HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE SOMATICS MOVEMENT PRACTICE TO 'WORK'?

What you’re looking for, if you’re interested in Somatics, is something that will WORK to address your pain, relieve your stress & tension, & improve your mobility & flexibility. It’s unsurprising that people often ask How Long?

As with most movement practices & exercises, to some extent it varies from one individual to another. However, in my experience most students get some immediate results - often feeling release of tension &/or pain in an area that's bothered them for some time, & feeling more ease in their overall self. And most everyone else gets results within a few classes - especially once they've really started to figure out the technique of pandiculation, & how it works best for them.

Clinical sessions almost always have immediate effects – but of course seeing a Clinical Somatic Educator like me in person right now is tough, with lockdown & the changes it’s created & its ongoing impact.

But movement classes generally create some immediate changes for people, too – when the work is 1-2-1, but also very frequently when it’s through group classes.

I've had clients cancel surgery on the basis of 2 or 3 group classes before now! And yes, they feel changes - but the most important thing seems to’ve been been that they have through those sometimes small changes recognised the real possibility for ongoing, & future change, that they can create with a contnyed practice, which is key.

In terms of flexibility, it’s also quite individual, & depends also of course on a person’s starting point, as well as their goals. (Do they want to improve their overall ease of movement, or are they a runner or cyclist looking to imrpove their overall performance, or are they a yogi or gymnast really wanting much more flexibility? Somatics can help everyone - but in different ways.)

Someone who feels tension, tightness & discomfort in their yoga practice, for instance, may very soon feel quite substantial changes once they replace all & any stretching with pandiculation, & modify some of their practice (as was the case for me). Athletes vary enormously: some experience immediate effects of more released, less tense muscles – others, in my experience, have to work on deeper patterns of contraction before they can more usefully make changes in the long term.

For most people, it’s worth noting, I believe that Somatics – and pandiculation, more generally – is most effective as an ongoing practice.

Many people do feel immediate results – but pandiculation is not a ‘quick fix’ that you use just once! That doesn’t mean you need to take classes forever! But it does mean you need to replace stretching with pandiculation, & pandiculate a little each day with Somatics movements, for the best, long-lasting results in combatting pain & tension, improving your ease of movement, & enabling greater flexibility & less stress.

Of course I describe Somatics as being able to combat pain & tension, improve flexibility, & enable fuller breathing, because these things are inextricably interrelated: to breathe is to move – and so for fuller breathing, we need to ease muscle tension so we can move more… And easing muscle tension eases pain, as well as improving breathing – and, also, improving our suppleness & potential for increased flexibility.

Because YOU ARE A SYSTEM, these aspects all impact on each other. Further, those who practise Somatics very often find their mood is affected, too: Somatic movements work with muscular contraction patterns caused by our natural, human responses to stress. And so, unsurprisingly, releasing muscle tension improves flexibility, enables fuller breathing, & can positively effect mood, too: it can quite literally help us ‘let go’ of stress.

My blog posts are just the tip of the iceberg – but I hope they answer some of your questions, & encourage you to learn – and to TRY – more Somatics! There are free resources on my website, & elsewhere (e.g. essentialsomatics.com, hannasomatics.com). Also check out my FREE video series, “The Truth About Pain - and how to get rid of it”, and my full online programme, the SoMA Program (registration next opens March 2022).