How to Get the Best Out of Somatics & Reduce Pain

Over the years, I have received emails from people around the world asking how Somatics can help them. I also get people who find their muscles cramp and spasm with certain day to day movements. In this week’s blog I discuss how to get the best out of Somatics, reduce pain and work mindfully. I explain how we can avoid movements triggering muscle cramps and spasms.

Replacing Old, Outdated Beliefs for Educated Ones

Over the years the expression “No Pain, No Gain” has been drummed into society. This has resulted in people sustaining injuries and ignoring the feedback and signals from their body telling them they are over exerting or potentially damaging tissues, ligaments, tendons and joints. Unless a person is breathing into a deep stretch or contorting their body into various eye watering positions, a person may feel they aren’t achieving their goals!

Likewise from overuse and muscle fatigue, people have been told to “strengthen” their muscles to reduce pain and “improve their ‘weak’ core muscles.” However if we strengthen and tighten an already tense muscle, will that ease back pain? Not at all! It will actually increase their level of pain and muscle tightness, creating a stiffer body, resulting in the person becoming less active due to chronically tight muscles pulling their frame from the front, back and sides.

Thankfully with education comes enlightenment. There is growing research and amazing results being discovered with movement for pain relief. Movement is very different to stretching. The copious amounts of research are showing that when we use movement, we are engaging various areas of the brain to retrain muscles how to move efficiently again. Stretching cannot achieve this. Stretching is PASSIVE, which means there is no cortical or brain involvement. Muscle memory cannot be created by stretching, holding, pulling or tugging a muscle to our desired length.

Clinical Somatic Educators around the world are not surprised by these findings. For decades Clinical Somatic Educators have been teaching their clients how to reduce pain, improve posture, increase mobility and return to the activities they love to do. Somatic movement involves ‘waking up’ areas of the brain which have simply gone into ‘autopilot’ due to habitual postures and behaviours. These can include working for hours at the computer, carrying a child on one hip thus developing a hip hitch or limp and large amounts of time leaning forward on a road bike.

Bringing Somatics to your home!

Back in 2016 I created the first structured online Somatics program in the world to educate and empower people in the area of their health and well being. It has been a very popular option for people globally to practise in the comfort of their own home, at a time that suits them. If you are a regular reader of my weekly blogs and daily social media posts (instagram: total.somaticsonline & Facebook: totalsomatics), you’ll know that I refer in great detail to the strong connection between the mind and body. In order to create a healthier life, we have to work on both our mind and body, always starting from the inside and working out.

My online program continues to grow in popularity and to meet the requests of my clients around the world. I periodically upload new material to add to the existing content. Your comments, thoughts and opinions shape what I create for The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online Program at www.TotalSomatics.com.

Improving your Internal Awareness

Somatic movement focuses on sensing, noticing and feeling what your body is telling you. When we move with less of the outdated mindset “No Pain, No Gain” and into a mindful, deliberately slow action, we are able to sense and feel so much more. We improve our mind and body relationship. The Online program teaches you how to gain these skills with videos and audios. The main objective after learning and watching the movements on the videos I provide, is to actually grow your own Somatics practise. How? By closing your eyes and following my cues with the audios I have provided within the online program. By doing this, you start to increase your internal awareness and understanding to how your mind and body are truly working.

EXCITING NEWS!

To complement my online program, I am excited to announce the release of three Mindful Somatic Movement Audios which you can purchase as a one off payment and keep permanently.

To view the three audio programs CLICK HERE.

You will notice the audios have been designed to help with releasing tension within the neck, back and shoulders.

One of the audios is specifically for hip and shoulder complaints/issues.

You will also notice that an audio has been created to work with scoliosis.

If you suffer with anxiety, hyperventilation, asthma, neck tension and shallow breathing, the rib release audio sequence will suit you perfectly.

As with the large amount of material within the online program, these audios will help to increase your mind-body communication and coordination. I will guide you through somatic movements using the process of PANDICULATION. These audios will give you a small taste of what you can enjoy within The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online Program at www.TotalSomatics.com.

To learn more about PANDICULATION with somatic movement, check out my FREE ebook by clicking HERE.


The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online Program

To learn the PRINCIPLES of PANDICULATION and gain further knowledge, join my online program at www.TotalSomatics.com. I teach you how these skills can be applied in your somatic movement practise and daily activities.

My Online program has and continues to create healthier, happier, mobile minds and bodies all around the world. I will teach you how increase your internal awareness to the way you sit, move, think, act, speak, behave, what you consume and much more.

Many movement practices focus on poses and positions. During this time our mind can wander or we can start to feel as if our muscles are about to cramp or we are in pain. Somatics on the other hand is using various areas of your brain to increase the sequential behaviour of your muscles, reduce the stress response, increase the pre-frontal cortex which is involved with focus, awareness, concentration, decision making and emotional intelligence. When you apply the principles outlined within my online program, you will notice that you no longer move into a position which will create spasm or cramping because you have developed mindfulness with your Somatic movement. If we are not fully present with anything in life, we are unable to achieve the best outcome. That is why The Total Somatics™ online program will teach you how to access these movements with a mindful approach, rather than mindlessly following instructors on videos without very little knowledge or prior learning to the movement. My qualifications in Somatics, Neuropsychology, Neurophysiology, Mindset, Mindfulness, Nutrition and Wellness has allowed me to bring this standard of care to you. When I guide you through these movements I am considering many aspects on a physical, emotional, psychological, neurobiological and mental level. The video tutorials are just as important as the movement sessions. So take time to listen with a nice cup of tea and allow this new information to be absorbed, so you can apply it in your daily activities.If you are enrolled with my online program, you will notice how I often ask you questions during movement cues. The reason for this is to encourage your brain to heighten its awareness to movement, speed, sensation and feedback. Regular practice with your eyes closed will help you increase confidence in gaining skills to improve your somatic or internal awareness. This will help you self regulate and self correct throughout your day with the skills you acquire within The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online Program at www.TotalSomatics.com.

The advantage of The Total Somatics Approach to Health & Wellness Online Program is that I am constantly listening to what you have to say, what you want, your questions and queries and how else I can provide a service which will complement your lifestyle and needs. We are currently creating new content to upload to the online program, so stay tuned! You’ll find plenty of information, videos, audios, podcasts and other support material to create a ‘layered learning’ approach. Recently I was chatting to some online clients and asked them how they use the program. They said when they are knitting, sewing or doing housework, they will listen to my podcasts and ‘The Total Somatics Living series”™ which can be accessed once you’ve enrolled online. It’s great to hear how different clients integrate The Total Somatics program into various areas of their life, increasing their knowledge in the subjects of health and wellness.

I look forward to bringing Total Somatics to you and adding to your skill set and knowledge, so you receive the very best and latest information in the area of Somatic Movement, Mindset, Health and Wellness.

Take care,

Heidi Hadley xx
www.TotalSomatics.com

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