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Now at Trio Wellspace in Holland, MI!

Why movement?

We all have unique ways of moving. Your personal movement patterns reflect your body’s efforts to protect you from physical pain and unwelcomed emotion. These patterns begin pre-birth and shoulder the many physical and emotional experiences of your life. In other words, how you move and carry yourself communicates volumes about you, your past, your take on the world, how you think and how you feel.

When we pay attention to the way we move, we learn to let go of the patterns that do not serve us and fully realize those that do. Moving well positively impacts our mental, physical and emotional health. In other words, we become comfortable in our own skin, literally and metaphorically.

What is somatic movement education/therapy?

Somatic movement education/therapy is a holistic approach to moving well that focuses on the internal experience of the moving body rather than an external end result like building muscle or losing weight. Moving the body with awareness and intention brings together the physical, mental and emotional parts of our being. 

As a Dynamic Embodiment Practitioner (DEP) and Certified Movement Analyst (CMA), I use the therapeutic movement modalities of Bartenieff Fundamentals, Laban Movement Analysis and aspects of Body-Mind Centering® to help people move with greater ease, think more clearly and live life with increased confidence and optimism. 

Learn more through the following links:
Bartenieff Fundamentals https://labaninstitute.org/about/bartenieff-fundamentals/ 
Laban Movement Analysis https://labaninstitute.org/about/laban-movement-analysis/
Body-Mind Centering® https://www.bodymindcentering.com/about/ 

What happens in a somatic movement session?

Over the course of a single session, you can expect to be lying on the floor, sitting in a chair, standing and moving through the space, with attention paid to your body’s comfort level and abilities. Somatic work is gentle by nature, a far cry from “no pain, no gain” exercise. Sessions are about slowing down and listening to your body so that it can organize and coordinate itself, express emotion and communicate with others. Where and how we spend our session time is dictated by the needs of your nervous system on any given day. (Some days we need the calming and grounding action of the parasympathetic nervous system, and other days we need to activate the fight/flight/freeze of the sympathetic!) 

Throughout the session we move together through easy-to-learn structured sequences that address physical function and efficiency, and creative explorations designed to expand physical expression and communication. Whether structured or creative, all movement is crafted to be enjoyable, enlightening and empowering while simultaneously revealing any blockages or “stuckness” that might be happening physically, emotionally or mentally.

Because knowledge is power, you can also expect some anatomy and physiology lessons to better understand your body and yourself as a unique mover. No PowerPoints or book-study – All learning takes place through experiencing and moving. Find more questions and answers on the FAQ page.

What makes somatic movement effective for healing?

It’s all about getting to the root of whatever it is that might be causing you to feel “stuck,” physically, mentally or emotionally. As we work together to help your body coordinate and “organize” itself through strategic and scientific movement repatterning, we reveal the root of the “stuckness” and get you moving toward freedom. This might mean physical freedom from bodily tension and chronic pain, mental freedom from anxiety and worry or emotional freedom from latent trauma (or freedom from all three because our physical, mental and emotional selves are linked). Challenges will continue to come throughout our lives, but knowledge of and connection to our MOVING bodies helps us better meet them.

Therapy
Adults
Kids and Teens
Breast Cancer
Parkinson’s Disease

Education
Professionals’ Training
Movement for the Workplace
Movement for Ministry

Rates and Policies

“What I love about my sessions with Angie is her ability to tune into your immediate needs while also focusing on what will support your growth long term. She brings a depth of knowledge to every session and presents it in a way that is accessible, relatable and allows for multiple points of exploration. She has assisted me in finding solutions that work for my own body, mind, soul and life that are sustainable through movement and attention.“

Anna H.