Somatics: Reawakening The Mind's Control Of Movement, Flexibility, And Health

In his book Somatics, Thomas Hanna, Ph.D. tackles the medical assumption that pain and degeneration are the inevitable result of the aging process. Not only that, he offers a simple plan to recover lost flexibility, balance, and posture. His exercises, he assures us, will bring us back into connection with our lost mobility while reducing pain and discomfort. It almost sounds too good to be true. But is it?Most people suffer from pain and discomfort at some point in their lives. When this follows an injury, it is easy to watch the play of cause and effect. This can allow us some feeling of con

So glad I bought this book, explains things in such a great way. Informative for anyone whether you have pain and discomfort or not. Why aren't we all taught this info?

I call this book the bible of back and shoulder pain. Extraordinary exercises for lower back issues such as pain management. In 1991 I hurt my back working as a logger. One of my instructors let me borrow her book. After 2 weeks of practice the exercises I was able to play soccer and going karate. As a massage therapist I always recommend this book to my patients who have back pain. Thank you Thomas Hanna 🙏

For content, I give Hannah's book 5 stars. His essays are straightforward, the science behind his approach makes sense, and all of the exercises seem safe and well tested. For usability, however, give it a 3. Frankly, it is difficult to learn somatic exercises from a book unless you already know what you are doing. And the illustrations in this paperback are poor quality. I worked with this book for some time feeling no results because I was not doing the exercises correctly. That being said, I give Hannah's book a sum of 4 stars because there is an art and intelligence to somatics hard to fin

A wise Pilates/Feldenkrais teacher introduced me to this book. Using "Somatics" I personally found relief from chronic lower lumbar pain, and got help retraining my gait and balance after a severe ankle injury.The book is simple to understand with sections for various problems.Somatics are a system of gentle movements - while breathing and mildly focusing (and sometimes simple "looking" in certain directions)- which through a combination of neuromuscular stimulation and the gentlest of stretches (no pain!) manages to to roll back years of stiffness, aid injury recovery, and significantly relie

I have problems with my back and herniated disk. The pain shoots down to my ankles. I have learned to stretch out my lower back and strengthen my hips and back muscles. I feel as I have the ability to walk much further and stand for longer periods of time. I prefer to not use pain relivers as I feel they just mask the actual problem. Rebuilding the body through exercise is a far better option. Thank you

The information is well worth the read. I use it in my Pilates practice. BUT….The binding had several chapters upside down and out of order. I ordered but didn’t start reading for several months so I suppose I’m stuck. Flip through your book as soon as it arrives to made sure you don’t have a bad one.

Hanna was a student of Moshe Feldenkrais. I have read much of Feldenkrais' writings and while he is spot on, IMO, regarding how the body and neural circuits can be reprogrammed, his instructions are a bit difficult to follow when it comes to the movements and what you are to be conscious of, especially if you don't have someone reading to you while doing the movements. Do read Feldenkrais though for more depth on the "why" these types of movements work though. This book by Hanna is much more clear and succinct in regard to the specific movements and what to be aware of while doing them. Others