We are delighted to announce that Martha Peterson 
will be with us in Dublin in November 2017 to teach a Hanna Somatics Fundamentals Immersion Course.
This introductory course is for anyone with an interest in learning about or seeking to deepen their understanding of Hanna Somatics for their own personal education and exploration. No prior experience or training is required to participate.
Hanna Somatic Education (also known as Clinical Somatics) is a safe, gentle and common sense approach to eliminating chronic muscle pain and improving movement for the long term. It is scientifically-based sensory motor training that teaches you how most chronic muscle pain develops, and what to do to restore full nervous system control of both muscles and movement. The end result is improved awareness, balance and control, as well as efficiency and joy of movement. You learn to reverse the root cause of most chronic muscle pain – the way in which you have unconsciously adapted to the stresses of your life – so you can prevent pain and movement limitation in the future.
If you’d like to know a little more prior to booking a two day course, come to our
Introduction to Somatics
workshop on Saturday November 4th at 2pm. All proceeds of this workshop go to the Simon Community.
Fundamentals Immersion Course Content
This course is a comprehensive introduction to the core principles of Hanna Somatics: the science, philosophy, techniques, and Somatic Exercises. Come and learn:
- How Sensory Motor Amnesia causes most chronic muscle pain
- How three universal stress reflexes affect our daily lives
- The benefits of pandiculation vs. stretching
- How to apply the movements, principles, and concepts of Hanna Somatics to your life
- A basic routine of Somatic Exercises that will result in renewed muscle control and freedom of movement and more…
If you are seeking a long-term solution to pain relief, want to regain your freedom of movement, or are simply looking for answers, then this course is for you. It’s never too late to learn to live your life pain-free!
You will be led through Somatic Exercises to explore your own movement areas of Sensory Motor Amnesia. You will learn a basic routine of Somatic Exercises that can be practiced daily in order to restore muscle function and somatic awareness. We will explore the technique of pandiculation in pairs to establish a better understanding of how this technique affects sensory and motor function. Participants will receive the Pain Relief Through Movement audio CD and all appropriate learning materials.
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How Can Hanna Somatics Education Help Me?
Hanna Somatics Education goes to the root of most chronic muscular pain: the brain. To understand how to eliminate your pain, it is important to understand what causes it in the first place. Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA) is the condition of chronically tight muscles that develops due to accidents, injuries, surgeries, and on-going stress. These muscles have learned to remain “stuck” and contracted due to messages from your brain. They simply won’t let go. Because the brain controls the muscles, it must also be involved in teaching them to relax, release and remember how to move easily and efficiently again.
What sets Hanna Somatics Education apart from other methods of pain relief?
While most pain relief methods—such as physical therapy, massage therapy, surgery, stretching, acupuncture or drugs—focus on the one specific area of pain (e.g. the neck, hip, shoulder, back), HSE understands that pain in one part of the body is part of a larger pattern of muscular dysfunction. HSE is not passive therapy. HSE not only teaches you Somatic Exercises (pandiculations) to retrain your brain, but also teaches you to be aware of how stress affects your body and what your body’s postural adaptation and habits are. There are three full body stress reflex patterns that are reflective of typical responses to stress: green light reflex, red light reflex, and trauma reflex.
Benefits of Hanna Somatics include:
- Long term pain relief from many common muscle pain conditions.
- Lifelong skills that teach you how to regain voluntary control of habitually tight muscles.
- Greater physical independence and mastery of your movement.
- Increased flexibility, energy, coordination, balance and proprioception.
- A safe, easy and common sense alternative to drugs and surgery.
This course is also appropriate for those in the movement or bodywork field: fitness trainers, physical therapists, massage therapists, or anyone seeking to learn how to incorporate Somatic principles into their primary practice – or their life!
Book Fundamentals Immersion Course
Prerequisites
This introductory course is for anyone with an interest in learning about or seeking to deepen their understanding of Hanna Somatics for their own personal education and exploration. No prior experience or training is required to participate.
Duration
Sat, Nov 18, 2017 9am – 5pm
Sun, Nov 19, 2017 9am – 5pm
Prices
$375 USD early bird price
$425 USD if paid after Oct. 1, 2017
Please note: all course fees are listed in USD and are booked directly with Essential Somatics
Book Fundamentals Immersion Course
About Your Instructor
Martha Peterson is a Certified Hanna Somatic Educator and movement expert, and the founder of Essential Somatics®. She is the author of Move Without Pain (Sterling Publishing, January 2012)
and has produced the instructional DVD, Pain Relief Through Movement and a line of Pain-Free Somatic Exercise DVDs, which are selling worldwide. Martha is a graduate of Somatic Systems Institute in Northampton, MA and certified by the Novato Institute for Somatic Research in Novato, CA. She holds a BA in Dance Education from the State University of New York, and certification in Massage Therapy from the National Holistic Institute in Oakland, CA. Martha is a member of the Association for Hanna Somatic Education (AHSE) and the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA).
Her expertise comes from over 30 years of working with professionals in the field of dance, bodywork and somatic disciplines. Martha discovered Hanna Somatic Education after suffering chronic hip and knee pain due to injuries after years of dancing professionally; HSE is the only method that taught her to reverse her hip pain and postural imbalances and regain her freedom of movement. She finds that mastering healthy body mechanics and proprioception is the key to maintaining flexibility and freedom of movement.
Martha teaches Hanna Somatics trainings and workshops across the United States and internationally and offers private clinical sessions in the Denver Metro area. Martha works with clients who have struggled with chronic muscle or joint pain, and postural and mobility problems. She teaches them how to regain freedom of movement and achieve long-term pain relief using the gentle and revolutionary techniques of Hanna Somatics. Martha conducts online video sessions for distance clients who seek personalised help for pain relief and improved movement.
In 2012, she began the Essential Somatics® Clinical Somatic Education Professional Training program, which trains appropriate candidates to become skilled Clinical Somatic Educators in the tradition of Thomas Hanna. Martha is available for speaking engagements and corporate workshops, which focus on body awareness, injury prevention, healthy biomechanics, worker wellness, and embodied leadership.
In her free time, Martha enjoys traveling, hiking, walking long distances, dancing, gardening, and playing with her grandson. Martha has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and traveled to Sikkim, Northern India, to trek in the Himalayas with her 87-year-old mother. She has learned that the key to remaining healthy and mobile is daily, vigorous, fun movement, a regular Somatic Exercise routine, and learning the fine art of relaxation.