BioSomatics

An offshoot of Feldenkrais work, BioSomatics Movement Education is a body-oriented, somatic approach to restoring voluntary control of the body, thereby increasing flexibility, gaining greater range of motion, reducing experiences of pain, and recalling the connectedness and relatedness of the body itself.

BioSomatics directly addresses compensatory holding patterns as well as sensory-motor amnesia, which is defined as a memory loss of how muscle groups or bodily regions feel and a loss of our ability to perceive and control them. Sensory-motor amnesia often results from a trauma, be it physical or emotional.

 

The focus of BioSomatics, then, is to use novelty via movement to increase awareness about what currently exists in the body AND to what is possible in the body. This is done through providing the BioSomatics student with an experience of the weightedness of the skeleton, and of finding easeful and efficient ways to transfer bodily weight to create movements that are supportive, restorative, and rehabilitative.

The BioSomatics movements are done slowly and gently, with intent and attention. The movements are safe, slow, gentle, and non-strenuous. They bring results quickly, enhance coordination, and reverse harmful, learned, adaptive responses. BioSomatics work is non-invasive and is accessible; doing even a little bit will bring benefit.

 

Who Benefits from BioSomatics?

Those who have an experience of pain.

BioSomatics can be used as a part of your rehabilitation and to concurrently decrease pain syndromes as proper bodily function is being restored.

Those who have compromised mobility.

For those who have general conditions that negatively affect their ability to move fully and to be comfortable in their body, BioSomatics can be an integral part of an improved quality of life. These conditions may include neuropathy, joint pain, musculo-skeletal issues, and post-surgical situations.

Those who are overweight.

BioSomatics is a wonderfully easeful way to begin to move, to get un-stuck, to initiate movement in the body, and to experience fluidity of movement. BioSomatics provides a positive experience of the body and of what it can do.

Those who want to gain more direct self-knowledge.

BioSomatics provides an opening for getting to know one’s body, shedding preconceptions along the way. Biosomatics focuses on the student gaining direct personal insight into and awareness of the body, of how the body responds and relates to itself and the world around it. This can be very embodying, empowering, and affirming.

Those who want to be more proactive in their health and wellness.

BioSomatics provides an opportunity to actively engage and participate in your own health and wellness. By being a part of your own daily practice, as a weekly class that you attend, or as a series of private sessions, BioSomatics is a way to support yourself and to do something restorative that will have lasting benefits.

**For further reading, especially regarding sensory-motor amnesia, please see Thomas Hanna’s book,“Somatics”.