Phase one is focused on reducing muscle tension to improve the fluidity of movement.
Hanna Somatic Movement forms the foundation of our approach to movement and take full advantage of current neurobiological principles of learning and coordination. These micromovement exercises, are designed to recapture control of muscles tightened by reflexes triggered by injury or nervous tension. The theory is that chronically tight muscles are caused by mis-calibration of signals sent from the brain. Essentially, your brain "forgets" to turn off muscles and they continuously contract leading to abnormal muscle movement patterns and potentially pain and injury. By performing Hanna Somatic movements, either one-on-one with a Hanna Somatic Educator or in a group class format during Gentle and Form Pilates classes, you are then able to regain control of those tight muscle and voluntarily relax them. As the muscle tension eases, pain fades, and you feel immediate changes in your ease of movement. In a sense, you create a tableau rasa, or "blank slate" state in your body, where you have unlearned all the tension you accumulated over years, even decades.

Phase Two: Strength and conditioning
Only after you have control of and relaxed your muscles, especially the muscles of the lower back, shoulders, and hips, then we recommend initiating strength and conditioning training. Clients who attempt to begin strength training before having control of their muscles run the risk of performing the exercises with poor form and incorrect/inefficient muscle activation patterns which only reinforces poor posture and habits, and in some cases lead to injury.

At SOMA, we teach Pilates as an exercise methodology to begin strengthening and conditioning your body. Pilates is a low impact system of exercise that is performed on either the mat or on specially designed equipment with springs that can either assist you or challenge you, depending on how the springs are arranged. Clients often transition from Hanna Somatic Movement Classes to Pre-Pilates which teaches the principles of Pilates movement and how to create a stable base (core strength) from which the extremities (arms/legs) can then move, all the while coordinating movement with breathing. SOMA Movement Studio has a complete line of specialized Pilates equipment available for private, group and independent training.

Phase Three: Flexibility, Functional Training, and Cardiovascular Fitness

Those clients who seek further movement training, especially as to improve flexibility and endurance, so you can do the movements you learned in phases one and two for a longer period of time and over a larger range of motion. This is done through a rotating selection of Level 3 intensity classes. Please visit our class schedule to see what challenging classes we are currently offering.