What does a Somatic movement class feel like?
I’m not sure that I can tell you what a somatic movement lesson feels like but I can tell you what it looks like. It looks a little like a yoga class only everyone is lying down for most of the class. And perhaps everyone has a yoga mat with a blanket on top so there is a little extra comfort for the nervous system to relax into. And some people will have supports of various sizes underneath their head. Why some people? Because we are all unique in our physical form and therefore need different levels of support to find comfort. And perhaps one or two people may have a bolster under their knees to make it possible for the lower back to soften and ease out.
And that's just the beginning. Somatic movement is about talking to the nervous system, loving the nervous system and giving it a break from living in a low but constant level of fright flight or freeze that many of us in the western world travel through life with.
Will I get there on time? Can I get it all done in time?
Who am I picking up?
I haven't finished that report yet?
Oh crap, I forgot the........!
A somatic movement lesson is a break from that state. It is a place where the nervous system can move into a different space so we can feel what is happening in our bodies, so our brain can allow and register changes in our physical body and maybe our mind and spirit too, our whole soma, our whole being.
The movements are slow, slower than you might think because the slower you go, the more you can feel. And as Thomas Hanna said, "If you can't feel it, you can't change it". And if you are in a somatic movement class it's because you want to change those tight muscles around your hip or soften the muscles in your shoulders or to find length in ........ And to find length, we need to feel. So we go slow.
And we are gentle with ourselves so the nervous system can stay in the rest and restoration state. Less is more in somatic class so we do less. We don’t try and achieve our full range of movement, we stay comfortable so that we can feel the movement, so our brain is not distracted by a niggle here or a twinge there.
Which brings me to our last main principle of paying attention. We listen to our bodies, you could even say we listen with our bodies. We feel the movement and with a curious mind ask questions like where do I feel this in my body? How does this travel through me? What’s the first thing that has to engage to make this movement happen?
So I can’t tell you what a Somatic movement lesson feels like, I can’t answer that question for you. All I can say is that for me this was the beginning of awakening to living in my body, a slow awakening. So these days, walking through life, I spend more time in my body because now it is a more joyful place to be.
Deepest regards
Vanessa