Clinical Somatics: releasing tension you no longer feel.

Clinical Somatics is a learning method that helps you notice chronically held muscle tension and take back control of it through slow contraction and release.

Thomas Hanna (1928–1990) was a professor of philosophy in the United States. He studied with Moshé Feldenkrais and brought the first Feldenkrais training to the US. In 1976 he coined the term "somatics". On that foundation he developed his own approach, Hanna Somatic Education, which is taught around the world today as Clinical Somatics.

Hanna described sensory-motor amnesia in his model: through stress, injury or one-sided posture a muscle contracts again and again, until the tension becomes the default and you stop noticing it. The central technique is pandiculation. You tighten a muscle on purpose and then release it very slowly. In Hanna's model this aims to help the nervous system relearn control of tension. Sensory-motor amnesia is a concept of this method, not an established neurological diagnosis.

• One-to-one sessions in which the teacher guides you through the movements.
• Short sequences, mostly on the floor, that you then practise at home.
• Many teachers offer group classes and online sessions.
• The aim is independence: you should be able to do your exercises without a teacher.

• Chronically tight back, neck or hips
• Posture that feels stuck
• Stress that has settled in the body
• People looking for a daily routine they can do on their own

There are very few controlled studies on Clinical Somatics so far. The principle of changing how the brain controls muscle tension through attention and movement fits with research on the learning nervous system, but proof of benefit for specific conditions is still missing. Clinical Somatics is movement education and does not replace a medical assessment.

Clinical Somatics has its roots in the work of Moshé Feldenkrais. Both rely on slow, attentive movement. Feldenkrais opens the field wide and lets you explore many variations of a movement. Clinical Somatics focuses on releasing held tension, with fixed, short sequences for daily life.

Clinical Somatics teachers are certified as Hanna Somatic Educators or Clinical Somatic Educators. On The BodyIQ the seal shows you what we have checked.