Mind Body Movement

Having had lower back problems for over 20 years I thought it was something I just had to live with and except that if I wanted to go on a mountain bike holiday or decorate a room I would have to be in pain for a couple of weeks and walk around with a heat pad stuck to my back to keep me moving. But 18 months ago my husband kindly bought me 6 one to one sessions with Cheryl and I can honestly say the movements that I learned in those six weeks have changed my life, it may sound cheesy but it has, I use them on a daily basis and I haven't used a heat pad since. I've just recently finished 4 one to one sessions for my shoulders and neck so I have all the tools to keep me moving from head to toe and allowing me to keep on doing the things I love to do

After spending years (and more money than I dare to think about on various therapies/treatments) trying to resolve constant back pain and various ongoing niggles that were preventing me from running and really getting me down, I discovered Cheryl and Somatics!

Even after one one-to-one movement session, I noticed a huge improvement in my pain. Considering that I felt like an old woman before seeing Cheryl, this is a miracle in itself! By doing the movements Cheryl has shown me each day, I now feel like I have a new back and am able to exercise and move freely.

Cheryl and somatics have changed my life in 6 weeks (6 one to one). I had a muscle spasm of my entire back and neck that last 2 years. I suffered from constant pain, I could not sleep well, I was always tired and I felt heavy and old. I was trapped in my own muscles that each day were more painful and stiff. Somatics is not a miracle but is science. It is to recall our brain what means having relaxed muscles. Simple exercises made daily have almost made me back to being the person I use to be. Now I can rotate my neck, get up the floor, move my hips and sleep!.
Thank you very much Cheryl for your great help and the love and the passion with which you do your job.

I have had the pleasure of working with Cheryl for the last few months. I was completely ignorant of somatics when I joined her yoga class, but I really enjoyed some of the elements that she brought into the class, seemly simple, but actually as I realised the more I practised, they require a very different mind-set. I was used to pushing my body to its limit in yoga, and with somatics it was about listening to your body, focussing on muscles that we don’t normally pay any attention, and specifically not forcing a stretch and certainly not causing any pain. But as ever the little voice inside says, but how can this really help?

What I discovered from working with Cheryl in her workshops and through one to one sessions was that these apparently innocuous movements can make a huge difference. The first thing I noticed was that when I was lying on the floor the arch in back was smaller. The lovely luxurious movement of arch and flatten and then arch and curl was helping to ease years of having a ‘dodgy lower back’. Lying on my back on the floor was easier and so much more comfortable.
My somatics conversion was cemented when I was moving a piece of furniture and I twisted awkwardly and immediately felt a pain in my back as the muscles went into spasm. At first I was unable to move, but when I could I immediately laid down on the floor, and to start with did some gentle pulling rope, then as I was able to do more, I did the washrag and gradually moved to arch and flatten and back lifts. I didn’t need any pain killers and by the next morning, I was able to move around normally without pain.

I have used somatics on several occasions since then, when I have tweaked my back or been pulled or twisted unexpectedly by my excitable dog, and each time I’ve been amazed at the difference it makes. The side bend has really helped with the twists.

As if I needed any further proof, in one of my later sessions with Cheryl we did a lot of work on my shoulders. Cheryl always takes before and after photographs and the change in my posture after the session was almost unbelievable. My overall posture was more aligned, with my head more balanced over my body, my shoulders were no longer tipped forward and generally everything looked more square and equalised. It was another revelation about the power of these amazing movements.

An important aspect of somatics is that you can do these movements yourself at home. So Cheryl sends you support materials for the movements so you can practise at home. She is also very understanding of how life gets in the way of our very good intentions, so we’ve talked about how to maximise the time I have available to do somatics, including doing some of the movements in bed before I get up. An amazing way to start the morning!

Finally, working with Cheryl is an absolute pleasure, her knowledge and passion for somatics and how mind and body are inextricably linked is completely obvious and very infectious. Her absolute intention is to empower the individual to be able to make these changes themselves at home. In getting to that point, this has been a fun and enlightening journey that I hope to continue. With deep gratitude to Cheryl for introducing me to somatics.

I love Cheryl's workshops because this is ME time which is also beneficial in the future. I got a whole morning of intelligent gentle exercise with clear explanation and direction and which involves relaxation of the muscles at every step. I felt the difference in my body by the end of the class and I have the exercises to use at home.