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

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

Karen will be recalibrating the 8 basic movement lessons in the book Somatics, by Thomas Hanna, pp. 101 - 153. This class represents her recalibration of lesson 1. She brilliantly updated some of the language and content based on her experience working with clients and teaching classes. She began with an extensive standing and walking assessment, which laid the foundation for participants to become aware of a number of their postural and weight-bearing patterns. Karen is extremely talented in guiding foundational movements such that we come to understand how we are doing our movements. She has us do a lot of comparison between our two sides so we are able to notice differences in comfort, ease, awareness, balance, stability, and effort as we move. Sometimes she has us "motor plan" before we do a movement and sometimes she has us focus on how we change our body position from supine to prone to side-lying. I recommend you view this class more than once in order to gain more and more somatic understanding of how you are moving your body.

1/4/25: Zoom Class: Recalibration of Lesson 1 from "Somatics" by T. Hanna, Guest Teacher Karen Meyer

Ecstatic Dance Set

Samantha starts her class with the best standing assessment that I have ever experienced. She starts at our feet and thoroughly takes us through how we bear weight not only between our right and left feet, but in many parts of our feet as well. As she guides us up through our body we begin to notice various relationships between our feet, legs, pelvis, and on up through our head and neck. In my experience, you will learn or clarify many aspects of your postural patterns.By the end of class, you’ll feel better, gain deep somatic awareness, and notice significant improvements in your posture. Samantha perceptively guides us to self-regulate our movements for greater comfort, ease of movement, and toward sensing the effect of both our movement and rest periods throughout our whole soma. She includes some wonderfully novel movement explorations with our ribcage and how we organize the act of reaching through our whole body. This is a class you'll want to take many times.

2/1/25: Zoom Class: Somatic Awareness from the Feet Up, Guest Teacher Samantha Holland

Karen continues recalibrating the 8 basic movement lessons in the book Somatics, by Thomas Hanna. In this class she focuses on the second lesson, pp. 106-109, controlling the flexor muscles of the stomach. She continues to brilliantly update some of the language, content, and choice of movement examples based on her experience working with clients and teaching classes. She always begins in standing with an assessment, starting with feet and a comparison of weight bearing between the right and left foot and proceeds up through the body. She also guided us through an assessment in sitting regarding weight bearing with the sits bones, feet on the floor, and our relationship to uprightness. She spent some time having us be aware of where we position our eyes in relationship to spinal and trunk movement, especially flexion and extension. Most of the rest of the class was guided with us lying on the floor. Karen is very precise in her instructions which helps us to pay attention to how we are organizing ourselves. Her guidance often leads us to challenge our expectations which may confront our comfort levels. She uses the technique of "motor planning" which helps us think through how we are going to move ourselves before we actually move. This is a valuable skill to practice and is widely used in the sports world for improving performance. She thoroughly led us through variations of the complimentary oppositional trunk and spine movements involving flexion and extension and how that affects our entire body.

3/1/25: Zoom Class: Recalibration of Lesson 2 from "Somatics" by T. Hanna, Guest Teacher Karen Meyer

Melissa Orth-Fray is a Certified Hanna Somatic Educator and is also trained in many modalities. Her clients range from high level athletes to children and adults with neurological issues. This class focused on a combination of Hanna Somatic Movement, reflex integration, and proprioceptive activities. I hope you watch this class a number of times. Her very clear guidance brought us to a greater awareness of where and how our bodies move in space. For example, we palpated our sits bones, sternum, and the bony landmark of our ASIS on each hip bone. As Melissa guided us she had us notice various relationships between different parts of our body including the effect of the movement on our forelegs, rib basket, pelvis, and more. We used a "skin tugging" technique to wake up our proprioceptive receptors. We practiced rotational moves in all 3 dimensions, we practiced crossing midline, and learned to pay attention to transferring weight from our upper body to our lower body. This class was very rich and offers creative explorations for better functioning in our daily lives and activities.

4/5/25: Zoom Class: Hanna Somatic Education and Proprioception, Guest Teacher Melissa Orth-Fray

I know you're going to love this class. My 4 guest teachers were Astrid Cruise, Lisa Sack, Indu Vashist, and Jacqui Neurauter. Potpourri means a bit of this and a bit of that. This class contains a selection of movements I hope you all practice and include in some of your movement sessions. I started the class with a standing head to toe movement series related to the Green Light, Red Light, and Trauma Postural Patterns. Indu Vashist led a ribcage movement in which we followed our sternum (breastbone) in the 4 cardinal directions of up, down, to the right and to the left. From the 4 directions we then created a circular pattern in all directions. Next came Jacqui Neurauter leading a series of psoas movements with a number of wonderful variations. Then came Lisa Sack leading a series of movements involving the gluteals and the TFL, tensor fascia lata. Last came Astrid Cruise, who led a fascinating series of movements in which the pelvis rotated around the hip joints instead of the hip joints rotating within the hip sockets of the pelvis. You never know where you are going to be more challenged than you expected. I hope you have a wonderful learning experience.

6/7/25: Zoom Class: Hanna Somatic Education Potpourri, Four Guest Teachers and Myself

Karen continues recalibrating the 8 basic movement lessons in the book Somatics, by Thomas Hanna. In this class she focuses on the third lesson, pp. 112-115, controlling the muscles of the waist. She continues to brilliantly update some of the language, content, and choice of movement examples based on her experience working with clients and teaching classes.  

After some guided assessment in sitting, she had us lie down on the floor. 
Most of this session was done in side-lying. Even though many of us sleep on our side, we often leave out side-lying and lateral movements in our daily practices. Karen is very precise in her instructions which helps us to pay attention to how we are organizing ourselves. Her guidance often leads us to challenge our expectations which may confront our comfort levels. Many of us have habituated side tilts and twists in our daily movements with no awareness that this is happening. Due to the way Karen is able to break down movements, we often begin to pick up these habituations. For example, as she led us through various side bending movements many of us began to notice how much we actually lean backward in our upper body as we side bend. With repetition and moving slowly, many of us experienced how we were able to self correct and not repeat our habitual movements, but move with a new awareness. We worked both sides of our body. When we got up and walked at the end of the session, I personally felt not only more balanced but also more 3 dimensionally aware of my body.

7/5/25: Zoom Class: Recalibration of Lesson 3 from "Somatics" by T. Hanna, Guest Teacher Karen Meyer

Vessel is not just a collection of four songs—it's a surrender.
Each piece was not composed, but received.
Not performed, but felt.
From the stillness before the first note to the tears that closed the last, this is a journey into being played by something greater.

Handpan becomes heartbeat.
Time melts.
Identity thins into vibration.

The final track, Tears Without a Wound, was recorded as I wept—not from sorrow, but from the kind of bliss that arrives only when you are no longer trying to hold yourself together.

This album is for those who’ve ever felt music as memory, as prayer, as presence.

Held in Silence

Vanish

Where time forgot me

Tears without a Wound

Astrid, herself, described the focus of this class as creating space and control in the hips, pelvis and thoracic spine to enhance stability, mobility, and core connection. Astrid guided us beautifully with great clarity, an  emphasis of both exploration and self sensing at an easy to follow, slow pace. She basically had us explore four movements of the pelvis and lower extremity. Astrid built each movement sequence carefully starting with a basic movement and then guiding us to notice different aspects in the way we were using our body. She often added an additional aspect to the movement such as an oppositional rotation in the upper body with a focus on the thoracic spine. Sometimes she cued us to notice where our stability was coming from, sometimes she cued us to notice our breath or if we were adding an unconscious rotational or lateral flexion aspect. She helped us differentiate between rotating the head of the femur in the hip socket versus  rotating the hip socket around the head of the femur. It was a wonderful class with lots of learning. Thank you Astrid.

8/2/25: Zoom Class: Finding Your Center, Stabilize & Mobilize, Guest Presenter Astrid Cruse

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.

On our journey of life,  experiences beyond our physical dimension are hard to express using Ordinarly language..

The magiK of love; is only fairly expressed through the heart, whom knows no language but contains all….

.Music serves as the barrier in between the dimensions beyond our physical reach and translates their frequencies into a tangible experience, and hence hear me out…

New tracks tagged #somatic movement