Customer Reviews

Somatics: Reawakening the Mind's Control Of Movement, Flexibility, and Health

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you have any structural pain that just won't go away, if you want to better your bodily awareness, and especialy if you are a healthcare professional. It is worth more than its weight in gold. I am a massage therapist, my works effectiveness increased a hundred fold when I learned what this book offers, and my selfcare routine did too.

Finally, someone that speaks my language! Thomas Hannah describes my belief system so eloquently. My massage therapist recommended this book to me. He suspected that I would appreciate this book based on my observations & actions for myself and others (I'm a Kinesiologist). I am looking forward to applying his exercises.

In this book Hanna provides a clear explanation of why the brain becomes conditioned to maintain unnecessary muscle tension, why that creates pain and limits movement, and most importantly, how to re-educate the brain to release that unnecessary tension, restore free movement, and eliminate pain. The exercises depicted in this book have given me my life back, freeing me from back pain I had for 15 years following a car accident. I highly recommend the book, and also recommend finding a Somatics practitioner to work with directly.

I am a massage therapist and use elements of Hanna's work daily.
Most people don't understand that their posture and how they use their body comes from how they have unwittingly programmed their
bodies. Their bodies are on "auto-pilot". Hanna makes this clear to the reader and then discusses how the reader can re-awaken their brain circuits and change their body programming, releasing
muscular tension, using the exercises in the back of the book. Granted that the wooden figures showing the exercises can be difficult to discern, it is worth your patience to work it out.
Your body will thank you. I have adapted many of the movements to my table work sessions and always assign one or two movements as homework. You can do much on your own. I have given away many copies of this book to clients who showed great interst in Hanna's work and in taking care of themselves.

This is the first set of excercises for my back that has ever had any effect at all. My back began feeling better within a matter of days, and has just gotten better and better. If you've had back trouble that you can't get rid of, try this.

This book serves as an excellent introduction to somatic education and the benefits available to those willing to do the exercises descibed in the manner (slow and easy) that Hanna recommends. As an educator and therapist I often recommend this book to clients who want to take responsiblity for their own well-being and hear nearly 100% positve feedback about the books usefulness. The explanation of the neuromuscular patterns of stress and trauma and how they contribute to negative aging, dysfunctional posture and chronic pain provide valuable insight helpful for sufferers as well as for the teachers and therapists who try to help. The drawback is the difficulty involved in learning new and unfamiliar movement exercises from the printed page and the pictures are not very helpful. But working with a partner who can read you the directions, repeating them as needed can be helpful. Audiotapes are available for solo work but I highly recommend reading the book first.

This is a fabulous book. I borrowed it from a friend then bought my own copy so I never have to be without it. I teach beginning Yoga practice and lead my students in these exercises at the beginning of many classes to bring awareness to the body-mind and loosen and open before practicing traditional poses. This book has been a god-send providing several somatic exercises that are explained simply and thoroughly emphasizing awareness on the body. The references to studies given in the body of the book, come across a little "heady", but in no way take away from the wealth of information. Hanna explains what " Sensory-motor amnesia" is, and how to free ourselves from it.

This book really changed my life. I used to suffer from shoulder tendinitis and other muscular ailments, but by using the material in this book I'm now 99% pain free. In addition, "Somatics" taught me about the causes and cures of muscular tension, "aging", and poor posture. By applying what I learned in "Somatics", my body has become much more supple and relaxed, making activities from walking to playing tennis to doing the dishes much more enjoyable.

But what is the catch? As Thomas Hanna explains, once you learn how your body really works, its up to you to learn how to improve its function. The bad news is that it takes time and persistance to effectively apply the knowledge in "Somatics" to your own body. The good news, however, is that by applying this knowledge you'll gain control over your own muscular (and thereby skeletal) health, now and for the rest of your life!

I also like this book because even though the material is fairly scientific, the book's occasional humor and its case study format make it an enjoyable read.

This book uses visual aids to teach you how
to solve your own skeletal problems, such as
a painful back, headaches. Chronic problems
such as poor posture can be changed in very
little time. You will learn to troubleshoot your
own problems and gain flexibility and strength.

It has truly saved me hundreds of dollars on
Chiropractic bills. Thank you Mr. Hanna.

I have bought about 10 of these books for
friends in pain. A very easy read and reference

I am grateful to the good person who recommended this book to me. I now understand how easy it is to develop bad posture which can generate all sorts of pain that we too easily accept as a normal part of aging. I am ecstatic about the idea of working on my own at getting 'my muscle memory' back, and hopefully erase most of my neck, shoulder, arm and back pain for good. Through the years, I have spent countless hours and dollars on products and services intended to bring relief, and giving into the old adage that pain is a byproduct of aging. I feel it is time for me to take command of my body in order to live as long and as pain-free as possible. I believe the key to this is in this book.