the Somatics blog
Exploring how the brain controls posture and movement, why we experience muscle and joint pain,
and how we can live our lives to the fullest.
What is Pandiculation?
Pandiculation is generally defined as the act of stretching oneself and yawning, especially upon waking. However, our automatic pandicular response has far more significance than simply prompting us to stretch and yawn. […]
The Myth of Uneven Leg Length
Doctors and chiropractors like to tell people that they have one leg longer than the other, and that it is the cause of their back, hip, or knee pain. The truth is that while it is certainly possible to have one leg longer than the other, […]
Sensory Motor Amnesia and Muscle Memory
Most people are familiar with the concept of muscle memory. When we repeat a movement like swinging a golf club over and over, the neurons involved in controlling that movement develop […]
Video: Your Pain and Injuries are Caused by the Way You’re Using Your Body
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with Clinical Somatic Education by Sarah St. Pierre, CSE Somatics: Reawakening the Mind's [...]
What is Clinical Somatic Education?
Whenever I tell someone that I'm a Clinical Somatic Educator, a look of mild confusion and deep thought comes over their face. I immediately launch into my short explanation, which is some version of this: [...]
How to get the most out of Somatic exercises
What are Somatic exercises? Somatic exercises work directly with the nervous system to release chronic muscular tension, relieve chronic pain, and improve posture and movement. The exercises are extremely slow and gentle, and are appropriate [...]
Why Stretching Doesn’t Work
From the ages of twelve to twenty-one, I was a ballet dancer. It was all I did and all I wanted to do. Being extremely disciplined, I stretched for half an hour every night before [...]
Sensory Motor Amnesia and Muscle Memory
Sensory Motor Amnesia and Muscle Memory Most people are familiar with the concept of muscle memory. When we repeat a movement like swinging a golf club over and over, the neurons involved in controlling that [...]
What is Pandiculation?
What is pandiculation? Pandiculation is generally defined as the act of stretching oneself and yawning, especially upon waking. However, our automatic pandicular response has far more significance than simply prompting us to stretch and yawn. [...]
Video: Your Pain and Injuries are Caused by the Way You’re Using Your Body
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with [...]
Video: The Myth of Uneven Leg Length
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with [...]
Idiopathic scoliosis: The role of tight muscles in idiopathic scoliosis
Approximately 80% of all scoliosis cases are idiopathic, which means that the cause is unknown. So 80% of the people who get diagnosed with scoliosis get no explanation as to what has caused it. Involuntary [...]
Video: The Myth of Uneven Leg Length
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with Clinical Somatic Education by Sarah St. Pierre, CSE Somatics: Reawakening the Mind's [...]
How to Release a Tight Psoas Muscle with Pandiculation
How to Release a Tight Psoas Muscle with Pandiculation What is the psoas muscle? The psoas muscle, formally called the psoas major, is a very important core muscle. The psoas attaches the [...]
Relieve Your TMJ Pain with Clinical Somatics
What is TMJ pain? The temporomandibular joint connects the jawbone to the skull, and is it one of the most complicated joints in the human body. It can open and close the jaw like a [...]
The Most Effective Kyphosis Exercises
Why don't most kyphosis exercises work? The reason why people have so much trouble straightening their rounded posture is that they don't understand what is actually causing their spine to round forward. The problem is [...]
Idiopathic scoliosis: The role of tight muscles in idiopathic scoliosis
Approximately 80% of all scoliosis cases are idiopathic, which means that the cause is unknown. So 80% of the people who get diagnosed [...]
Video: The Myth of Uneven Leg Length
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with [...]
Video: Your Pain and Injuries are Caused by the Way You’re Using Your Body
Recommended reading: Why We're in Pain: Why chronic musculoskeletal pain occurs--and how it can be prevented, alleviated and eliminated with [...]
How to Release a Tight Psoas Muscle with Pandiculation
How to Release a Tight Psoas Muscle with Pandiculation What is the psoas muscle? The psoas muscle, formally called the [...]
Somatics Articles
The #1 Cause of Chronic Muscle and Joint Pain—And How to Treat It
Read this article in Natural News.
