Introducing Surfside Somatics

Over the past 27 years, I've been serving the Nantucket community using manual physical therapy methods such as muscle energy techniques, craniosacral, and joint mobilizations. My practice took an unexpected and serendipitous turn with the onset of the pandemic in 2020. I suddenly had more time to explore and study something new and unfamiliar that had caused me to question much of what I had presumed to be true.

My first introduction to Somatics was through a friend and patient suffering from unretractable low back pain. She tried manual PT, injections, and classic lower back exercises without results. She had slowly been giving up all the activities that had previously brought her joy, such as running and surfing and reluctantly scheduled a spinal fusion as a last resort. Fast forward five months, and you can imagine my surprise when she ran past me on the bike path.

The previous month, she had met a Somatics instructor at a yoga festival that introduced her to Essential Somatics, a body of work developed by Thomas Hanna. The series of exercises focuses on connecting the nervous system and brain to the muscles and joints. This connection can be altered through injuries, surgeries, and trauma. As a result, the body gets stuck in certain reflex patterns that stretching, mobilization and any passive modalities can't change. I've spent the past two years taking a deep dive into Somatics and have since become a certified Essential Somatics instructor. In addition, I will be completing my Clinical Somatics certification training in 2.5 years. The techniques have been so successful with my patients that I've wound down mv manual practice and teach group and individual Somatic sessions I look forward to helping you start your new journey into a more active, pain-free world.