About Somatics Somatics is a term that has only recently been coined. If you asked ten people what it is, you will likely get ten different responses. In a nut shell, it is the connection between our living physical body (our soma) and our mind. It is the study and practice of experiencing greater unity of these aspects of our selves, which at times may seem disconnected but are two sides of ourselves. When they are integrated, there is but one entity. There are many traditional disciplines which support the integration of soma and mind such as hatha yoga, tai chi and…
Don’t Bend Your Knees, Fold Your Kwa She knows so well how her kwas (hips) are folded deeply. Her knees are directly over her ankles with the feet flat on the ground. She does not think about this but simply squats naturally. Using one of the most powerful parts of our body, our kwa, may bring us strength, mobility, and balance through the years. As an added element, when we squat using our kwa, our tail (though not as long as the monkey's tail) reaches back to help this folding. To come up, the tail engages a gentle push as the kwa unfolds. The engagement of the tail is an…
Sitting and Breathing Utter stillness is perhaps one of the deepest meditations. We can cultivate “stiller stillness” with pre-birth breathing. When we are internally still, our subconscious mind-noise subsides and the deeper vibratory patterns which are beyond our true selves have the possibility to arise and disperse. This is no easy feat. Once we are seated for meditation (sometimes no easy feat in itself) we can focus our attention on our breathing. There are a myriad of ways to do this. One option is to choose between pre-birth breathing and post-birth breathing. In this article, we will attend to pre-birth breathing. Pre-birth breathing…