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As Obama addressed the nation about his new healthcare plan in September, he emphasized the reduction of waste in the medical field as a way to save money on a large scale. In reading about somatic practices that stem from Eastern ideas of medicine, I find myself wishing that the government recognized their enormous potential for healing and their potential as preventative methods against disease.

So what are somatic practices, exactly?

Somatic practices aim to increase a person’s ability to function by increasing his or her sense of kinesthetic awareness. Such techniques integrate the body and mind, improving natural control of the body’s muscular system, upping energy and reducing stress. The continued application of somatic practices has been shown to eliminate chronic pain and to improve physical performance in a wide variety of cases.

In the Champaign-Urbana area a multitude of somatic practices are available but are underutilized due to lack of publicity. Many people are familiar with Pilates, a more physically active holistic practice, but the Alexander Technique, Zero Balancing and Neuromuscular Precision Therapy are just a few of the somatic alternatives that C-U has to offer.

The Alexander Technique emphasizes the use of the head in movement initiation, a process that allows the rest of the spine to organize and to flow into proper alignment. An Alexander practitioner works with his or her client in a series of chair and table turns; chair turns are more active and analyze functional movement such as sitting down and standing up, while table turns render the client more passive. Table turns allow the bones and muscles to release into the table, thereby allowing the natural weight of gravity to take effect and improve alignment. C-U is home to Alexander and Joan Murray, two of the U.S.’s the leading practitioners of the Alexander Technique. The two run a training program and their students are always looking for bodies to work with.

Zero-Balancing is a form of somatic therapy that aims to align one’s energy body with his or her physical body. This rebalancing is done through a series of hands-on manipulations; the practitioner focuses on “fulcrums,” or places of stillness, near fiberous joints in the body. I speak from personal experience in saying that Zero-Balancing is both relaxing and revitalizing and that I was surprised at the drastically improved freedom of breath that I experienced immediately post-session. ZB practitioner Jennifer Allen told me that most people hold tension in the front of their ribs, an area about which many have little awareness. Allen offers an affordable rate for students at only $40/hour.

Neuromuscular Precision Therapy is offered by BodyWork Associates, a business that has locations both at the ARC and at the Illini Union on campus. CMNTs (Nationally Certified Therapist of Massage and Bodywork) are trained to look for the origins of aches and pains rather than to simply treat individual symptoms. Oftentimes, physical discomfort can be traced to trigger points that exist elsewhere in the body. Without eliminating these trigger points, tiny hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle, chronic pain will never truly disappear. The practitioners at BodyWork Associates engage their clients in a form of active massage (v. the passage massage offered at most spas) that acts more as a form of physical therapy than as a relaxation technique. To view a tutorial about trigger points, visit the site listed below.

The next time you experience pain, I urge you to consider all of your options before you visit your family doctor; a fresh perspective on medical treatment might save you a lot of grief in the long run.

Jennifer Allen, LMT., certified Zero Balancer

1110 W. Daniel St.

Champaign, IL 61821

217.721.6813

Trigger points