How do you start your day? Dolly Parton sings about it, but I’m not talking about beginning with “a cup of ambition”. Every morning, before I get out of bed, I begin with a bit of movement, I yawn (making lots of sound), this gives me a sense of expelling any stagnant air in my body and in turn take a deeper breath in, I move my body in an expansive way to begin to help me wake myself up.
Practised with lots of sound we know this as yawning and “stretching” it’s a way of waking oneself up from the inside out and is natural reflex response which is believed to be triggered in the hypothalamus and part of our circadian rhythms, not only waking up the sensory motor part of our brain, it wakes y'all up.
This natural movement is one we often stifle and even forget to do, yet it is one of the best ways to start your day and continue throughout the day. Notice if you skip this tomorrow morning, can you languish a bit longer, sensing and enjoying your incredible body wake up move into a new day?
It’s something all mammals do including babies in utero. If you have a cat or a dog you’ll notice they never skip this after a nap or when they get up to move, helping to keep themselves nimble (often making the cutest, funniest sounds), they do not override their innate intelligence. Take a closer watch next time and you’ll spot they go into a two way “stretch” and often they won’t stop there, they might roll and twist before they get going.
But we are not in fact "stretching”, we are actually “pandiculating” and this is how we move in Somatics and as my regular students know, this is one of the safest, natural ways to release stiffness, reduce pain and maintain mobility and it feels so, so good! Pandiculation not only helps this natural reset for our muscles it also releases cortisol and dopamine. No wonder we feel so lifted and relaxed after class!
As a former yoga teacher I spent years “stretching out” my tight lower back muscles only to discover this was actually making me tighter, then I discovered Somatics and changed how moved, felt and how I taught, basically changed my life! And because of this marvellous technique and the natural movements that create the wonderful practice that is Somatics I bring this into every class, workshop and retreat I teach, which is why I combine it in the Sound and Soma classes I teach with my friend Caroline, it’s sublime when mixed with the healing that comes from a sound bath.
Here’s Julie’s experience of her first Sound and Soma class, if you are curious and want to feel as good as Julie did, why not join us this Friday? - details below.
“Hi Liz,
What a wonderful experience on Friday night! I have been to a number of sound baths, but this was by far the best; probably due to the somatic movements you guided us through first, in preparation for part II. As soon as the lights went down and I shut my eyes, I felt as if my body had risen off the ground by a couple of inches. I was completely at ease with no aches or pains whatsoever...
Needless to say I had a good night’s sleep without my usual medication, waking up feeling refreshed for the first time in 6 months. My digestion seems to have benefitted too, as well as my back pain which is down to almost nothing. ”
Exciting News! Free Classes Next Week!
I’m excited to share that I’ll be teaching during the Essential Somatics Daily Practice Week — a free, live series of short guided Somatic Movement sessions happening Monday - Friday Nov 3-7!
Each day at 9-9:30 am GMT you're invited to join me for my movement practice. I’ll guide a short 20-30min live session designed to leave you feeling refreshed and inspired.
This is a wonderful opportunity to:
Boost your home practice
Get back on track if you’ve fallen out of routine
Build the habit of showing up for yourself each day
It’s free to attend live, and if you can’t make a session, recordings of my sessions will be available for purchase afterward through Essential Somatics. I'll send you a link!
Here's the link to join live next week at 9:00 am it's the same link all week and I cannot wait to see you there! Please note this is only suitable for those who have practised before. If you are new to Somatics you can begin your practice with my online course.
Back to this Week - Twist & Shape
I not only start my day with a pandiculated yawn, I follow it with a skiing twist - a long legged twist which feels so good, we’ll build this up into another twist which involves a straight leg… I wonder what it might be?...🤔
Now in the Library - Free in Three
Simple and oh so effective. A great class for more ease and freedom in just three movements. Let me know how it goes for you!
Thanks again for reading, if you cannot make a weekly class, I have some lovely upcoming offerings here to support you Heart, Soul & Soma.
With love
Liz 🧡
Feel inspired but still not sure where to start? Book a free consult with me where I will guide you through a standing and walking assessment and discuss your options.