Somatic Education is a simple process of neuromuscular re-education that allows you to regain voluntary control of all the muscles of your body so that optimal muscle function and comfort can be restored, and then maintained, for the long term. When we have full control of our muscles, they will not cause pain. Only muscles that we have lost voluntary control over, and which are chronically tense (SMA) cause pain. Relaxed muscles do not ache.
Somatic Education is an education based approach to pain relief, wellness, health and mobility that honors the neurological fact that our brains have absolute control over our muscles. Any attempt to change the condition of, or optimize the functioning of, our muscles must involve our brain. If the brain is involved it means there is a learning component and true change only comes through learning. By learning new and more efficient ways to use our muscles we can make long term changes to our body, or should I say to our ‘Soma’ (our body experienced from within).
There are two ways to achieve this;
Hands-On Somatic Lessons
Clinical Somatic Education systematically addresses the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma) over the course of 2-4 Lessons. The practitioner guides the client through some specific movement patterns and provides gentle hands on feedback to the client to help them to properly sense the various muscles involved. Once the client can sense or feel these muscles they can begin to regain control of them and in turn release and relax them back to their proper resting length. Clients are then taught a series of Somatic Movements that they can do themselves at home so they can maintain and refine this new muscular control and freedom.
Somatic Movements
These are a series of safe, simple floor based movement patterns that enable us to consciously recreate the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma) so that we may consciously de-create them. The goal of the Exercises is to pandiculate into and out of the Reflexes eliminating SMA. This is akin to hitting ‘reset’ on our muscle function. When your PC or laptop is acting up, the first thing we do is usually to turn it off, and then turn it on again. This allows the sytem to reset or reboot. With Somatic Movement we are doing the same thing for our brain-muscle connection. The only difference being we do the opposite, we turn the muscle fully ON, and then slowly turn it fully OFF. This simple act resets or reboots our muscle function and control for freer, more comfortable muscles.
In the video below I demonstrate a Somatic Movement called the Back Lift. This movement is great for releasing and relaxing all the muscles of the back of the body and is one of the most fundamental Somatic Movements. This is one of my personal favorites, it will really set you up for a good nights sleep.
The Backlift is one of the most fundamental Somatic Movements
Summary:
- Somatic Education is NOT therapy.
- Hands-On Somatic Lessons involve learning how to recognise and release all the muscles involved in the Three Brain Reflexes (Green Light, Red Light, Trauma).
- Somatic Movements performed regularly allow you to be self correcting in the future for long term pain relief from tight stiff muscles.
- Somatics resets or reboots our muscle function and control for freer, more comfortable muscles and improved movment potential.
You can experience more Somatic Movements like the Back Lift for yourself right now at Learn Somatics on YouTube.
As always, thanks for reading.