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HANNA SOMATIC EDUCATION"As we grow older our bodies - and our lives - should continue to improve, right up to the very end"
What is Somatics?"Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body" The word 'somatics' comes from the Greek 'Soma' and means the 'living body'. Somatics is a new field in healthcare; it includes both mind and body. Somatic education is about our natural capacity to learn about ourselves and influence our health. Somatic educators do not just 'treat the body'. They are aware of the interplay between body and mind and work sensitively to awaken a unified perception of the whole person. Hanna Somatic Education, in particular, addresses chronic pain associated with muscle-joint malfunction. This approach deals with conditions for which you would typically see an osteopath or chiropractor. Here are some of them:
Hanna Somatic education is also beneficial for those who want to improve their performance or posture, or who simply enjoy learning to move in a more organised and efficient way. topHanna Somatic Education(SOMA) "... the body experienced from within ..." Hanna Somatic Education (HSE) is a powerful, learn-as-you-do method of body control. Thomas Hanna PhD, creator of HSE, was a philosopher, author and educator. In the process of studying human potential, he explored various somatic methods including the Alexander Technique, the stress responses of the endocrinologist Hans Selye and the work of Moshe Feldenkrais. Hanna worked as a Feldenkrais practitioner for 16 years before he made his own contribution to the somatic field. Thomas Hanna's genius was to see how people's bodies show distinct muscular strains as responses to long-term stress, injury, habits or the cultural expectations of 'old age'. These muscular contractions create imbalances, as uneven guy-ropes do on a tent. As a result, joints get compressed, nerves get 'pinched' and a whole chain reaction is set in motion. The outcome is stiffness, pain and a gradual distortion of our posture. Hanna somatic practitioners are trained to enable you to learn to reverse these effects, connecting you with your own resources to find freer ways of being and moving. topHow It WorksThe HSE practitioner guides you through smooth passive and active movement sequences. As you explore these movements, you become aware of your own habitual way of moving and of some involuntary and superfluous muscular actions. These insights are the initial steps towards the process of learning how youfunction and of gaining control. In order to re-awaken sensory experience in parts of your body that feel outside your control, you will be guided to actively engage this part of your body by making a strong, voluntary movement in a specific direction. This often results in a greater feeling of aliveness, freedom of movement and lightness in this area. As you regain voluntary control in one part, you are then assisted, through movement, to fine-tune its timing and co-ordinate it with other areas of your body. In this way the outcome of one improved function can be re-organised to affect the functioning of the whole body. The practice of HSE integrates the left and right sides of the brain. That is why it positively influences both our movements and our thinking and feeling states. The outcome is a pain-free, well organised body posture and a sense of well-being. topWho Needs Somatic Education?"Movement learning is brain learning" Do you suffer from any persistent condition? Feeling out of sorts, 'disconnected' from yourself? Aches and pains associated with movement? Mind and Body are part of the same cybernetic unit. Our body's symptoms mirror our states of mind. This experiential identity, however, is at best only recognised as an intellectual idea. From an early age we lose this self-sensing capacity, as our culture encourages us to be externally oriented. Somatics is the process of handling and processing your body's subtle messages for personal development and physical comfort. Throughout your life you are subject to stresses and strains which are reflected in your body. This mirroring happens because for every action, thought or feeling, the outcome is a muscular response. If these responses are repeated often enough and long enough, they become ingrained and 'programmed' in our brains. They go on 'automatic', without our control. Somatic educators refer to these as habitual responses, better known as habits. A characteristic of these habitual responses, or habits, is that they are difficult to break. Will power, the prevailing attitude, is a kind of resistance in itself because it is negating 'what is' in favour of 'what should be'. Just like swimming against the current: far too effortful! topBasis for Somatic EducationThomas Hanna's method of somatic education is grounded firmly in the latest brain research. The science of neurophysiology points to the fact that the whole brain is involved in movement. However, the ability to move our muscles, or 'motor control', as it is known in this field, is dependent on sensing (sensory system). The two-way communication between moving and feeling (the sensory-motor system) is vital for learning and normal functioning. Unlike other creatures, we are born with limited control over our movements, so muscular control needs to be learned by active practice. We only need to observe a child going through the learning process of walking, to recognise that. Almost all of our behaviour is learned. This capacity for learning has a double edge. It can lead to the creation of both efficient and economical movements and also faulty movement patterns. Faulty movement patterns are run in the same way as active sub-programs in our brain, bypassing our control, just as habits are formed. Muscles are levers designed for movement. Their performance is directed by the brain. The function of a muscle is to contract. In this process it either gets 'shorter' or develops 'tension'. People who are aware of themselves learn to release tension when this action is no longer purposeful. However, most people tend to accumulate tension throughout the day, and 'forget' to turn-off this mechanism. The reason for this is that we live in a 'goal' oriented society. The result is tightness in some group of muscles. Because when some muscles groups contract others have to release, an imbalance sets in and consequently weakness occurs in other groups. Habitual ways of moving are involuntary forms of 'exercises', often over-using muscles in a particular fashion, which also result in tightness of some muscles. Eventually these muscles get accustomed to their tension-length and no longer regain their full length. Inevitably shortening takes place. This is the mechanism which alters our posture. topMuscles shortening can also develop after injuries, as we 'guard' our bodies from certain motions. Studies of pain-avoidance behaviour demonstrate this well. Think about it: what do you do when your back hurts? You sprain an ankle, suffer a frozen shoulder, or you are struck by neckache? Habitual patterns of behaviour may also come as a result of lack of variety of motion; repetitive tasks, so common in certain occupations, such as keyboard work, are vulnerable to repetitive strain injuries (RSI). But mostly important, and very often acknowledged by many people, is the silent but relentless and damaging effects of long-term stress. Stress is a major source of 'dis-ease' in our society. It has been identified as a contributor to most patterns of illness. It affects our structure by activating 'micro' muscular tension - continuously. There comes a time when we habituate to it and are no longer aware of the damage taking place. And so the cycle continues ... Hans Selye MD, in his book The Stress of Life, demonstrated in his research how stress can bring about all the major chronic diseases that are so prevalent in our society today. These muscular programmed responses disturb the co-ordination of joints and timing of muscular activity. At first our brain tries to adapt and compensate for these imbalances. But they remain as potential triggers for muscle and joint mal-functioning. That is why it may take so little for an injury to occur. I often hear people say: 'suddenly I felt my back go out'. What do people really mean when they say that? Intuitively they recognise that the body is a whole unit. Behind that statement is the wise understanding that a connection has been severed. Muscular imbalances can set off chronic pain, stiffness and joint problems. Our posture often mirrors these asymmetries. People are aware of this intuitively when they say: 'I know I don't have a good posture'. Postural distortions occur because these habitual responses limit our choices and create muscular imbalances. Like tight guy-ropes on a tent, these effects show in our structure: deviation from the gravitational field, uneven leg length, twisted pelvis, forward head carriage, swayback, depressed shoulders, dysfunctional breathing, to mention a few. It's no wonder that some people's movement repertoire becomes smaller, virtually grinding to a halt. topTherapies such as chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathy are techniques used by a practitioner 'on you'. This approach, however beneficial, bypasses your power to learn how to help yourself. Adjustments, manipulations, massage do not prevent recurrences. This is because you alone hold the 'hardwired brain programme' that makes you behave in your unique way. Hanna Somatic Education opens the door on to new, comfortable ways of sensing and moving. The practice of somatics teaches you how to tap into the wisdom of your own body. Educators in this field use gentle techniques which allow you to decode the subtle messages your body is sending you about the way you function. Awareness and Movement are the primary tools for these explorations. During somatic education practice, a learning cycle takes place which is not intellectual but experiential. Every body, no matter what age, race, culture or education, has the potential to reap the benefits. Hanna Somatic Education (HSE) is a unique, powerful method which helps you to eliminate pain and stiffness from muscles and joints of your body. This sound method improves body function and gives you back the tools to tune in to your own self-regulatory processes, your own physiology. As you become aware of your muscular imbalances or uneconomical body postures, you sensibly drop this inefficient way of holding. Extraordinary, permanent changes take place, as you learn to inhibit superfluous, unconscious actions, in exchange for ease, natural balance, and well co-ordinated movements. |
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