Bill Eichhorn

SOMATIC MOVEMENTS

An often overlooked factor in our health is the role our sensory motor system plays in our ability to maintain freedom of movement and coordination as time passes.
What is freedom of movement? Can we continue to not only hold off the loss of freedom of movement, but is it possible to improve the quality of movement as we age?
As far as movement goes most of us think that movement is improved by improving strength or length. That is by stretching or strengthening a muscle or muscle groups. Strength and length are two very important qualities for the muscles to have. The ability to maintain freedom of movement also entails keeping finesse, balance and sensitivity. This would take maintaining the sensory ability of our musculature system. This sensory ability is part of our sensory motor system, that is part of our central nervous system. The use it or lose it law applies to this sensory motor system just as it does to our muscular skeletal system.
Somatics uses slow easy movements that keep the control of these movements under the highest level of motor control. When these movement are done slow enough and you attention is on the quality of the movement, this give you insight into how your sensory motor system organizes itself around this movement.
At first these concepts seem very abstract or difficult to grasp, with practice they provide insight into how your body does actually moves instead of how you perceive it to move. The goal of Somatics is not designed to instruct you in the right way to move or maintain a posture,it is to awaken a sensory system to enable you to constantly adapt to the changing environment.

Somatic movements start with the strongest movers of our core, muscles closest to the spine. These groups of muscles are responsible for your relationship with gravity, here is where your balance is fine tuned. In most of us, the core muscles are held taunt as if balance were a static process, rather than a continuing process of give and take.
Somatic exercises focuses on maintaining conscious control to these muscle groups so you have the choice of moving freely from your center.

Feeling restrictions in your movements, soreness in your joints and or muscles. Somatics is a natural, gentle, and safe way to end chronic pain, relieve stress, and restore freedom of movement. I will be starting up classes again this September, an introductory class that will go over the basic movements. The focus will be on creating an intelligent core or center of gravity, then you will have the option of moving with finesses, balance and sensitivity.

Here is a book I recommend if you would like to know more about Somatics: Somatics: Reawakening The Mind’s Control Of Movement, Flexibility, And Health.  This book is a good introduction to the concepts and principles of Somatics. 

Now go outside and enjoy the summer!

Bill