Welcome to Cognizant Soma, where you'll find tutorials and guidance to help reach your goal of improved health, mobility, and overall physical and mental well-being. Together, we'll do so through the process of neuro-somatic learning. Sound as if we're over-reaching a bit? I assure you, we're not. There are many such accounts, but this site is about "doing", "acquiring", and "becoming". If you'd like stories to inspire you, just click on the "Stedawi" site (in LInks) for exactly that. Here, we will focus on exploring and discovering ourselves in a safe and and friendly environment, at your own pace, on your own time, and in your own surroundings.

If you're new to somatics , don't worry; it's well known that learning in smaller bits with frequent pauses speeds the process and enhances the quality. Thus, content will be presented in that manner, along with all the information needed to help you. If you're already an advanced learner, or perhaps a practitioner yourself. I welcome and encourage you to revisit where you may have started years ago. In addition to exploring something again with a new perspective, it reminds us that there's no limit to the level of refinement possible within each exploration.

So glad you came!

The Beauty of Somatic Awareness

No learning format can adequately proceed without some degree of perspective. Today's wired-in world is a constant stream...a myriad of choices and promises offered daily, but few seem to have any real substance or value. Together, we can do better. The array of potential benefits, unique to each person, is within reach, but only for those who go beyond that "start-up phase" where so many pause, and begin looking for the "next thing" to try. Why? Well, because it didn't offer instant results. Any successful student, athlete, performing artist, or business owner has embraced delayed gratification along the way. Real value is seldom found without some form of investment. In this instance, that investment is your time and attention!

Somatic learning is organic in it's nature, meaning it is learned from within rather than inputting someone else's knowledge via text, voice, or video. It is knowledge or understanding that stays with you and is always available, like learning to swim or ride a bike. It begins with bits and pieces of awareness, which accumulate to create understanding, thus inviting greater awareness, which creates more understanding, which invites more awareness...you get the picture. Suddenly, you're on your way, to a place you've never been! So let's condense this a bit more, in terms of describing the process. Online searches tend to define Somatic Learning as an internal perception or awareness of movement, posture, etc. While partially true, that description tends to place the cart before the horse, because awareness and understanding are more the end result. First comes observation (the "what" and "how" may involve interpreting suggestions or instructions) Next comes exploration with sensing that fully engages your focus and attention. Note that Perceptions are often called upon, but also know that perceptions can sometimes be way off the mark! So let me repeat...it is the "focused attention" that is the driving force...the movements, positions, etc are just the facets or components being sensed or observed...the focal point of your attention.

This particular description is largely describing Feldenkrais Method, but all somatic learning techniques center around similar concepts, despite individual differences. Notice I used "choices or options" for replacing a "habit". A habit is always comforting to fall back on, but we want it to be the "best one" for that moment or occasion. This process is, in my opinion, the simplest and most natural gateway to Neuro-Plasticity available to us! All the possibilities are lying there in wait, and the only reason you can't imagine them being real is because you don't yet have the tools to open those doors. Regardless, the process can only result in a healthier, happier, upgraded version of yourself. As I mentioned earlier...awareness begets awareness, like a snowball rolling downhill, thus creating greater understanding all the while, and that is the beauty of somatic awareness!

What's in a Name?

Well, I think "Cognizant" speaks for itself, but you can decide between "conscious", "fully informed", "aware"...and so forth. "Soma", however, is a different matter, because it has various meanings across different cultures and fields of study. For our purposes, we'll use the original concept of "whole body", "living body", or "whole person. And to be clear, we will include the "mind", meaning the functioning brain complete with emotions. Please note: I will frequently use the term"Somaticist" in referring to a somatic practitioner or educator, not to be confused with "Somatist" or "Somatism"...something quite different, being materialism and corporeal body only, without mind. On that note, I will also use the term "NeuroSomaticist" at times, owing to much interest in the effects on behavior pattens and cognitive-function. Regardless, everything still begins with exploring and sensing the physical (often skeletal), physiological, and emotional elements. It all comes down to your own discovery process.

Introduction

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