Can Somatics Help You?

Many people relate to my story of chronic pain, as shared in my Facebook ad. I’ve since learned that Somatics can benefit those with various medical diagnoses. Here’s a summary of what I’ve observed teaching students from diverse backgrounds.

Back, Shoulder, Hip, Arm, Leg etc. Pain

This is probably the most prevalent reason why people become students of Somatics. Back pain is often the result of tension held in the body and chronic muscle contractions. I find Somatics incredibly helpful to regain pain free movements. Not only do my Somatics students learn the movements that can provide pain relief, over time movement patterns become more functional reducing or preventing the occurrence of pain all together. It is my personal opinion that pain from chronic muscle contractions originates from either a broken kinetic chain or a musculoskeletal system that blocks movement somewhere in the body. Somatics is a whole-body movement practice and will make the “road blocks”, or as Thomas Hanna described it: Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA), noticeable. Once students can sense their own SMA they can release the tension and change their movements.

Recovery after Cancer Treatments

After long cancer treatments, people may feel disconnected from their bodies. Somatics gently restores body awareness and is a safe way to return to physical activity

Stress

Our bodies cannot differentiate between emotional or physical stress. It all gets stored in the body as tension. Imagine your response to the sound of a bullet near you, your body contracts in the front and you are reflexively protecting your “soft center” or making yourself smaller. If certain stimuli are repeated frequently your body can get stuck in a stress response pattern, bracing, holding muscle tension. Somatics activates the parasympathetic nervous system, namely the Vagus nerve, responsible for rest and restoration. Somatics is an effective way to get out of “fight or flight” mode.

Dysregulated Nervous System

There is a very long list of diagnoses that probably have a dysregulated nervous system as their root cause. Often, people who are being treated by a functional doctor or holistic practitioner find Somatics very helpful. Some of my students have fibromyalgia, long Covid, anxiety, MCAS, mold etc. While Somatics does not address the symptom of such diseases, it addresses the dysregulated nervous system itself.

Somatics is not intended to replace medical treatments and if you have a mental illness, you should only practice Somatics as a complement to professional mental healthcare. I found Somatics after exhausting the medical community with little long-term relief for my chronic back pain. Somatics was the cure for me, but YOU need to decide what works for you. Remember, I will not fix you. I will teach you the technique called pandiculation and am empowering you to become an independent student of Somatics.

My aim is to empower you with tools to help yourself, acting as your guide on this journey. Are you ready to get started?