Somatics

GreenSense:
For over ten years I had recurring back problems. Then I found this book just after it was published in 1988. Since then, thanks to what I learned from the book plus a daily, five minute tune-up, my back has ceased to be a problem. Every now and then (once or twice a year) my back will hurt- briefly. When it happens, thanks to Thomas Hanna, I know what to do to fix it fast, often within minutes. More important, I know how to examine my life to figure out what caused the problem.

Review... by Alan Wagener

Somatics is a method of "physical re-education" developed by Thomas Hanna. It's based on the work of Moishe Feldenkrais. The main idea is that many of our common chronic aches and pains result from an accidental loss of conscious control over our muscles. It's an easy read- Hanna uses case studies to teach the concepts, then gives a step-by-step set of exercises you can use to re-educate your sore muscles, followed by a set of simple, easy exercises you can use as maintenance.

The initial "re-education" exercises take less than an hour/day for a couple/few weeks. They're not at all strenuous. About the time you start to lose your motivation (because you're feeling so much better), you can switch to the maintenance exercises. They're incredibly easy and take only a few minutes. I dislike exercise, unless it's an integral part of fun or work- like swimming, skiing, walking, or chopping wood, but I have no trouble doing my Somatics "tune-up" every day.

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