Marin Center for Somatic Education

04/24/2026

This movement is excellent for maintaining balanced hip joints. IF you can get into this position, resist gently with your arms as you press out gently and let the legs gradually give way to being farther apart. Then reverse arm position and place them outside the legs when the legs are at their widest comfortable position. While there, press out gently with your legs/knees as you resist gently with your arms. Release your pressure gradually with your arms to allow the legs to come back towards themselves. DO NOT try this if you have bone-on-bone, or worn down cartilage in your knees, and go very very slowly if you have arthritic hips, spurs, or shallow sockets.

09/15/2025

There's a lot to be said for inner movement. It is critical for all fluids to be able to freely circulate and many situations can restrict them - such as accidents, stress, illness, etc. Learn how to mobilize major fluids to facilitate deep peace, relaxation, and support overall health in yourself and your clients next month. Details and registration for "Cranial and Vascular Basics for Bodyworkers" can be found at www.shibuigardens.com

09/15/2025

Retiring is fantastic in so many ways, but there is a need - a real requirement - for you to keep moving! The same applies to those with a desk job.

Explore why sitting is called the new smoking, the health risks of sedentary lifestyles, and how to protect your well-being through active habits.

08/11/2025

What a remarkable invention! The video is of an actual patient sharing his story after a severe neck injury:

Breakthrough electronic spine restores movement in paralyzed patients using advanced spinal cord stimulation technology.

02/11/2025

FREEING THE MIDLINE CLASS this Spring!
For those hands-on practitioners who'd like to add some very effective osteopathic methods and principles to their current bag of resources to serve their clients, there is an upcoming class you may be interested in called, "Freeing the Midline." We'll work with precise means of relieving forces placed upon the spine and vasculature of the midline from muscles, fascia, and ribs. It's happening the first Saturday in April and May this year, hosted by Bodywise in San Rafael. To register, contact Bodywise at (415) 459-6333, or click on the Bodywise+ link on their website.

The Marin Center for Somatic Education has served the community since 1992 through talks, classes, and private sessions.This page is dedicated to sharing insights about how to regain or retain well-being using the languages of the body and Spirit.

02/10/2025

This may be the answer to why it becomes more difficult to get hydration into where we need it! From one point of view, liquids can change states in our systems and, with impacts or traumas, turn into gel, solids, and lead to sticky fascia and all types of stiffness. From the point of view in this article, gel is a phase of water that replicates what our cells are comprised of. https://primallypure.com/blogs/blog/gel-water

02/02/2025

Consider some gentle movements to open those major intersections at the joints while lengthening and awakening tissue fields to support the flow of blood and other fluids. (More details in "Volume 9 of Somatic Intelligence: Movement is Bliss"

02/01/2025

This winter, or anytime, when experiencing tension in your neck, shoulders, hips or back - or anywhere in your system - consider the midline and the importance of freeing the vasculature. It doesn't start and stop; it's interconnected so that a restriction near the neck could influence tightness in the legs, and vice versa. Long hours sitting or being on the computer, phone, etc. could easily affect blood flow in key areas. Break up static positions with a good global stretch, or uphill hike, or dance!

12/10/2024

My dear friend Siddhartha is having a free intro to his Somatics training on Wednesday the 18th of December at 5:30 pm PST. I've known him since the 1990s and I don't think he's ever stopped learning since then! After becoming an osteopath in Ireland, he entered the Hanna Somatics training, a Jim Jealous training, and a Feldenkrais training in Europe, along with some other disciplines. He's been teaching for many years and is offering an online special training as a compilation of his many insights over the years. To register for the free intro, go here: https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/sm25SH/a21185/

12/03/2024

Spirals are a part of life, in so many forms, including the body. Linda Harley says, "Muscles wrap around the bones in a continuous network of spiraling movement; the heart itself is a muscle which spirals in and around itself; the fluids of the body, too, flow in currents, waves, and gushes, reflecting all the myriad spiraling forms of nature's rivers, oceans, and waterfalls." Consider carefully adding some gentle static or free flowing spirals to your somatic practice. 😊