Somatic Movement Experience

About the Class

This is ONLY for registered participants of the Somatic Movement Experience. This is NOT open to all clients.  Somatic stretching is based on pandiculation, which is defined as the involuntary, instinctive stretching of soft tissues, particularly during transitions between cyclic biological behaviors. In layperson’s terms, it’s the unconscious contracting and releasing of the muscles that happens during everyday movements; one example of this is the way we gently stretch upon waking.   The pandicular response is hardwired into our nervous system, and it's the way that our nervous system naturally releases built-up tension in our muscles. When you see babies and animals arch their backs and stretch, they're pandiculating.   Somatic stretching aims to mimic this same release of built-up tension in our muscles.   And there’s plenty of tension to release. Over the years, our nervous system learns to keep certain muscles tight and move in certain ways as a result of stress, trauma, athletic training, injuries, and repetitive daily activities. Although this is meant as a protective mechanism — our muscles tighten so that we don’t stretch them too far and injure them — it can eventually lead to suboptimal movement patterns and chronic pain, tightness, and soreness.   Somatic stretching/exercise requires you to tune in to how your muscles feel in any given movement or moment. The key to somatic stretching/exercise is learning to feel the sensation of tension in our muscles and other tissues that we’ve been conditioned to ignore (an awareness referred to as interoception). This requires a lot of stillness.   Somatic stretching is based on letting the brain slow and calm down enough that you can learn the feeling of sensation. It’s such a sensory experience.   You don’t pull on anything or force any big movements — for example, it can be as simple as letting your head hang and noticing how that feels for various muscles in your neck. Once you’re able to tune in to how your muscles feel, you’re able to actively contract and release them, which releases tension and increases mobility.   It feels like a melting of long-standing tension and it is beautiful!