What is Somatics?
Somatics is the study of the Soma—the body perceived from within.
As a method of movement re-education, Somatics helps you develop internal awareness of your body’s sensations and movements, empowering you to release chronic tension and regain freedom of movement. Based on the teachings of Thomas Hanna, Somatics differs from other practices by addressing Sensory Motor Amnesia and the body’s three brain reflexes through a powerful technique called Pandiculation.
Your Soma: The Body Experienced from Within
Somatics works with your Soma—the part of you that only you experience from the inside. You are the expert on what it feels like to be in your body. While others see your outward appearance, Somatics invites you to turn inward and gain awareness of your unique patterns and sensations. This first-person approach opens up possibilities for healing and self-discovery.
What is Sensory Motor Amnesia? (SMA)
In simple terms, SMA is when your nervous system forgets how to sense and move certain muscles effectively, leading to patterns of chronic tension. Over time, these “tension patterns” become automatic and affect posture, flexibility, and ease of movement.
Habituated Tension Patterns and the Ageing Process
Each of us develops unique responses to our environment, shaped by past experiences, injuries, and stresses. These experiences become ingrained as habituated tension patterns, often mistaken for the natural ageing process. Somatics can help you gently release these patterns, restoring ease and fluidity in your movements.
Here are the three muscular Brain Reflexes and their typical presentations; Your body has three natural reflexes that respond to stress and movement. Somatic movement therapy helps you identify and release these reflexes when they become habitual, allowing you to reset your body’s natural alignment.
Three Brain Reflexes
The Green Light Reflex: Arching Posture
This reflex activates when you’re in “go mode”—pushing forward and striving to accomplish tasks. It contracts the muscles along your back, resulting in a habit of arching your lower back.
Common symptoms: Tight shoulders, lower back pain, hyperlordosis, sciatica, and hamstring tension.
The Red Light Reflex: Stooping Posture
This reflex is triggered by stress, worry, and anxiety. It contracts the muscles along the front of your body, causing a forward, hunched posture.
Common symptoms: Forward head posture, TMJ, shallow breathing, and abdominal tension.
The Trauma Reflex:
Tilted Posture
This reflex develops after injury or repetitive strain, causing your body to tilt or rotate to compensate for pain.
Common symptoms: Scoliosis, leg length discrepancy, frozen shoulder, carpal tunnel syndrome, and hip or knee pain.
How Somatic Therapy Helps Release Tension Patterns
Somatic movement therapy uses slow, intentional movements to restore your body’s natural alignment. By retraining the nervous system to sense and release contracted muscles, you can regain voluntary control and alleviate chronic pain. I use techniques like Pandiculation—a process that resets muscle tension without stretching—to help your body return to its natural state.
One of the methods I employ is Pandiculation.
Pandiculation resets the resting tone of muscular tension. We never stretch, we Pandiculate.
Eastern Traditions for Holistic Healing
In addition to Somatic therapy, I incorporate Eastern practices, including Acupuncture, Moxa, and Gua Sha, which I’ve studied with leading practitioners. These techniques address a variety of needs, from pain relief to support during pregnancy, and can be seamlessly integrated with somatic practices to enhance well-being.