As a Somatic Educator, Practitioner, and former therapist, I use the term Somaticist (not to be confused with Somatist) to best describe those who work in the field of Somatic Awareness. I often use the term NeuroSomaticist, having now come full circle to the behavioral and cognitive interests that first lured me. Please know, however, that everything still begins with the sensing of movement, position, and feeling or emotion. Today, as a Breathing Instructor, and Feldenkrais Practitioner, I often encounter those who treat Somatics and Breathing separately. It's my belief that every aspect of breathing is somatic in nature, and every aspect of Somatics involves the breath in some way or other...they are inseparable.

My undergraduate degree is in Psychology, and my early career was in Media, first as a National Financial Rep in media itself, followed by Research Specialist & Media Analyst on the client side, and lastly as Media Director on agency side. The focus was always on psychographic data rather than demographic. Challenge and relocation dominated the next decade. The entry into the Personal Care sector seemed to happen on it's own, but the specific form was owing to my involvement with Chinese martial art, a project in Non-verbal Learning Theory, and a book on macrobiotics someone had left behind. I settled on combining Tsubo and Namikoshi Shiatsu with stretches and guided movement, to create an apporoach to somatic therapy. Truthfully, most clients had no interest at all in the somatic content; they just wanted me to fix their back pain, or just be worked on while they slept. But the few who came onboard made if all worthwhile.

In early 2007, a bike accident changed everything! A painful limp ended all my physical activities, even walking. Utilizing all I knew at that point I soon found jogging less painful than walking (Somatics explains easily). So in August of 2008 I began running daily (something I hadn't done for 40 years). When I said to someone..."I'd like to run Boston someday", they laughed at me! Boston Marathon is limited to time-qualifiers only, and often remains on one's "bucket list". Having once been a decent runner, that burned in me...so that very night I registered for a December marathon that could qualify me for Boston. (*Note...this becomes an inspiring part of a now-famous performing artist's story I hope to chronicle..soon to appear in one of the links). Fast forward...I made it to Boston, and returned 5 more times, winning the silver medal for my division in 2012. The last two times were just to pace those I coached. Sadly, I never again saw that person who had laughed at me.

Life has a way of happening and we find there's less time for everything, so in 2015 I switched to shorter races and track events. On a hot July day that year...and for the second time in my life, I won a National Championship title, at the masters U.S, Outdoor National's (10,000 meters)...50 years after winning the "Pop Warner National Champions" football title at age 12, along with visiting Walt Disney in his office while he ate his sandwich, and getting kissed by Annette Funicello), You might say a charmed childhood had now come full circle! It was a present for my father on his 100th birthday, and couldn't have been more timely, as he passed away 3 months later. Upon returning from nationals, I happened upon an online post from a woman in Berlin who was critiquing top finishers in major marathons. The observations and comment were virtually identical to my own. It happened twice more, so I reached out to connect, and realized I had seen this particular Somatics method (Feldenkrais) profiled in a news article 15 years earlier but had brushed it off as pseudo science. If I had read further I would have seen how close it was to what I was already doing, and how genius the creator was...he had literally been a pioneer in Neuroplasticity (also known as Neural Plasticity), as much so as Paul Bach-y-Rita had been, just differing in approach. So a shout out to Jae Gruenke for giving me a reason to look again.

In 2017 I returned to the Outdoor Nationals with the lofty goal of winning 3 senior division titles. I was elated to win at 5ooo meters, and even more so at 10,000 (6 miles) 2 days later. But the 1500 (1 mi) early next morning was not to be. I gratefully accepted the Bronze for 3rd and rushed to the airport just in time to make th last boarding call. Back home, I raced one last time, and then embarked on a complete overhaul of my practice. I was fully committed to somatic learning at this point, having seen what it did for me, and what it was doing for some of my clients, even as only a small part of their regular session...they were curious about it. The athletic accolades felt great, but so does hearing someone express their gratitude for helping them, seeing them improve in ways they hadn't before. In 2018 I chose to enter the Feldenkrais Professional Training, a 4-year certification program that became 6yrs with the COVID pandemic! During the shutdown I elected to complete an Advanced Breathing Instructor certification...which created some interesting exchanges within each program. The past 10 years have been quite spontaneous and unforeseen, but I've embraced the challenges as opportunities, and still doing so to this day. The physical and physiological benefits are obvious. but it's the profound links to recent Neuroscience discoveries that fascinate me the most. The path that leads to Somatic Awareness and enhanced Functional Breathing does not end there...make of that what you will!

I hope this brief history and personalized profile has been informative, and will perhaps inspire you to search and explore the world of Somatic Awareness...if not here, then elsewhere. Thank you for visiting.

About me

Stephen Williams

B.A. M.A. GCFP LMT

Honolulu, HI USA