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Frequently Asked Questions
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| How many sessions will I need?
A
few sessions can make you aware of some chronic tensions
and poor postural habits. Ten sessions can help you
understand how to react to your daily activities in
a way that is better for your body and allows you to
approach an activity in a whole new way: with consciousness
of mind and clarity of motion.
Is it a set of exercises I can do on my own?
It is not exercises. It is a skill you apply to the activities you already perform. You will be taught how to maintain the ease of movement you achieve in sessions during your own activities by inhibiting poor postural habits. Students are expected to apply what they learn in sessions to activities on a daily basis.
If it helps back pain, is it like Physical Therapy?
This is not a therapy session but a therapeutic process. As you begin to identify what it is about how you use yourself that creates specific tensions, and start to move in a way that is better for your body as a whole, you may feel relief from chronic pain. You will learn how to decrease the intensity of existing injuries, and prevent potential injury related to poor postural habits.
Is the hands-on aspect of the work like massage?
No, we do not manually force tension out of your body, but enable you to become aware of how to use only what tension is necessary. The hands are used in a subtle, non-manipulative way, along with verbal instruction, given to convey a new kinesthetic experience.
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| How does our work differ from other mind-body disciplines?
Many somatic practices are adept at showing clients what is wrong with their use, but provide only temporary relief, or short-term "fixes." It is much easier to show someone what they are doing wrong than to teach them how to do it right. Developmental pattern work stimulates the lower brain where your instincts and the bodies innate wisdom can be called upon to enhance in the healing process.
What do you mean by posture?
Posture is the ability to stand poised yet at ease, to sit without fatigue, and to transition gracefully into movement. It is not something that can be attained by adjusting certain body parts (ie. pulling your shoulders back) or strengthening certain areas of the body without attention being paid to the whole. Nor can it be maintained by holding your body a certain way. It can only be attained by consciously changing your own reactions: not pulling your head forward to look at the computer screen, not locking your knees when standing in line, not bending at your waist to lean over. By changing your ideas about what posture is and how to "fix" it, and instead sending clear directions to your body about how you want it to move, you can find a sense of posture that supports and is supported by your whole body and mind. | |
| What do you mean by coordination?
Coordination is the body's ability to produce complicated, integrated movement. This is not accomplished by learning to have control of many different body parts all at once (ie. point toe, extend leg, drop shoulders, lift elbows, look left). This is accomplished by teaching the body to work as one unit, so that movements such as walking and squatting are not a combination of different movements. | |
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