A Clinical Somatic Movement session is the fastest way to achieve improved freedom of movement and reduced pain. Group classes and workshops are the best way to maintain and improve upon the changes made in clinical sessions – one clinical session per week for approximately seven weeks is usually enough for you to continue to make progress on your own and in group settings.
A clinical session involves assessment of the stress reflex patterns that are affecting your movement, followed by a lesson to teach you the skills to regain voluntary control of your muscles.
Most of the movements you will learn will involve lying on a table as you are guided through hands-on pandiculations (gentle contractions followed by a slow, controlled release of the contraction). This hands-on approach will give you much more feedback than is possible on your own, and can also help you to identify where you have habituated muscle tension (or sensory motor amnesia) that is usually very difficult to be aware of consciously – unless you are in pain. You should wear comfortable clothes (no jeans, dresses, or belts), but because the movements are very easy, you won’t work up a sweat.
Because the focus is on active participation, you will learn movements that you can do at home to reinforce the changes that your brain, nervous system and muscles make during clinical sessions. By practicing these movements daily you will continue to gain more and more awareness and control of your muscles, including the ability to undo unconscious responses to stress.
Philip H. Howard 