The Vital Body
Somatic Movement Education and Therapy
with Metta's in-house Somatic Movement Therapist, Michele Minnick Ph.D., C.M.A., SMT/E
The Vital Body
is a holistic approach to wellness that utilizes movement, breath, vocalization, touch, drawing, and other modalities to help clients release unwanted habits and burdens, and develop a grounded, connected sense of self, and a well-functioning and expressive body. Michele takes a compassionate, gentle, and playful approach, always going at a pace the client’s system can handle.
The Vital Body draws upon and synthesizes the Laban/Bartenieff system of movement analysis, Body Mind Centering, The Halprin Life/Art Process and ecosomatics practices, Somatic Abolitionism, Somatic Internal Family Systems approaches, Aroma Acupoint Therapy, Rasaboxes and related Emotion science research, and various mindfulness techniques. The use of any particular modality or practice follows the client’s lead and the needs of their system.
The Vital Body can be used to address physical, emotional, and other forms of trauma, to relieve stress, to integrate surgical and physical therapy interventions, to improve performance in sports and dance, to help regulate the nervous system, increase vitality and presence, and much more.
Use the link below to schedule a free 20 minute conversation over Zoom to see if this work would be a good fit for you.
Why Somatics?
Somatic practices help to bring into our conscious awareness physical, mental, emotional, and energetic aspects of our movement, behavior, and beliefs that ordinarily operate unconsciously. “Somatic” refers to first person, subjective experience of the body, the self, and relationships, as perceived through direct sense perception – commonly known as proprioception (our relationship to the environment) and interoception (the inner relationships of the body to itself). The Vital Body is also grounded in objective, scientific knowledge and frameworks for understanding anatomy and the functions of different body systems, such as the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems, organs, fluids, and endocrine system.
Somatic Movement Education
Tends to facilitate awareness of movement patterns and possibilities, and provides tools for shifting patterns that may cause pain or discomfort, or that inhibit performance (in sports or dance, for example). SME may also be used like yoga and other embodied practices for general wellness. It enhances clients’ understanding and healthy engagement of elements of being (in) a body that are essential for physical and emotional health such as dynamic alignment, core support, breath support, and facility with the dynamics of movement. It is a great support for whole body integration of physical therapy, allowing rehabilitation to make use of all the resources available for healing.
Somatic Movement Therapy
Focuses on how trauma or emotional patterns are held in the body, and offers healing by attending to our inner experience, moment by moment, and providing ways of externalizing, releasing, and ultimately integrating what is being held. SMT can be done independently of, or in conjunction with psychotherapy. Diagnosis and treatment of specific illnesses and disorders is outside the scope of practice of SMT. However, SMT can be valuable in developing stability and resilience in a system, helping to heal underlying trauma and ameliorate symptoms. Sometimes SME and SMT function as separate practices, but often elements of both are present in work with clients.
These are some of the things that can be addressed by Somatic Movement Education and Therapy:
Physical Function: Movement Repatterning
Trauma Healing
Emotional Expression and Integration
Regulating the Nervous System
Support for the Voice