In today’s blog I am going to discuss how learning life skills can help deal with pain and limited mobility.

Consider this famous quote,

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

This quote sprang to mind during the week because conversations with my online, in class and clinical clients revolved around how Somatics empowers and educates people in all areas of their health and well being.

Somatics allows us to learn how to read signs and feedback from our body. It also allows us to self correct and adapt how we walk, sit, stand or operate on a daily basis to improve the efficiency of our muscles and in turn our joints. How?

Somatics is a mindful movement practise which increases the mind and body connection. It does this by reducing the stress response action which occurs within your central nervous system. The mindset and mindfulness video series within the The Total Somatics Online Program (www.TotalSomatics.com) teaches you how to shift areas of your current mindset to create a better head space for your entire well being. Somatics is an educational process, you ‘unlearn’ poor habits, postures, movements, thought patterns and behaviours - replacing them for healthier actions. Learning The Total Somatics approach to Health & Wellness makes you become so much more aware and mindful to how you live your life on a daily basis and how this impacts on your physical, emotional and mental health.

Real life experience

In 2014 I started working with a male client suffering with lower back pain. It was impacting on his posture and as a result he found that it created a domino effect in other areas of his life. I started working with him and teaching him Somatic movement and The Total Somatic Approach to Health & Wellness. He was and continues to be an excellent client who has had such great improvement in his health and well being with very little or any pain in his lower back, neck and shoulders.

He embraced the somatic lifestyle changes and started looking at how he moved in every setting. You see, once you learn Somatics you realise that the area of pain isn’t always where the issue stems from. It’s a much bigger picture. He learned from The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness that we have to view our mind and body somatically, globally or holistically. If we view our entire body as one functional unit, we know that we have to create movement to all areas to keep fluidity in action rather than becoming stiff and rigid. For instance, he realised that his lower back pain was being stirred by activities which caused him to tighten up through the centre of his body, causing further tightness and tension to his lower back. He started experimenting with somatic movement in his daily activities and looking to see how he could apply them to his pursuits. One day he arrived to one of my somatic movement classes and said that he had started moving differently when sawing wood for a project he was involved with. He sensed, felt and noticed how his body was and was not moving in different areas whilst sawing wood. He noticed that his body was rigid, his head was set in one position and all the motion was coming from his shoulder. No wonder his neck, shoulders and lower back ached! He recreated the action for me. He then demonstrated how he changed his movement patterns. He integrated many somatic movements and principles in to sawing wood. He created a whole body movement. When I watched his new movement, it actually looked less exhausting that the previous habitual pattern he had developed over the years. By allowing certain muscles to switch on, other to switch off and vice versa, none of his muscles were fatiguing, he did not have ‘bad form’ whilst sawing and he had less pain with his new method.

When I saw this deep understanding with my client, I was over the moon. When I see clients discuss how they have and continue to adapt their lifestyle habits and live somatically, I know they have realised it is more than just a movement practice. It is a lifestyle change. That is what is so powerful about Somatics, the longer you practise it, develop the movement, mindset and Mindfulness practices (all found within my online program at www.TotalSomatics.com), you will see shifts in the way you live your life. You understand the strong connection between your mind and body. You realise the power of your thoughts, words, actions, habits and behaviour all have a profound effect on the way you perceive, interpret and act in life.

Somatics truly is an educational process. Layered learning over the weeks and months in the early days provides a firm foundation for your life. As we know though, we all have to contend with stresses, strains and trials in life, so by creating The Total Somatics Online Program, I wanted it to be available to you 24/7. It’s like I’m with you in your lounge guiding you through your somatic movement, mindset and mindfulness practices. I know how hectic life can be, so all you need to do is sign into The Total Somatics Online Program in the comfort of your own home and all the videos, audios, podcasts, downloadable support material plus much more are waiting for you to access.

Notice the words of the client I mentioned above and how Somatics has changed his life. Notice how he has continued to apply the principles taught within The Total Somatics Program…..

“I used to suffer with chronic back pain that stopped me doing physical activities. Since applying daily Somatic mindset and movement I am pain free and back to doing physical work, long bike rides and living life with increased levels of movement.

Total Somatics has taught me the ability to understand how to move and switch on my muscles correctly, thereby increasing my range of movement and reducing restriction and pain.

Nowadays when I am involved with any physical activity, I have a thought process (awareness) to a new way of using my muscles which links back to my knowledge about Somatic Movement Education. For example, I may have to lift something heavy.  So prior to lifting, I recall certain movements and principles, such as the arch and flatten (pelvic roll) somatic exercise. This somatic awareness means that when I am lifting, my muscles will switch on and off more efficiently.  I have noticed that I am moving freely, which is giving me increased strength.  Somatics has re-educated my brain to reprogram my muscles to move correctly. This has improved my posture, increased my range of movement and awareness not to go back to the old patterns of movement which created the chronic back pain I once suffered with.”

Would you like to get to the root cause of your pain? Would you like to move freely? Would you like to reduce pain? Is your posture changing and not for the better? Would you like to improve your posture? Do you struggle with how to develop mindfulness? Do you think you have to sit in a fancy pose and say ‘ohm?’ If so, I can reassure you that is not the case! I will teach you how to live a mindful life which is achievable for all ages and health conditions. The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness (www.TotalSomatics.com) is a science based online program which gets straight to the point, allowing you to learn, practise, integrate and get on with your day somatically and mindfully.

Would you like to know more about Somatics? I have written a FREE eBook for you entitled “Somatics - What is it? How can it help me?”

Download your FREE copy HERE.

I look forward to teaching you The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online at www.TotalSomatics.com.

Take care,
Heidi Hadley xx
www.TotalSomatics.com