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Showing posts from July, 2020

Pandiculate for Peace

Peace is an Inside Job.   Greetings from Portland OR. Just to let you know, we aren't in the midst of a riot-infested wasteland. Things are tense, and I worry about what will unfold next. But I want you to know that some media outlets are lying to you about what's really happening here. If you want some facts here you go  and more here .  I constantly look at the state of the world, especially right now, through a somatic lens. See, in the Somatics world we never fight tension with more tension. That just creates--you guessed it--more tension! The world is in a huge contraction and tensions are high. And things just seem to be escalating. That's not to say that anger and pushing back are bad. They just don't do us any good if that's all we know how to do. Like the saying goes, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This goes for both sides of any oppositional issue. Again, in the Somatics realm we never push, fight against tension, or

"Breaking the Rules" with Somatics

When you first start doing Somatics, or maybe after months, or even years, of practicing, you might still be approaching your Somatics practice with thoughts like, "This is how I was told to do arch and flatten." so I must do it like I was told.  We live in a culture that has many rules to keep order in society and organizations. Some of them are more cultural norms than true rules or laws. Think of the many authority figures that tell us how to use our bodies. Doctors, yoga teachers, social media, family, religious leaders, etc.  I think this is why when people come to Somatics they are looking for specific directions and exact rules to follow. But Somatics is not about hard set rules , per se. Somatics is not about  doing what someone tells us to do .  Somatics is about  being . Somatics is about  sensing . It's about you being your own guide and teacher. To make Somatics a true, self-taught learning experience, here are some questions to ponder.   First, check out  20