. Our main intention throughout the Guided Somatic Movement Session is to move slowly to ensure you remain out of the Fight, Flight and Freeze Responses.
Somatic Exercises is the conscious performance of the Somatic Movements where we let our body move freely with pleasure. It helps dissolve the restrictions cumulated from all the stressors of life demands that created obstacle to our freedom of movement and brought our body into dysfunction.
The ultimate goal of Somatic Movement is to dissolve the cumulated dysfunctional movement patterns and restore pleasurable functional movements with a sense of vitality and relaxation.
Somatic Movements and Exercises can be both hands-on movements or self-care movements and they can be adapted to all ages and abilities on an individual basis or with groups. They are highly effective in relieving chronic pain, improving bodily function and recovering from common musculoskeletal conditions.
The ultimate goal of Somatic Exercises is to empower the participants to Self Care by teaching them the tools they need to stay out of pain and to continue improving their posture, their movements and functions throughout their lives.
I practice Somatic Exercises daily for at least 20 -30 minutes. During that time, I visualize my body fall into gravity to eventually unwind into a slow controlled motion that leads me to new and pleasurable positions and movement patterns. I ALWAYS make sure that I move as slow as possible to remain in harmony with my nervous system. Somatic Exercises serve as my daily meditation and helps clear my mind and ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I experience during and after a CranioSacral Therapy session?
The cranial rhythm communicates with the rest of the body like a ripple in a pond when a stone is thrown in. Some of the many conditions where CranioSacral Therapy has proven successful for:
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To schedule an appointment with our therapists at Healing The Generations, please download and complete the necessary forms below. These forms will be used to keep track of each patient’s records in our clinic.
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You cannot find better therapists than at Healing the Generations! Nadine and Wouter are both excellent hands-on highly skilled compassionate physical therapists.
Janice, St Petesrburg, Fl.