We delved into the difference between somatic sensing and feeling. Through the lens of the sensory-motor cortex as a – liken to a feedback loop from brain to body, and body to brain. We also talked about the integration of top-down and bottom up processes in creating safety and presence in the body.

Stay tuned to the next snippet! 😊

To watch the full conversation, head over to https://youtu.be/id-nm-jN5MA

#breakingthespell #podcast #journey #stories #experience #bottomupapproach #brain #physiology #being #nervousystem #polyvagaltheory #homeostasis #mindbody #yogawithdaphne #somatictherapy #somatictherapyasia #somaticswithdaphne #somaticyoga #somaticssg #somaticssingapore #yogasg #sgyogis #resilience #yogatherapist #yogatherapy #neuroplasticity #nervoussystemreset #sgbodywork #somaticbodywork #somatictherapytraining

The post Conversation with Breaking The Spell – Snippet 3 appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

In this fascia community class, we begin in an embodied meditation followed by a recap of movement explorations that we practiced in the earlier classes. These movement explorations span across the body, from head to toe, sensing into the fluid continuity of the myofascial slings. We also harness upon the use of visualisation and sound to create the unwinding of the body-mind, integrating the nervous system to create safety, grounding, and presence.

Click the link in bio to watch the full video on youtube.

Props required:
1 yoga mat
1 blanket
1 pair of socks (or 1 soft, squishy-like ball)
1 yoga strap (or 1 scarf/towel)
1 cushion (optional)
1 yoga block (optional)

The post Fascia Community Class appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

This overwhelming desire for control often hinders our ability to be, to meet our self and other, to arrive just as we are. Our minds become rigid as we brace for control. We are afraid to fail, to disappoint, to upset, to fall. 

We forget that to PLAY is our birth right. 

Even as we play, notice how frequently the desire for control intervenes itself with play – we no longer play for play’s sake, but play within the confines of what is deemed right or wrong, good or bad. Play becomes competitive, territorial, divisive. 

The post The Power of Play appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

The final class of the creating safety workshop.

Our sub-occipital muscles tends to hold a lot of stress because of the function it plays in keeping our heads upright as bipeds, and its association with our eyes. In this session, we explore an exercise to release tension in the sub-occipital muscles as we lean into the support of gravity, and find full body integration. In the session, we also explore movement across 3-dimensional planes, bringing awareness to our body’s mid-line and our anatomical structures.
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Props required:

• 1 yoga mat
• 1 strap (or scarf)
• 1 blanket
• 1 yoga block
• 1 weighted ball (or water bottle)

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on December 5th 2021.

The post Somatic Workshop Series: Creating Safety (3/3) appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

This is 2 out of 3 classes of the Creating Safety Workshop conducted last year.

This second class of the creating safety workshop starts off with exploring a sense of integration between our individual bodies (the micro), with that of the earth (the macro). We tap into body weight, and the forces of gravity and rebound to find a sense of ease, support and body awareness. I also speak about yielding and collapsing, and how through the somatic exploration exercises, we can strike a healthy symbiotic relationship between these two states. In this sense, yielding would not equate to the over-activation of our nervous system, and collapsing would not equate to the total lapsing or shut down of our nervous systems. The ability of our nervous systems to calibrate and shift itself flexibly between these two states translates to a greater sense of being. We also explore feet work and a somatic play exercise with a chair.
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Props required:

• 1 yoga mat
• 1 blanket
• 1 yoga block
• 1 weighted ball (or water bottle)
• 1 chair

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on November 26th 2021.

The post Somatic Workshop Series: Creating Safety (2/3) appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

In the first class of the reating safety workshop, we explore a series of exercises and 3-dimensional movement from head to toe to build body awareness and a sense of felt safety. We also explore the use of weight, breath, and support of gravity.
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Props required:

• 1 Yoga Mat
• 2 Blankets
  . . . . . . . .

In the weeks leading up, I’ll be sharing a free somatic class weekly via my youtube channel. These classes were conducted last year through zoom. May these videos provide a weekly mind-body reset, room for your curious explorations and comfort in these uncertain times. If you would like to find out more about somatic work, feel free to write in to me too.

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on November 19th 2021.

The post Somatic Workshop Series: Creating Safety (1/3) appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on March 5th 2021.

The post Brain Hack appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on December 2nd 2020.

The post First Covid Training Completed appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

The concept of a neutral pelvis is a topic every movement educator across different modalities would passionately debate over.

This week on #SomawithDaphneandLucy, we’d like to share our take on the neutral pelvis as an embodiment PROCESS, rather than just a shape or a form.

One of the most logical rationales to this principle is that – When the pelvis is in its neutral position, it allows for the most amount of space between each vertebra, as they are then aligned in their natural curves (i.e primary and secondary curves or kyphosis and lordosis). A neutral pelvis means that our spine can act as a “spring” in our bipedal form, to provide a buffer for the compressive forces moving through the body as we navigate through space and gravity.

A simple approach to finding a neutral pelvis is to experiment with the anterior and posterior tilting of the pelvis in relationship to the bony landmarks – the ASIS (hip points), and the diamond-shaped compass of the Sacrum, Coccyx, Ischium, Pubic Symphysis – to find the place in the centre.
These landmarks are incredibly useful in bringing awareness to a vital and yet vulnerable part of the body that we often ignore. Even though we spend so much time sitting on our bum, what we do with our pelvis and pelvic floor are often only brought to our attention when we are experiencing pain or discomfort.

From the bony landmarks, we can begin to explore the intrinsic movement of breath within the inner body, in particular the relationship between the ribcage and the pelvis.

Our respiratory diaphragm sits just beneath the ribs. As our primary breathing muscle, the diaphragm contracts and descends during inhalation, and releases to ascend during exhalation. The heart and lungs rest above the respiratory diaphragm, and our internal organs are below this diaphragm. On the other hand (end), the pelvic floor (also a diaphragm) supports the weight of our internal organs, in addition to sexual and elimination functions.

The respiratory diaphragm and the pelvic diaphragm (not just a floor!) is actually one continuous integrated “being” that modulates our life force! Their ability to move in resonance with each other is important in the healthy and intricate functioning of all our biological processes, such as oxygenation, circulation, motility of organs, digestive and reproductive processes etc.

Creating an embodied awareness on this symbiotic relationship of the intrinsic rhythm of our breath pulsating through the different diaphragms will not only create optimal alignment and ease in the way we move, sit, stand, walk, but also help regulate our nervous system, return us back to health, and cultivate a sense of grounding and safety.
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In the next video, we would like to invite you to explore a short practice to sense the resonance between the 2 diaphragms to come into the “state” of a neutral pelvis.

This post was previously posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on June 19th 2020

The post Ribcage & Pelvis Resonance appeared first on Somatic Therapy Asia.

We can’t look at the mind without also looking at the body as an integral piece. Most of our interactions outside of our immediate bubble are now screen-based and one-dimensional, our escape from reality is more screen time on social media, over Zoom drinks and Netflix binge. Our bodies relegated to being moving parts so as to carry our brain around. Some might even argue the body is the vulnerable conduit for transmission if we were to come too close to another.

The article I’ve appended is a valuable long read from the perspective of a psychologist in the UK. She examines the individual body, the corporate body, and the state body. If you’re interested in bodies as an inseparable part of our mind’s deepest reaches, perhaps you might dwell in her words and draw your own parallels.

Read here: 

This post was originally posted on Yogawithdaphne.com on May 12th 2020

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