Gentle Somatic Yoga

Gentle Somatic Yoga is...

Gentle Somatic Yoga is a very gentle, relaxing, yet powerful way to release the (conscious and unconscious) tension you are holding in your body. Remembering that you are spirit in form, you always have at your fingertips the creation of new ways to enjoy your physical form. When you release this tension, you reduce aches and pains, which is your natural, divine state of being.

 Your mobility improves. Your energy increases.  Your sleep improves.  You start to feel more like your infinite self again. You gain a sense of joy in your body and in your movements.

Gentle Somatic Yoga isn’t like any other Yoga class!

We don’t do any of the traditional “asanas” or postures in this class. In traditional Hatha yoga, asanas (postures) are often practiced with the intent to reach a “full expression” of any given pose. In other words, modern day yoga classes can be experienced as very athletic and the student is striving for alignment and flexibility.

Gentle Somatic Yoga, in contrast, strips away all of this. The “somatic movements” (somatics meaning “to experience your body from the inside) provide sequences of movement (NOT complicated yoga postures) that seem so subtle, and yet it is that subtlety that provides a deep and profound experience(s) of your own body. These movements bring your muscles and body back under your control, allowing you to self heal!

These techniques, also called Somatic Movement Flows, are designed for a personal exploration of the mind/body connection. We do this through isolating specific muscles, mindfully contracting those muscles, and then slowly releasing them until the tone of muscles return back to neutral. It is through the practice of isolating and focusing on particular muscles in a way that provides the brain with information that it can synthesize and use to create a more integrated experience of body and mind. This simply means you gain more movement, flexibility and pain relief!

The main intention with Gentle Somatic Yoga is to sense and explore the movements from within by discovering where your brain has lost “control” (Sensory Motor Amnesia), doing the movements to bring those places back under your control and by approaching these places with a gentle spirit of exploration.

While yoga can be considered and used in a therapeutic way , Gentle Somatic Yoga is considered an educational process that strengthens and integrates the brain-to-muscle connection. The more you can control your muscles, the more choices you have in your body. The more choices you have, the freer you are as a whole, complete and joyful human being.

The Primary Intent of Gentle Somatic Yoga is FREEDOM!

Most people come to Gentle Somatic Yoga as a way to reduce pain and tension…to FEEL better physically. And practicing Gentle Somatic Yoga WILL deliver on that promise. But there is so much more to gain if you are open to the possibilities.

The word YOGA (from the Sanskrit word yuj, “union”) means union of the individual soul or self with Spirit. “Yoga” is to embrace and unite with your Whole Self (Soma). This includes accepting our body’s perceived limitations, and suspending all judgment of it. It also means loving ourselves unconditionally and letting go of that which no longer serves us.

As we release old habits and patterns of holding stress in our body, more space is created to awaken what is possible for ourselves on every level.

Our natural state is peace and wellbeing. It’s also one of the many benefits of Gentle Somatic Yoga.

“Make the impossible possible; Make the possible easy; Make the easy elegant.”

Gentle Somatic Yoga Classes are truly the next level of Mind/Body/Spirit in movement.

Why Does Gentle Somatic Yoga Work when nothing else has?

Gentle Somatic Yoga is working at the root cause of your tension and pain.

The brain controls your muscles. You will be doing movements that will re-train your brain to release the muscles it is holding in contracted, tight positions. When you relax your nervous system, it allows the brain to learn in a more fluid and effective way.  These movements are actually re-patterning your brain to body connection through your nervous system.

Why is this important?  Because it allows you to "un-do" the movement patterns you have been doing daily that have been creating the pain, discomfort, lack of mobility and poor posture you are now living with.    

Once you've released those tight, contracted muscles and bound up fascia, you will experience a newfound joy in your body.  

Your pain, stiffness and immobility will be reduced while your energy levels and state of being will soar. 

Gentle Somatic Yoga also helps with…

• Better quality sleep

• Reduce pain and stiffness

• Less anxiety and depression

• Release negative emotions and trauma stuck in your body

• Participate in all the activities you love without physical restriction