Back by popular demand, Nikki Semeniuk, presented another wonderful and informative class.  Usually in Hanna Somatic Education we only give instructions verbally to encourage the participant to use their internal proprioception "to find" the movement. Nikki requested that we use a model so that participants could take a peek if they got lost. I finally gave in and consented. Jacqui Neurauter agreed to be our model and she was wonderful. I've gotten very positive feedback on using a model.

Here is one example of feedback Nikki has received from a participant, Pamela Frydman.  "Great class today. Nikki’s pace, clear instructions, and calmness were perfect. She created a sense of trust to allow participants time to slow down and release. My sense is that instructor’s letting go of ego is key to inviting participant healing. Thank you for these monthly offerings."

I will piggy back on Pamela's feedback. Nikki has a way of guiding movements without any sense of rush. She cleverly builds each movement sequence starting with a simple foundational movement and then is able to add to that movement with grace and ease. Nikki selected movements geared toward a sense of freedom and mobility in walking. 

She culminated the class with a walking movement series in which she deftly guided us, first in slow motion, to bring our right hemipelvis forward as we bent our right knee, and then we placed our right foot forward on the floor to take a step. We practiced this movement with both sides. We increased our speed slowly as we continued to walk forward. Nikki then guided us to add  contralateral movement in our upper body, completing normal adult contralateral walking. This was an elegant, easy to follow, walking series.

4/6/24 Zoom Class: Somatic Movements For Walking, Guest Presenter Nikki Semeniuk

Danny Burke did a wonderful job of combining and intertwining Hanna Somatic Education movements with Somatic Yoga. Somatic Yoga follows the same principles as Hanna Somatics, and there is no stretching. He guided us to move slowly, within our comfort zone, and to pay attention to our internal experience. After our initial body scan Danny led us in a 5 count breathing exercise to bring us into a calm, relaxed state. He often used intentional breathing between movements. From Somatic Yoga he added, for example, standing movements and movements for strength and balance. Whether he was leading more traditional Hanna Somatic movements or Somatic Yoga poses, called asanas, his cadence was wonderfully calm and well paced.

5/4/24 Zoom Class: Somatic Yoga and Hanna Somatics, Guest Presenter Danny Burke

I'm often asked what I do for my own somatic movement routine. My favorite thing to do is to create variations of the basic somatic movements. I often start with Arch & Flatten and then begin playing around with ways I can create variations. For example, I may do Arch & Flatten with long straight legs, and as I inhale and Arch, I also plantarflex my feet. As I exhale and Flatten, I also dorsiflex my feet. This is illustrated in this class. In the movement of Lateral Flexion, I guided the class to start in the regular way, focusing on the contraction, and then I guided participants to focus on the lengthening aspect of the movement. My goal was to expand ways people can keep their somatic movements interesting and creative. It is also good for the brain to organize movements using different myofascial combinations. This class contains quite a few variations of our fundamental Hanna Somatic Movements with a few new movements thrown in, including a wonderful movement for the pelvic floor. Many thanks to Jacqui Neurauter for being our model. We have many requests to have a model so if people get lost they can take a peek.

6/1/24 Zoom Class: Basic Somatic Movements and Variations

Aimee Takaya continues to study, enhance, and develop her professional presentation process. She is currently encompassing a larger somatic dimension, exploring how to add a psycho-emotional aspect to her somatic movement repertoire. I hope you enjoy this class and grasp her explanation and actively participate in creating a meaningful phrase, like planting a seed, to enhance your awareness as you explore your somatic movement. Aimee guides us in a beautiful series of basic somatic movements, with plenty of room for moving in comfort and without rushing. She has a gift for adding a nuance here and there, which completely changes your internal experience and expectation.

7/6/24 Zoom Class: Adding A Psycho-Emotional Dimension to Somatic Movements Taught by Aimee Takaya

Returning guest presenter, Danny Burke, taught another fabulous class. One of the things I really like about Danny's classes is that he does a lot of breathing as part of his movement format. He included a number of movements in side-lying in this class. One of his side-lying breathing movements used a metaphor of a sail. The three points of the sail were your two shoulders and your tailbone. As we pandicularly arched and curled we filled the sail in the back and sail in the front. The feedback from the class noted how "opening" to the thoracic spine and front of the chest this movement was. He also did a variation, which I loved, on the classical "yoga bridge," which did not stress the low back and in fact, beautifully lengthened our whole spine. Thank you to Jacqui Neurauter for being our model again. I hope you enjoy this wonderful class. You can contact Danny at danburke57@gmail.com.

8/3/24: Zoom Class: Integrating Hanna Somatic Education with Somatic Yoga, Presented by Danny Burke

Lisa Sack led a fantastic class. I hope you watch it. She started with a very practical assessment guiding us to do activities of daily living such as washing our arm pits, reaching up to a high shelf to get something, reaching down to pick up something from the floor, reaching behind us as in a car, and more. We compared doing these activities with our right arm and then our left arm. She took us through basic ranges of movement of the shoulder and scapula, and even included some neck/shoulder movements. We worked from supine, side-lying, and prone. She also modulated many of the movements so we could get the general feel of a movement in opposite directions, and then turned these into pandiculations. She guided us to integrate specific movements into full body movements. She included numerous differentiations such as focusing more on the shoulder joint, then focusing on including the scapula, then integrating into full body movements to experience the roll of the neck and shoulders all the way down to the feet. You may contact Lisa directly: flourish@clearsightyoga.com

9/7/24: Zoom Class: Shoulder Girdle, Guest Presenter Lisa Sack

I am excited to present this class which integrates foot movements into our daily somatic movements.  I believe it's very important to integrate floor movements into standing and walking. To effectively change inefficient and restrictive patterns we need to experience integrating our feet into full body movement patterns. The first half of the class is done in standing. It starts with an assessment of our feet including weight bearing and postural issues. We integrated foot movements into spinal flexion and extension, lateral flexion, and rotation. We did some special movements for increasing ankle flexibility and stability. The second half of the class was about waking up our feet from sitting since so much of our life is in front of a computer, TV, or other sedentary activities. We ended as we began with our assessment in standing so we could compare the changes from the beginning and at the end. I hope you watch this video many times.

10/5/24: Zoom Class: Wake Up Your Feet

This class is dedicated "In Loving Memory to Eleanor Criswell Hanna, May 12, 1929 - September 19, 2024," who was my teaching partner for 33 years.

For a long time I've wanted to integrate information about fascia with somatic movement. The current model of anatomy uses the term "myofascia" instead of muscle. Fascia is the current name for the body’s soft tissue network which is continuous and ubiquitous throughout our whole body. The term "muscle" gives us a general location within the body. Every muscle fiber, every bundle of muscle fibers, and the whole muscle is wrapped in fascia. Therefore muscle itself is interpenetrated and surrounded by fascia. Fascia is our largest sensory organ, is responsible for our proprioception (self sensing), for our shape, which we mold over time, holds our patterns, and manages our body-wide force transmission system. When we move our whole body reconfigures to produce that movement. As we move some areas condense, some areas expand, in a continuous dance. We are a unity. When we focus our movement, for example, on shoulder movement, our whole body is reconfigured. This is why releasing myofascial tension and pain in one area can be the key to releasing tension and pain in another area of the body. In my opinion, if we broaden our awareness as we alternate between movement and rest, we'll have greater ability to experience the positive and healthful potential embedded in somatic movement.

11/2/24: Zoom Class: Let's Talk Fascia!

I've become very interested in how organs support our movement and how movement supports our organs. My approach is to learn more scientific information about the organs, but even more important to me is how to embody my own experience of the organs. My main tools are bringing focused awareness, breathing and movement to my organs. The lung movements I am presenting in this video are a combination of my own somatic exploration, and influences studying with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Thomas Meyers, and Gil Hedley. I would love to hear your comments and feedback.

The Lungs: Awareness and Movement of the Organ of the Lungs, September 21, 2024

Alexis Flores Williams led a wonderful somatic movement class. He took the basic Cat Routine movements and created many variations. For example, he took many of the regular movements and guided us to do them in a different position. For example, if the movement is usually done in supine, he led it in either side-lying or prone. He also created simple variations by changing our leg positions from bent knees to straight legs, or one leg bent, one leg straight. He also varied our arm positions. For example, if the movement is usually done with one hand behind the head, he guided us to do the movement with our hand on our upper chest. Then he often combined variations in hand position with variations in leg positions. He gave us plenty of rest and integration time, which was quite lovely. Even simple movements can become challenging in a different relationship to gravity, or a different way to turn the head, or rotate a leg or arm, from the usual routine. Alexis has such a kind and gentle manner; there was no rushing or a sense of urgency.

12/7/24: Zoom Class: Playing With The Cat Routine, Guest Presenter Alexis Flores Williams

Disclaimer: These recordings are for educational purposes only.  Please do all somatic movements comfortably, slowly, and without pain or force. Please consult appropriate medical or health care providers if you have any concerns about whether the movements are suitable for you, especially if you are dealing with an illness or injury, are pregnant, or have other health, balance or mobility issues.

New tracks tagged #Susan Koenig