“The Physics of Consciousness”. That was the title of the brochure I picked up written about Soma Neuromuscular Integration in 2001. This somewhat esoteric description so rightly hit the nail on the head of what the work brings into focus. I had always known there was a physical consciousness, as I felt in dance, yoga, and quiet moments of being still in my mind and body. Yet, I had never put it in those words. It felt good to see it in print.
Transformational bodywork. That is what Soma feels like to me when I give or receive it. Experience being able to stand, walk, sit, and move with more physical ease. Imagine feeling the body’s suspension mechanics work in a way that movement is expansive, graceful and without effort. It is from this place of internal support and fluidity that the body/mind changes how information from the outside world is received and interpreted. Clarity in the physical form supports clarity in interpreting what is occurring in the world around us. From this place of knowing, there is the opportunity to respond to life with true authenticity because one is responding from one’s core, center, place of balance.
Soma Neuromuscular Integration certainly improves one’s posture. It also increases awareness of what is being felt internally and externally. It promotes a dialogue between consciousness and patterns held in the body. We are physically shaped by gravity and our emotional responses to life. We carry this and the effects of accidents, injury, and illness, in our bodies when not fully resolved. We mimic what we see and feel that is passed down in families and society. Soma helps unravel and read the stories and experiences filtered through the body. The body is one of the primary doors to unlocking the mind.
As a result, physical ease and awareness is gained. Coordination, dexterity, grace, the ability to stand up straight and sit comfortably for extended periods of time increases. Energy runs through the body with less blockage, increasing the functions of the immune system, the nervous system, and all the organs of the body.
As we function with ease in the body, the personality becomes more and more self reliant. People who go through the Soma series experience being more in touch with their emotions, increasing the ability to observe reactions to life, and choosing with thought, their responses. This allows us to live in the present.
