Why movement?
Movement leads the way in human development. Beginning pre-birth and continuing throughout adulthood, it is your feeling, moving body that sends information to your thinking, processing brain. You are a unique mover, and your body is smart! Through movement, your body can regulate, protect, express, communicate, heal and partner with the brain in learning.
Some of your personal movement patterns make visible all the great things that make you you. Others reflect your body’s efforts to protect you from physical pain and/or unwelcomed emotion. Moving well positively impacts your mental, physical and emotional health. As you learn to pay attention to the way you move, you begin to let go of the patterns that do not serve you and fully realize those that do. This can be life-changing…for you, your health and your relationships.
Non-verbal communication (movement and vocal tone) make up 93% of all communication. This means how you move and carry yourself matters to those you live and work with. Through knowledge of and connection to your feeling, moving body, you can find new and healthier options for expressing yourself and relating to others. Clear and authentic movement communication builds stronger families, marriages, work teams and communities.
What is somatic movement education/therapy?
“Soma” is the Greek word for living body. Somatic movement is gentle, therapeutic movement that helps you feel grounded, centered and alive inside your soma. Somatic movement repatterns your nervous system, resulting in improved mental focus, deeper relaxation and increased energy. There are no poses or prescribed “exercises” to learn because it’s about your soma thriving in your world.
Trauma-informed somatic movement therapy helps you recognize and work with blocked and limiting movement patterns. (We all have them!) These “stuck” patterns can typically be traced back to early fears, grief or trauma.
More than just ‘moving with awareness and intention,’ I care about the science behind movement, specifically the developmental movement patterns of infants, and how those early patterns impact mental, physical and emotional health into adulthood. My work is based in Applied Neuroplasticity, the work of Dr. Annie Brook, master therapist, somatic educator and perinatal specialist. Using Bartenieff Fundamentals, Laban Movement Analysis and aspects of Body-Mind Centering with the underlying principles of Applied Neuroplasticity, I identify interruptions to developmental movement progression. I then work to remedy those interruptions through movement repatterning. This includes reawakening and strengthening the sequential pushes, reaches and pulls of infancy, primitive reflex integration, sensorimotor practice, rhythm/dance and educative, hands-on bodywork. This approach helps the nervous system find balance and the body do the things it was made to do: protect from threat, establish boundaries, self-heal injury and illness, express emotion, communicate with others and partner with the brain in learning.
Can somatic movement therapy replace typical talk therapy?
Please note that I am not a counselor or mental health therapist. I help clients “get their bodies underneath them” so they can better process early trauma and handle current stressors.
What happens in a somatic movement session?
Somatic movement sessions are about slowing down, listening to and reconnecting with your sensing, feeling, moving body. Why? Because that’s where learning, growing, loving and healing begin.
Over the course of a single session, you can expect to be lying on the floor, sitting on a physioball or chair, standing and moving through the space, with attention paid to your body’s comfort level and abilities. Somatic work is slow and gentle by nature and a far cry from “no-pain-no-gain” exercise. 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 more calming and grounding, and other days we need to get “unstuck” mentally, physically or emotionally.
The movement sequences and modalities I use are science-based, tailored to your needs and abilities, fully guided and carefully scaffolded to help you connect your body and brain, release what doesn’t serve you and balance your nervous system. And if you need some extra joy in your life (and who doesn’t?), we might also dance! I am a former dance educator with a master’s degree in choreography and performance. From breath to heartbeat to the blood pumping through our veins, our bodies know rhythm, and music and rhythm do wonders for the brain.
As scary as it may sound, letting go of physical guardedness and allowing your body to sense and feel is life-changing…for you, your health and your relationships. I promise to be there every step of the way as your body tells and processes its hidden stories.
Who benefits and what makes somatic movement so effective?
Your body and its long list of responsibilities are pretty remarkable. Your brain has its own set of jobs, but too often brain takes over for body, everything gets muddled, and you can be left feeling exhausted or broken or both. It’s not hopeless. Your body and brain may need some help communicating and getting “unstuck.”
So who benefits from somatic movement? Everyone. We all get stuck at times. We all need a body and brain that communicate.
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).
With knowledge of and connection to your feeling, moving body, you reclaim the support needed to meet life’s challenges, to heal and to thrive — support that was there all along. And that’s pretty empowering.
What should I/we wear?
Please dress in comfortable clothing that allows you to lie, sit, stand and move comfortably. Layers to cover knees and elbows for comfortable “floor work” is recommended.
What if I have a disability or injury?
Somatic movement is an appropriate option for those with disabilities, chronic injury/pain or chronic illness because the approach respects individual abilities and wellness and treats the whole person – physically, mentally and emotionally. Prior to your first session we will discuss any issues or concerns to ensure a plan that works for you.
Rates? Do you take insurance?
The initial intake session is $135. Following sessions are $110. If this fee is a hardship, please ask about “pay-what-you-can” and sliding scale rates. I am unable to accept insurance, but HSA cards may be used.
It’s time to BE IN your body so you can
live the life you were created to live.
Let’s MOVE.
Learn more:
About Angie
Testimonials
Schedule a free consult with Angie today.
ayetzke@secondstorycounseling.com
(616) 426-9034 ext. 667.
angieyetzke.com 