SOMATICS

Explanation

Individual Hanna Somatic Education® Lessons

The quickest and most effective way for you to benefit from Hanna Somatic Education® is through personalized training in individual sessions with a certified Hanna Somatic Education® practitioner.

• A typical individual Hanna Somatic Education® session will last between 40 to 90 minutes depending upon your particular needs.
  
  
• Ideally you will dress so that your clothes permit you to move freely.
  
  
• During the lesson your Hanna Somatic Education® practitioner will monitor your posture and movement and will guide you through specific, slow, gentle movements designed to satisfy your unique needs.
  
  
• In the hands-on part of the session, your practitioner will highlight your awareness within the movement by using touch or pressure to guide or support you in particular positions or by coaching you verbally as you move freely on your own.

Hanna Somatic Education® practitioners use a special form of neuromuscular education known as "assisted pandiculation", this unique hands-on clinical method helps you quickly relieve tension, lengthen and relax muscles, reduce pain, and regain comfort in motion.

"Pandiculation" involves using coordinated, slowly performed, full-body muscular contractions and elongations to reawaken the mind's sense and control of your muscles and movement.

In addition, you will learn how to do "self-pandiculation" on your own in the form of Somatic Exercisesª. These basic self-maintenance movements, also called the "Cat Stretch", require very little time for you to perform once or twice daily. The movement explorations remind your brain how to efficiently use your muscles. You will slowly and gently do a few repetitions of these movements using the special awareness you learned with your instructor.

By doing Somatic Exercises on a daily basis, you can compensate for both the lack of movement and for the harmful movement patterns you may have developed because of your modern life style and work demands.

"Pandicular" movements are both simple and powerful. They allow you to create great improvement in your comfort and mobility.

You can usually expect to experience significant improvement in comfort and freedom of movement within 3 to 5 sessions if you do your self-care Somatic Exercises.

Both your in-office sessions and self-care movements will work to change your body by awakening your internal first-person awareness of yourself. You will learn to identify the intention and sensations of your movements, and thus become able to move freely and without pain.

Group Classes

You can also benefit from Hanna Somatic Education® group classes, although the training will not be as specific to your personal needs as are individual sessions.

If you have not had individual sessions, group classes serve you by effectively teaching you the somatic movement patterns. If you have had individual session, group classes serve to deepen your Somatics experience.

In group sessions, you will lie on the floor and the instructor will guide your attention in doing the Cat Stretch and other Somatics movement explorations. The movements can be modified for use in helping persons for whom lying on the floor is not physically possible. In all instances, comfortable clothing which allows you to move freely and comfortably is a must.