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Somatics: Reawakening the mind’s control of movement, flexibility, and health
By Thomas Hanna, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books, 1988, 162 pp., $ 12.00
Somatics is a practical and well-grounded theory and application describing the mechanism behind “sensory-motor amnesia,” a failure of mind-body integration. Sensory-motor amnesia is defined as a lack of connection between our thoughtful and emotional awareness and our physical sensations, resulting in a kind of amnesia for aligned posture and muscular neutrality that can lead to chronic aches and pains, chronic fatigue, and the perception of body deterioration as we age. The author argues that shared societal and medical beliefs about aging have developed a “myth of aging” in which the human body is assumed to naturally deteriorate over time. The author argues that sensory-motor amnesia, rather than age, is often responsible for many physical conditions often identified as age-related deterioration in physical structures and functioning. Sensory-motor amnesia is proposed as a treatable and reversible condition through sensory-motor re-education.
Sensory-motor amnesia is implicated as a problem in muscular atrophy, chronic stress responses, “the red-light reflex” (an habituated defensive posture), and “the green-light reflex” (an habituated posture of alertness or arousal). In addition, sensory-motor amnesia may be responsible for a range of “old-age” body presentations characterized by stiffened or limited range of movement, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, chronically shallow breathing, anxiety disorders, negative self-image, chronically high blood pressure, and failure to recover from traumatic body injuries.
Somatics is divided into three sections: Case histories that illustrate “the myth of aging” and the concept of “sensory-motor amnesia”; The theory and research underpinning sensory-motor amnesia based on studies from the fields of cognitive-behavioral psychology, kinesthesiology, and medical science; and Somatic exercises to facilitate the re-integration of sensory-motor awareness, and reverse chronic pain and rigidity due to sensory-motor amnesia.
The model articulated in Somatics has been widely praised as a valuable resource for both prevention and treatment of disorders that require both psychological and somatic intervention. In terms of prevention, individuals, parents, and educators can use the theoretical model and practical exercises to provide motivation for good health behaviors, in terms of building strength and flexibility through exercise. With an emerging population of aging baby-boomers, public health education about the inter-relationship of our physical health and emotions is becoming increasingly important.
In terms of treatment, the theory of Somatics has been praised by the Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Menninger Clinic, and multiple pain-focused physicians and psychologists for the fundamental connections it explicates between muscle memory, behavior patterns, and mood states. Elmer E. Green, Ph.D., a practitioner of the Menninger Clinic, wrote “If I could, I would put Somatics in the hands of every neurologist, internist, nurse, psychophysiologic therapist, and clinical psychologist in the country.” Robert Masters, Ph.D., Director of the Foundation for Mind Research, estimates that a wide array of human health complaints are not adequately addressed by the medical model, and perhaps half of all health complaints can only be understood and remedied through sensory reeducation, as described by Hanna.
Practitioners can assist patients and clients with musculoskeletal ailments, chronic pains, poor body alignment and posture, anxiety disorders, clinical depression, and traumatic injuries by teaching them a five-minute daily routine of targeted exercises based on the cognitive behavioral technique of progressive muscle relaxation. The targeted exercises allow patients to regain control over the full range of engagement and flexibility of core musculature systems. The exercises focus on developing control over the extensor muscles of the back, the flexor muscles of the stomach, the muscles of the waist, muscles involved in trunk rotation, the muscles of the hip joints and legs, the muscles of the neck and shoulders, muscles that facilitate breathing, the coordination of muscles in walking (with separate attention to vertical and horizontal components of walking). In addition, the exercises are intended to increase patients’ awareness of their body positioning within space and to develop a reasonable mental representation of body image.
Given a very broad range of usefulness, from prevention through treatment, Somatics could be useful as a psychoeducational classroom-based curriculum or workplace hygiene curriculum, as a module in prevention curricula for anxiety disorders, depression, job-based injuries, and post-operative complications. In terms of treatment, the information and exercises from Somatics could be incorporated as a module in the treatment of chronic stress conditions, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, acute and post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, social problems involving the need to develop assertiveness skills, and as an adjunct psychological treatment of somatic illnesses.
However, there are some conditions and patients for whom Somatics may not be useful or indicated. Similar to many techniques that focus on relaxation training, reduction of panic, or desensitization of anxiety responses, some patients cannot initially tolerate the emotions that emerge from re-integrating their emotions with body sensations. In this case, a didactic and intellectually-based approach to offering the theory of Somatics may be lengthened and presented in small increments so that patients will not generalize their somatic aversions to the therapeutic process in general. In addition, it is not clear whether Somatics could effectively be used with individuals who are experiencing primary distortions of their psycho-social body image, including patients with eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders. In these cases, Somatics may be used as a second-level treatment once the primary body-image disturbance has cleared.
While the theory and exercises of Somatics appear promising in the treatment of many physio-emotional conditions not adequately addressed either medical or psychological approaches alone, there are many limitations to Hanna’s presentation. Though his theory is well-developed from conceptual and practical standpoints, the theory has not been widely empirically tested as a whole. This is particularly concerning in light of the early publishing date of Hanna’s book (1988); though, Hanna has been developing this line of theory and literature since at least 1970. In addition, those with physical injuries should be cautioned to practice the suggested exercises with medical approval, so as to avoid exacerbating pain or injuries.