Yoga teacher helps her own back and starts a career in the one-of-a-kind field of Clinical Somatic Education.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"962","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"480","style":"width: 300px; height: 300px; float: right; ","width":"480"}}]]I have had a lifelong interest in the human mind and body, beginning with ten years of intensive study of ballet and modern dance at Boston Ballet School and Boston Conservatory. After leaving dance, I decided to explore my interest in the visual arts, and received my Bachelors in Interior Design. But after practicing design for six years, I felt that the physical aspect of my life was missing.
I knew I wanted to work in the health and wellness industry, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to pursue. Having suffered from two serious back injuries while dancing, I understood what it meant to be in chronic pain. One day I happened upon the Somatic Systems Institute website. I could tell immediately that Somatics was very different than other modalities and therapies I had experienced. I bought Thomas Hanna’s book Somatics, and within the first few pages I knew that Clinical Somatics was what I had been looking for. As a dancer, I had spent countless hours in the studio training, as well as many months at home healing myself from my back injuries. I felt as if I already subconsciously understood the principles of Somatics, and when I read Hanna’s book a lightbulb went off.
Less than a year later I was in Northampton at the Somatic Systems Institute Professional Training Program. While enrolling in the program was a big decision due to the cost and time commitment of pursuing another degree, ultimately there was no question in my mind as to whether or not I would enroll — I knew that it was something I had to do.
I had a wonderful experience in the training program. Within the first few weeks of the program all my aches and pains were gone. Steve and the other trainers were so knowledgeable, and really took the time to make sure we fully understood all the concepts and methods we were learning. I had no prior bodywork experience, but I was able to start working with practice clients and seeing positive results during my first semester. After graduation I teamed up with Patrick Flanagan, who had also graduated from SSI, and we formed Somatic Movement Center in Watertown, MA.
My Somatics studies have truly changed the way I view physical and mental health and aging. I have learned that everyone’s health is in their own hands, and practicing Somatics is the most effective way to release habitual muscle tension and prevent many common musculoskeletal conditions associated with aging. Somatics has allowed me to recover from pain and tightness from dancing, and I am now able to run and practice yoga pain-free. I have experienced incredible changes in myself since beginning my Somatics practice, and I love helping others through their journey toward lasting health.
