Nicki Marshall is a Certified Essential Somatics Movement Teacher based in a small rural village in Lincolnshire, UK.
She has always had a keen interest in health, wellbeing and fitness, participating in many sports. Unfortunately chronic shoulder pain impacted her everyday life and prevented her from taking part in the sports she loved. Traditional treatments failed to provide any significant pain relief.
Originally a Commercial Solicitor, Nicki reassessed her work life balance and set up as an equine behaviour coach in 2020, The Horse Coach.
Whilst attending a horse behaviour course in 2016 she was introduced to Feldenkrais’ work this led her to Somatics.
Why Somatics?
After attending her first Somatics class which relieved the pain like a switch finally being turned off, she was inspired to learn more and began her own regular Somatics practice to overcome her shoulder pain.
Nicki feels driven to share this work to prevent others from wasting time and money and suffering unnecessarily the way she did.
This inspired her to embark on the Essential Somatics Movement Teacher training a 200 hour certification programme, which she completed in October 2022.
Nicki is passionate about helping her clients to learn how to unlock their habituated movements patterns, to release muscle tension and find the freedom to enjoy movement again.
What is Somatics?
Somatics is a neuromuscular movement practice which re-educates your central nervous system. The brain controls the muscles and therefore in order to release the tension in the muscles you need to engage your brain.
The simple movements bring greater awareness of how your body is moving and specifically targets tight muscles.
Tension in muscles builds through stress and the development of unhelpful movement patterns and becomes a habit. Gradually overtime (typically in our 30’s and 40’s but earlier if we have experienced injuries or accidents) the tension can become chronic, which leads to pain, reduced movement, poor posture and compensatory movement patterns.
Somatics uses a technique called “Pandiculation” to allow you to tune in and become aware of the tension you are holding in the muscles and then to release fully from that tension that has become unconsciously habituated. It resets muscle length and restores movement.
As we age we develop aches and pains and sadly this is becoming normalised. But just because it is normal does NOT mean it is inevitable.
When this happens we seek help from professionals but it is rare that these professionals see and treat us as a whole system. The mind and body connection is being talked about more and more, but this still infers that they are separate but this is not true and something Thomas Hanna understood.
Somatic Education sees you as whole system as experienced from within we call this a “Soma”.
Somatics is different. Somatics is the missing link you have been searching for. I know this because I was searching just like you.
Somatics is not only about looking after your physical aches and pains and improving your posture, co-ordination and more, it’s about looking after your emotional health and nervous system too.
Somatics has a calming effect on our nervous system encouraging our nervous system to return to a state of “Parasympathetic” of rest and digest and this can lead to a calmer frame of mind, less inflammation in the body generally, better digestion, better sleep, reduced feelings of stress and anxiety.
Every thought and every experience we have creates a predictable physiological response within us whether we are aware of it or not.
If the thought is negative this can quickly send us into a Sympathetic (flight, fight, freeze or collapse state) emotionally and our body responds in the same way. The movement patterns and the way in which the body responds are predictable. In Somatics we work with those movement patterns primarily 3 stress reflexes, Red Light Reflex, Green Light Reflex, Trauma Reflex (and also bracing referred to as The Dark Vice, where the front and back of the body are both contracted).
Red Light Reflex
Our body reacts to fear and grief, in order to protect us (and by sitting at a desk or on our phones) by contracting the muscles through the front of the body and pulling us into a Red Light Reflex. This can result in neck and shoulder pain, knee pain, shallow breathing, digestive issues and other complaints.
In terms of your nervous system this has triggered us into a ‘Sympathetic’ state of freeze or collapse requiring you to conserve your energy.
Emotionally you may have feelings of anxiety, depression or low mood, insecurity, fear or may be dealing with grief.
Green Light Reflex
Our modern day busy lives and stress that causes us to feel like we have to be on the ‘go’ contracts the muscles through the back of the body and creates a Green Light Reflex response. When this reflex becomes habituated we struggle to switch off those back muscles which often leads to back pain, herniated discs, tension headaches, shoulder and neck pain and other common complaints.
In terms of your nervous system it triggers us into our “Sympathetic” state of fight or flight. Emotionally this can feel like you are always busy, you struggle to mentally switch off from work, jobs, worries and this can affect sleep and other areas of your home and work life.
The Trauma Reflex
The Trauma Reflex can be triggered by accidents or injuries but also sports (such as racket sports, golf etc.) any movement that we regularly repeat to one-side of our bodies.
This reflex tightens one side of our body as a way to avoid a movement occurring or protect the other side. If this becomes repeated it can form a habit which is then difficult to release from. If you have ever injured your foot, ankle, knee, hip, it is likely that you adopted a limp for a while whilst recovering. Unfortunately it is also likely that some form of this adapted way of moving has remained with you, which later on causes pain in other areas of your body (which appears to be all of a sudden). In reality it is the years of habituated adaptive movement patterns that has resulted in the pain or early wearing out of joints. This can show up as pain in your shoulder, neck, knee pain, SI joint issues, sciatica, scoliosis, plantar fasciitis, apparent leg length discrepancies and other mobility issues and imbalances.
How does pain and restricted movement develop?
Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA) coined by Hanna occurs when muscles and movements have become chronically tight, restricted and painful. The part of the brain that controls movement and muscles, the Sensory Motor Cortex has lost either full or partial control over them, it’s like having a blind spot in your movement because it has developed as a habit. You may experience this as pain or restricted movements, you may have been told that you have a weakness and need to strengthen.
Some ways in which SMA can show up;
Hip Pain
Back Pain
Sciatica
Rotator Cuff
Frozen Shoulder
TMJ issues
Knee Pain
Shoulder and neck pain
Scoliosis
Plantar fasciitis
I will guide you to move slowly through the Somatics movements to allow you to focus on the internal sensations of movement.
By moving slowly it will allow your brain the opportunity to notice, to sense and to feel the internal movements of your own body.
Somatic exercises can be carried out effectively with very little effort and with small movements. I will guide you not to force any movement.
Somatic movements follow natural musculoskeletal movement patterns and therefore they should not cause any pain.
Somatic exercises change your muscles by changing your central nervous system. The movement patterns that are not serving you by causing pain or restricted movements which have become so familiar to you, you are now not even aware of them can be changed by Somatic exercises. Once your muscular system has been changed your brain will learn the new movement pattern/s and they will become as unconscious as your existing ones. However these will support you to move in a way that will benefit you, provide greater space in your joints, less compression and therefore less ‘wear and tear’ on your joints.
“One of the most striking features of Sensory Motor Amnesia (SMA) is that we are unconscious of muscle contraction while it is going on. It is a startling to discover that we are actively doing something without knowing it” – Thomas Hanna.
Brief History of Somatics
Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869- 1955) developed The Alexander Technique after an episode of losing his voice during reciting scripts for acting and noticing that his head and neck position changed, which in turn changed the function of his vocal organs. He developed his method through observing himself with mirrors and learning more through self awareness as he solved his own issue.
Elsa Gindler (1885- 1961) was a German physical education teacher who contracted tuberculosis and she became aware of her own breathing and carried out exercises to help. She was able to allow her affected lung to heal through the exercises and her greater awareness of her breathing apparatus.
Mosche Feldenkrais 1904-1984 was a scientist and enjoyed martial arts. He became interested in human movements when he injured his knee and was given a poor prognosis from surgeons.
Thomas Hanna, (1928-1990) who founded the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training in 1975 with Eleanor Criswell Hanna and Hanna Somatic Education, was a student of Mosche Feldenkrais and a philosophy professor.
He studied the work of Hans Selye
Hanna believes that many mobility issues presumed to be associated with old age is a myth.
Martha trained with the Novato Institute with Thomas Hanna and developed Essential Somatics from this.
Nicki is a Certified Essential Somatics Movement Teacher (ESMT) and founded The Somatics Coach having completed a 200 hour certification programme with Essential Somatics, founded by Martha Peterson.
“….if we are intelligently aware of our bodies and if we use positive countermeasures such as Somatic Exercises to improve our bodily self regulation, the presumed ‘inevitable effects of ageing’ will by and large, not occur”- Thomas Hanna
CAN IT HELP ME?
It will help you learn about your own body and movement patterns, guide you to recognise your muscle tension and you will gain experience of using the “pandiculation” technique so you can learn how to release this tension for yourself and to regain control of your muscles even when you’re not in class.
Somatics is a gentle movement practice that is suitable for all ages, you do not need to be flexible or fit to take part. By improving the connection between your brain and your muscles you can regain motor control of muscles and movement. Somatics can help chronic back pain, sciatica, hip pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, scoliosis, plantar fasciitis and more…..
WHAT DO I NEED?
An exercise mat, comfortable warm clothing (layers or a blanket).
HOW CAN I TRY SOMATICS?
Nicki teaches group classes and individual sessions which can be provided online and in person. She also holds 2 hour Workshops and Retreat Days around the county of Lincolnshire.
Contact her via:
Email: hello@thesomaticscoach.co.uk
Facebook and Instagram: @thesomaticscoach