Hanna Somatics

The field of Clinical Somatic Education was developed and defined by the late Dr. Thomas Hanna. Somatics exercises rid the body of Sensory-Motor Amnesia, which is caused by habituation of repetitive movements and muscle contractions. The technique blends slow, conscious movement on the part of the client with specific feedback and guidance from the practitioner or instructor to create rapid, lasting improvement. Somatics exercises can be done in private sessions with a practitioner, in group classes, or by yourself at home.

Every movement that your muscles make is controlled by your brain. Most movements that you make are voluntary - you consciously send a message to your body to start moving. However, since the brain likes to do things in the most efficient way possible, it will remember when you do certain movements over and over - like lean forward to see your computer screen better, or hike up your shoulder to keep your bag from falling. After a while, your brain will make these movements and muscle contractions involuntary - saving you the time and effort of having to consciously think about them. This phenomenon, which we call Sensory-Motor Amnesia, is the inability to voluntarily relax and contract muscles that are usually under voluntary control. And because of the adaptive nature of the brain, your proprioception will adjust so that you aren't even aware that you're leaning forward or holding one shoulder an inch higher than the other.

Often you will be aware of tension, pain or limited range of motion in areas of your body where you have Sensory-Motor Amnesia. Only through slow, conscious movement can you change these messages and regain voluntary control of your muscles. Loss of voluntary control leads to chronic muscle tension, which is the cause of many common musculoskeletal conditions such as Back Pain, Bursitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Disc Problems, Fibromyalgia, Joint Pain, Kyphosis, Lordosis, Neck & Shoulder Tension, Osteoarthritis, Plantar Fasciitis, Sciatica, Scoliosis, Shallow Breathing, Tendinitis, Uneven Leg Length, Whiplash, and others.

Please visit www.healthylifestartsnow.com and www.somatics.org to learn more. You can watch a short television segment about Somatics that is currently airing nationally: www.somatics.org/healthforum.