The Brain in Action—Growth, Development, and Healing Through Somatic Inquiry
Martha Eddy 4-20-2024
This experiential session will provide insights into how different somatic movement systems investigate neurodevelopmental processes. To begin we take a step back to learn how Somatic Movement Education and Therapy was established as a field in the 1990s, as discussed in the book Mindful Movement, the evolution of the somatic arts and conscious action. Beginning with Thomas Hanna's influence in naming the field we differentiate various somatic modalities. Next, we'll discuss how inquiry using a somatic approach has revealed experiences such as neuroplastic responses, trauma's impact on perception, and embryological patterns.
For the bulk of the time we will engage in somatic inquiry - the investigation of the body as perceived from within as it relates to our earliest movement experiences. This embodied movement exploratory process is central to the somatic change and healing processes, both conceptually and experientially.
To hone in on neuromotor development we will begin with the ways Body-Mind Centering and Bartenieff Fundamentals of Movement view somatic organization and growth in the first year of life and later in the lifespan. In the process, we’ll highlight various other somatic access routes to the study and embodiment of Neurodevelopment Movement. We can also verbally compare and contrast these varying somatic approaches, discussing the variations in language used by practitioners of these different approaches. This moving-speaking-inquiring continuum relates to the myriad ways of understanding our somas.
Martha Eddy is an international teacher/lecturer, activist, and Master Registered Somatic Movement Therapist with a doctorate in Movement Science. Martha began as a social entrepreneur before the term was created—she founded BodyMind Dancing in the 1980s, Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Training (combining principles and practices of Body-Mind Centering® and Laban Movement Analysis) in 1990, Moving On Center with Carol Swann in 1994, and Moving For Life—a type of Somatic Fitness for symptom management during cancer recovery and for chronic conditions, in 1999. Both Moving On Center and Moving For Life are incorporated non-profit organizations. One of her books Mindful Movement the Evolution of the Somatic Arts and Conscious Action (2016) addresses the history and applications of somatic education. Her latest book, written with Shakti Smith, is Dynamic Embodiment of the Sun Salutation - Pathways to Balancing the Chakras and NeuroEndocrine System. Martha has been a licensed Teacher of Body-Mind Centering since 1984 and was a faculty member of both the School for Body-Mind Centering and the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for a decade. She loves to improvise, and has been cited in the NY Times three times since 2019 for her performing, teaching and the coordinating of multiple site performances of GlobalWaterDances (GWD) throughout NYC. She has been on the Steering Committee of GWD since its founding in 2008. She is currently involved with numerous research studies and on several boards and advisory boards. She served as the President of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association as part of her service between 1994–2008. She loves mentoring students and staying in touch with graduates, and has taught at Columbia, NYU, Princeton, San Francisco State University, Sate University of New York/ESC, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and various independent colleges. She remains on the faculty of St Mary’s in the East Bay area because of their commitment to somatic inquiry at the undergraduate and graduate level. Her favorite leisure activities are traveling, singing, and playing with children. Play is also a passion in her work—specializing in Embodied Learning of Conflict Resolution and Peace Activism, and NeuroMotor Development in youth and adults in schools, health centers, parks and at recess through the Center for Kinesthetic Education (http://WellnessCKE.net and http://EmbodyPeace.org), which she established in 2002 to consult in the NYC public and independent schools. She lives with her family near Columbia University in Upper Manhattan.