Written by: Heidi Hadley, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In recent years there has been a huge surge of research and clinical findings in the field of Neuroscience. Experts around the world are realising that the power of the brain and mind is tremendous. An area of neuroscience and movement that is growing internationally is the mind and body modality called Clinical Somatics. Clinical Somatics is a mindful movement modality to release tight and tense muscles. The gentle brain training movements are accompanied by deep rhythmical breaths to ensure your nervous system stays relaxed and responsive during this activity.
The benefits of Clinical Somatics are to:
Reduce pain.
Increase flexibility and movement.
Enhance muscle memory.
Improve proprioception and interoception.
Regulate the nervous system.
Improve sleep hygiene.
Ease joint discomfort.
Create neurogenesis and new neural connections within the brain.
Increase mind and body awareness of movement and habits, so you do not have recurring or repetitive injuries.
Clinical Somatics uses a specific process to lengthen and relax muscles that have been very tight for a long time. These tight muscles can result from poor habits we have developed, such as being slumped in front of a computer for hours on end. It could be carrying a child on one hip as you go about your daily activities. It may be a poor form or technique with your chosen sport. It could be from an injury, resulting in spending considerable time limping on one leg. However long after the injury has healed, you still have a limp or funny walk! The reason for this is because your brain is amazing. It will adapt to the new way you are moving and sitting. If you do an activity or posture long enough, your brain will register it as ‘the new normal.’ This means it will tighten certain muscle groups, creating future disfigurements, distortions, or pain in your body.
Your brain controls all muscle movement and coordination. So, if you have held your body in a certain way which is detrimental to your health, certain muscles will get tighter and tighter. This all happens subconsciously, without you being fully aware. This subconscious behaviour will result in certain muscles being constantly tight, creating chronic pain, limited mobility, poor posture, and/or a recurrence of an injury.
Somatics uses a process known as PANDICULATION to release chronically tight muscles, improve posture, and increase mobility. Pandiculation is different from stretching.
Pandiculation is what cats, dogs, and other vertebrae animals do, they don’t stretch. Next time you look at your furry friend or you are out in nature, notice the 3 distinct phases of pandiculation.
Pandiculation involves the following 3 distinct steps:
Contraction of the muscles
A slow release of the muscles
Complete relaxation/rest to allow for integration.
Pandiculation creates the following results:
Reduction in muscle and joint pain
Recalibration of the mind and body to release tight muscular patterns, allowing one to move more freely with increased movement.
Improves posture.
Prevents recurring injuries by changing how the brain communicates with the muscles.
Restores muscle length, function, and strength.
Accelerates muscle recovery from training or sports injury.
Improves the overall performance of muscles.
Please consider John and the transformation Clinical Somatics had on him. I discussed him in my full interview. You can read about John when you CLICK HERE.
Getting to the root cause
Clinical Somatics deals with the root cause of muscle and joint pain, namely the influence your brain has on your muscles. Your brain communicates to your muscles and tells them when to contract and relax. It tells your body how to maintain a posture, either standing, walking, or sitting.
The more we repeat a certain action, movement, or posture, the deeper this behaviour becomes LEARNED. Synapses within your brain start to make patterns dominant. After repeated actions, movements, or postures in a certain manner, this learned behaviour becomes deeply embedded and the ‘go to’ or ‘default’ setting, thus creating a new way for the muscles to function.
This ‘new normal’ can be detrimental to our health and wellbeing. To break this habit, pandiculation is required to recalibrate and re-educate the brain so it communicates correctly to the muscles. The process of Pandiculation teaches muscles how to contract and relax at the appropriate time.
In my next article, I will delve deeper into pandiculation and reveal why it is a more efficient method to release tight muscles, compared to stretching.
In the meantime, start looking around at your pets and other vertebrae animals! They have been pandiculating before your very eyes all these years! We can learn a lot from them!
Here are a few examples of pandiculation.
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Heidi Hadley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Heidi Hadley is a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator & Somatic Movement teacher. She started her career in mainstream medicine in the field of Neurophysiology. In 2001, Heidi started her private clinical practice in health, wellbeing & movement. She is the founder & creator of Total Somatics International®, an online membership designed to reduce pain, improve posture, increase mobility, develop mindfulness and allow you to resume or continue with the activities you love to do. She is the presenter of the podcast, Somatic Movement & Mindset. Delving into the fields of neuroscience, pain, mindset, mindfulness, habits and how to use your brain and body to create lasting healthy changes.
