Tips to help you get rid of pain with Somatics

Somatics is never meant to cause pain. If you start doing the moves, and are feeling pain, particularly later in the day or next day, here are helpful tips.

1) Are you working too hard at this? Somatics is not "exercise."

 think of the movement as explorations, not “exercises.” Imagine you are moving like seaweed not a tightly wound contraption, or working out. This can be a very different way of moving your body, if you come from a no pain, no gain mentality of fitness/physical therapy world. You are working with your nervous system. Treat it with care.

2) Are you not contracting both sides of your body at once?

I’ll use arch and flatten as an example: when you arch, notice if you are releasing the front of the body. Can you feel your belly muscles lengthen and be soft?  If not, you are literally using your body’s tension as a weight machine, pulling against tension. Instead, let the opposing side of the body release a you contract the focus side NO CO-CONTRACTIONS :-) Apply this principle to every move you do. Another example could be the side bend  . Feel the side of your body lengthen into the floor as the top side shortens.

 
3) Your muscles have released and can be sore after years of contraction

If you are releasing muscles that have been chronically tight for a long time and there can be soreness when they finally release. 

4) If you feel pain while doing the moves, STOP.

I know a lot of modalities tell you pain is what is required to get rid of your pain. That is so wrong on so many levels! Pain causes tension. Tension causes pain. Explore tip 1 & 2 above and see if that helps. Or try motor planning the move. Or reach out and schedule a private, in-person or online session with me. Trust me, when you have some deeply ingrained Sensory Motor Amnesia, you might need a little outside help. 

5) Be aware of what you do after doing Somatics.

If you feel better immediately after doing Somatics but a few hours later or the next day or so, your pain returns, consider what you have been doing with your body since. After a session is the time to integrate the more relaxed state of being into your nervous system. Integration means reenforcing the neural pathways of what you learned in your session. If you return to your old patterns (sitting slouched at a computer, worrying and stressing about things, exercise/housework/gardening/etc) with little awareness, your pain can easily return. 

Let me know below in the comments below if you have questions.

happy pandiculating,

Kristin

P.S. If you need more personalized guidance, please invest in a private session with me. I work with clients around the world online. By working together, being able to talk and see each other, you'll reap more benefit from your personal practice. You'll also receive a recording of your lesson for continued practice.