Somatic education is the new remedy for pain. This method was developed by Dr. Thomas Hanna, the founder of somatics and a student of Moshe Feldenkrais. Most people in their 30s experience persistent or transient body pain: low back pain, intervertebral disc problems, sacroiliac pain, frozen shoulder syndrome (shoulder shoulder arthritis), upper back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, spondylosis, chest outlet compression syndrome, hip pain, rupture or deformity of the knee ligaments, headaches, scoliosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.

In a fairly short time, under the supervision of a SO specialist or doing it on his own, using a specially built practical course of exercises, the client will be able to cope with pain on his own or eliminate it completely. Thanks to these lessons, muscle control changes, coordination improves, the movements themselves change, thanks to which you can feel more energy in the body, posture is corrected, etc.

But the main thing is still not the therapeutic effect of somatic exercises, thanks to these lessons, the very perception of sensations changes. Perception becomes more clear and complete, the ability to control your muscles develops and improves, movements become precise and graceful. Changes control and awareness by retraining the sensorimotor areas of the cerebral cortex.

The program consists of:

• Lesson 1 "Control of the abdominal flexor muscles"
• Lesson 2 "Management of the waist muscles"
• Lesson 3 "Control of the extensor muscles of the back"
• Lesson 4 "Control of the muscles that rotate the body"
• Lesson 5 "Management of muscles, elimination of back pain"
• lesson 6 "Management of muscles, pulling the muscles of the legs without harm to the knees"

What will we do in class?

The first part of the cycle will be devoted to the awareness of your body center on the example of somatic lessons. Learning to move from the center. Awareness of the muscles that make up our physical center. Formation of patterns (habits) that promote hormonal physical development, proper muscle unloading, elimination of excess (parasitic) efforts in movement. In other words, it happens that we are not moving from the center, and it also happens that we get used to such a movement that is not very convenient for us. And due to the fact that the muscles in the center cease to play the role of leading and main ones, starting the movement, as it was given by nature, other muscles located closer to the periphery receive a large load that is beyond their competence, quickly get tired, start to hurt. As a result, there is a feeling of spasm and constant fatigue. And if the load remains the same in motion, then its distribution changes, in connection with this, the center of gravity itself shifts, which also leads to other physical and energy losses.

We can re-train muscles, feel freedom and lightness in movement, eliminate fatigue and spasms, and enjoy this movement. Don't let the simplicity and ease of these exercises fool you. After all, the meaning of these exercises is by no means in muscle pumping. The work in these exercises is dedicated to our nervous system. To be precise, the control and quality of movement. The study and study of muscle functions individually and in combination, restoring their natural balance. Currently, this practice is successfully used in the West to overcome pain and restore human motor abilities.

We will not do it according to the principle “do it once, do it twice, the rest will come”. The emphasis in these lessons is on developing the power of one's own thinking, intuition and kinesthetic awareness.

The second part of a cycle of lessons devoted to the awareness of movement from the center. In this case, we will learn to be aware in movement of the connection between the body center and the legs using the example of somatic lessons. Each movement is coordinated by the interaction of the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems. Before the movement is formed at the neural level in the brain in the form of intention. Intention, that is, neural connections, organize the right muscles to carry out this movement and balance the skeleton. The study of movement in the conditions of these somatic lessons begins even at the level of neural connections, which allows you to rethink and realize old habits and movement patterns that can cause injuries and constant stress. By rethinking, to eliminate the often encountered excessive (parasitic) effort in movement, to make movement free, easy and natural.

Lesson 1 "Control of the abdominal flexors"

In this lesson, you will learn the basics of controlling the red light reflex. The red light reflex is a response to negative stressors. It is a defensive response to threatening situations. This includes vague forebodings, real anxieties, and obvious dangers. The avoidance response is the main neuromuscular response to stress. This reflex causes a contraction of the muscles of the anterior surface of the body. By learning to control these muscles, you simultaneously learn to control muscles that have the opposite function, i.e., the extensor muscles of the back.

Lesson 2 "Management of the waist muscles"

If you have a shortened lower back, then these exercises will help you noticeably lengthen it. If your torso is used to leaning to one side, then this lesson will help you get more upright.

The trauma reflex is a reaction of the sensorimotor system aimed at protection from pain. If your body is injured, then there is a contraction of the muscles around the injury to protect it - this is the injury reflex. If the damage occurred on the periphery of the body, then the muscle contraction during the injury reflex will be most noticeable on one side of the body, disrupting the smoothness of the gait and the sense of balance. If a person has scoliosis, it means that he had an injury.

Lesson 3 "Control of the extensor muscles of the back"

In our society, 80% of adults complain of some kind of back pain. Apparently, the success of the technology is built on the deteriorating state of the population's spins. And this is ironic, because in modern society, all efforts are aimed at facilitating physical labor and, therefore, at liberation from such pain. Adding to this irony, 20th-century medicine has made strides in increasing life expectancy. But at the same time, medicine turned out to be surprisingly powerless in the fight against the mass phenomenon of our days - chronic pain in the head, neck, shoulders, back and buttocks. These pains, like an epidemic, struck almost the entire adult population. Medicine cannot recognize the true cause of these pains. As one of the leading specialists in medical rehabilitation, René Caille, said, “lower back pain remains a mystery of modern society and one of the biggest problems of modern medicine.” It is the most common reason people seek medical help, and it is also the most common reason for wasted work time in an industrial society. It is this type of health disorder that leads to huge costs for insurance, medical care and the production of drugs, numbering in the billions.

The green light reflex is a response to “positive” stresses, eustresses. The "green light" reflex is a signal to act, a signal to fight. This reflex causes a contraction of the muscles of the back surface of the body, the extensor muscles of the back. In this lesson, you will learn how to control these muscles, relax them, thereby eliminating unnecessary tension in them.

Lesson 4 "Control of the muscles that rotate the body"

This lesson takes full advantage of the more advanced muscle control and sensation you have acquired. This applies to three muscle groups in the central part of your body: the extensors of the back, the flexors of the abdomen, and the lateral muscles in the waist area.

You will perform spiral twists during this lesson, with your sensory and motor pathways affected by the lengthening of all three of these muscle groups. As a result of this lesson, there is a great lightness and freedom not only in the pelvic region, but in the entire spine. Due to simple and coordinated movements, the spine will become longer, the distance between the vertebrae will increase, which will alleviate and minimize the problems of intervertebral hernia, osteochondrosis and other diseases of the spine. The chest will become more mobile, freed from pressure, rise and expand. The twisting lesson is one of the best lessons to free the spine from unnecessary and unnecessary pressure.

Lesson 5 "Management of muscles, elimination of back pain"

This lesson is based on one of the most well-known movements used in back pain programs. Even if the movements are familiar to you, you can benefit from the lesson if you do them with full awareness.

Remember that these lessons are not just about movements that are good for your body, they are about conveying information that your brain is using.

Lesson 6 "Manage the muscles, pull the muscles of the legs without harm to the knees"

Leg muscles stretch poorly in asanas, frequent injuries? Problems with your knees? Problems with the hip joints? Old problems with knees, feet? Not resting. New problems? New knee injuries? Twisted pelvis? Is one leg longer than the other? There is no way to solve them? Or simply, I want to know more about the connection between the legs and the body center. Imbalance or stiffness of the muscles of the center.

Tension in the muscles of the trunk and pelvis also leads to general stiffness in the lower extremities. Conversely, a decrease in mobility and stiffness of the feet leads to stiffness of the pelvis and hip joints. And it doesn't end there. Guided by the principle of Tensegrity (eng. tensegrity from English tensional integrity - connection by tension), it can be observed that the changes that have occurred in the lower part of the bone structure will be transmitted further upward, involving the entire skeletal structure and the entire muscle-tendon corset into compensatory relationships .

"As above, so below" - one of the laws of Hermes Trismegistus. The meaning is equally true for all cases, including the human body. Often a sore ankle or knee is indicative of tightness and tension in the hip joints, or even higher. On the contrary, this rule can be observed, for example, when a person constantly, as a result of habit or an injury, transfers the weight of the body to the front or back of the foot, the inner or outer edge of the foot, as a result of which the body compensates with tightness and shortening of the muscles of the abdomen or lower back, in one case or another, strengthening or leveling the lumbar lordosis, which in turn leads to other compensations in the person's posture (see figure). This example can also serve as one of the reasons for the "chronically inflamed knee."

For more information on the green light reflex, see Somatics by Thomas Hanna.

4 Basic Principles to Know Before You Begin the Somatic Movement Awareness Lessons.

• minimum effort. This is not fitness or strength training. Movement with low effort allows the brain to receive clear, without unnecessary information, feedback from movements, which improves the process of somatic learning.
• do the movement smoothly and slowly. Never make sudden movements. The slower you move, the more you can catch. Stay more often, especially in those positions in which it is not clear what to do.
• do exercises without automaticity. Explore movement instead of automatically repeating movement. It's not always easy, but it's a vital skill to develop mindfulness. One can easily and effortlessly develop awareness and presence through the inherent "spirit of exploration" that all children have.
• no discomfort. Somatic movements are natural movements that, when performed slowly and gently, are completely harmless. If you feel pain while performing somatic movements, reduce the range of these movements. You can make this movement so small that from the outside it will be completely invisible. The nervous system still works, and you somehow improve your condition.