Hanna Somatics - Testimonials

Hi John!   Thank you for your patience and skill throughout my Somatics sessions. I am so happy that the exercises really do what they say - retrain the brain! My muscles must be so happy not to be contracted all the time! And I feel so much better! Feel free to use the following testimony: 

 I started the Somatics sessions as a last resort trying to find out why I always hurt!  My muscles felt  so tight all the time! Now, I know they were in a state of constant contraction. But I really didn't understand why: perhaps an auto accident years before, or improper body mechanics? I was at the Chiropractor's every week. He offered relief after an adjustment but it never lasted. A massage therapist had told me about Somatics - how it retrained the brain - some 10 yerars ago. I bought the book and read most of it but didn't think it would help - too simple, I thought!

 However, last fall I was at a dead end! Nothing helped! I picked up the Somatics book again and found John Loupos' Somatics Sessions on the Web. It took 3 months of doing my series of exercises 2x per day to get my muscles to relax. I love doing them because my muscles feel so relaxed. I feel calm as I go through the series.   I think a good adjective to describe them is "Delicious"!!  Dianne J.

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John,

I wanted to thank you again. Your ‘Myth of Aging’ Somatics seminar was
amazing. It was obvious that you are a highly skilled and patient
teacher. I recently had back surgery and have already found this
material to be tremendously helpful. In fact, my wife plans to
participate the next time you offer a seminar in this region. Also, can
you let me know when your new book on Somatics is published, as I am
eager to purchase a copy.

Sincerely,
Michael Wald

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Dear Sifu John,

I thought that I should send you a report on my knee. I have been
practicing the Hanna Somatics exercises you assigned me for my knee
which had been chronically sore. They are helping tremendously. Before
the Hanna Somatics exercise patterns I found it difficult to do jumping
kicks in class because the landing was always tenative. Also the snap
seemed to bother my knee a bit. Last night was the first night that I
have felt no tenderness, tentativeness, or pain doing kicks that I
hadn't felt comfortable with for the last 2 years.

Thank you, Joel Bielstein

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Hello John: 6/20/06

Gary and I enjoyed meeting you at the festival recently in E. Stroudsburg.  Immediately after the workshop and continuing since that time my shoulder has felt so much better and my range of motion has increased.  The results were unexpected because I have a massive tear in my rotator cuff that will need surgery at some point.  Physical therapy and regular visits to the gym help but I have not had the same results I experienced since your workshop. I would like to know if you have a write up of the exercises that you taught us that you would be willing to share with me. We did buy the Somatics book by Thomas Hanna from you.  Is there a part in the book that shows what you taught in the workshop?

Have a good summer.
Jan D.

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Hi John,

I'm sitting here at my desk, turning my head from side to side with no pain. I am now six days out from our session. I am absolutely thrilled with the results!

I also wanted to thank you for relieving the tension in my neck/shoulders that caused my neck to be 3 inches closer to one shoulder than the other. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it for myself in front of the mirror. And, after the session, to see that I was once again centered was such a relief! It's amazing how my body had become so "deformed" and I wasn't even aware of it! I just remeasured my neck/shoulders and it is still centered. 

Last evening, I got on my mountain bike for the first time in several months (it's been a long, wet winter here in California). I experienced a stamina and strength in my riding that normally takes several long, arduous rides to attain. I was also able to keep up with my husband (except for the last 15 minutes of our ~1 hr ride), who had a head start on me having been on several rides while I was out of town. I attribute my stamina to the session we had, as my body felt very comfortable when I first sat on my bike. There was no feeling of tension/tightness anywhere, which I often experience in my legs/back/shoulders when first getting on my bike. And, this morning I feel no muscle tightness in my legs--they're relaxed! It's truly amazing! I wish all athletes could experience this!

Thanks again for your help and guidance,

Kathy K, Marketing Specialist

Hi John,                                                                                                                                

My name is Matt R and I live in the DC area.  I am very interested in Hanna Somatics, and I’ve also been a taiji practitioner for several years in DC.  I have practiced Somatics on my own for over a year and have found it almost shockingly helpful in releasing muscle tension.  I talked to Steve Aronstein because I was going to try to start studying this year, but it turned out to be the wrong time for me.  Anyway, I’m seriously considering starting my training in 2007, and I wanted to see if you had any advice or could relate any experiences as a Somatics practitioner.  I’m also trying to gather information about how much practitioners are charging, and whether they are teaching individual or group sessions, or both.  Thank you very much for your time, and any response would be much appreciated!!

Sincerely,
Matt R

John,

Wow, thank you for the response!! 
I’ve contacted several Hanna practitioners and all of them said the same thing- that pursuing Hanna Somatics is not something I would regret.  It sounds like you’ve experienced what I’ve imagined- that when people feel the same things I feel from somatics, they will realize how important it is.  There are so many forms of ‘alternative’ healthcare, that I’ve feared people would a) have never heard of it and b) even if they had heard of it, opt for chiropractic, massage, etc.   I too received a good deal of massage and even attended a semester of massage therapy school last fall.  Family priorities and a nagging feeling that massage would not even come close to the sort of change I knew possible with somatics, caused me to leave the program.   

Your points for martial artists really helps me!  Although I certainly never imagined giving up taiji, I did feel like I had stiffness, especially in my lower back, pelvis, and legs, that would take many, many years to relax.  When I tried Somatics on my own a year ago, I realized that my lower back literally changed, almost immediately.  It was shocking, and revelatory. My wife thought I was crazy.  I had tried many kinds of bodywork, and nothing had changed my body as much as my own session of about ten minutes. 

Anyway, I’d love to contact you in the future. Thanks, again!
Matt

PAUL J. T.
MARSHFIELD, MA

Dear Sifu John:

Since I haven't had an opportunity to contact you since the Somatic sessions, I thought it best to send you this letter.  My original intent was to give you a status or update of my progress, but it occurred to me you already know the outcome.  As such, I decided to direct this letter to another audience, namely prospective Somaticans.  By prospective Somaticans I am referring to people who may have read about Somatics, people who are considering attending one of your classes or a private session or people who are merely tentative about trying Somatics.  Perhaps my experience with Somatics will offer a level of reassure to other people contemplating Somatics. 

Let me begin with a brief background of my injury, which was the underlying reason for engaging in Somatics.  In the summer of 2005, I ruptured my left Achilles tendon.  I was placed in a non-walking and non-load bearing cast for about three months.  When the cast was removed I was given a rigid plastic boot which I was to wear for four to six weeks and told to begin physical therapy.  I started physical therapy the day after the boot was removed.  The therapist advised me that this part of the rehabilitation process had two objectives: strengthen my left leg and ankle and regain my balance.  After months in the cast, understandably, my entire left leg was weak, especially the calf and ankle, and I walked with a distinct limp.  What I hadn't planned on was my body being so far out of balance.  The actual physical therapy involved light non-impact exercises three times per week and was suppose to last until late January or early February.

From the moment the therapist told me part of the p/t program was to recapture my balance my mind thought - Sifu John Loupos.  Because I had taken Tai Chi classes from John in the past, my mind and body knew what it meant to be in balance.  After a month of p/t I contacted John.  John told me about Somatics and I attended a private session.  I subsequently read the Somatics book by Hanna and followed the exercise routine prescribed by John and included in the book.  I should point out I found the exercises in the book, which are depicted by stick figures, difficult to follow.  So, I decided to purchase a CD of the exercises which is much easier to follow.  A week or two after my Somatic session, I had a second session.  At the end of the second session I walked out of Jade Forest with virtually no limp.  For days later, people who I routinely come in contact with all said the same thing, “What happened to your limp?”  My quick recovery also created a dilemma for my physical therapist who recommended I discontinue p/t and reschedule my appointment with my orthopedic surgeon from late January to early January.  Simply put, I had cut six weeks off the traditional p/t program for ruptured Achilles patients.  I did reschedule my visit with the orthopedic surgeon and we met the first week of January.  Now for the fun part, a member of the Red Sox ruptured his Achilles almost two months to the day after I ruptured mine.  I told my orthopedic surgeon, who operates out of a top Boston hospital, I would recover faster than the Red Sox player.  There are two major problems with my arrogant pronouncement.  First, the professional ball player is about half my age.  And second, his only job was to recover and heal and he was receiving the best that money could buy treatment.  After examining the Achilles, my doctor asked me if I could stand on one leg, first the right (the uninjured leg) and then the left.  I thought a better demonstration of how well the Achilles had healed and how good my balance was would be to perform a few basic Tai Chi movements, which I did.  In addition to the orthopedic surgeon, an orthopedic intern was also in the room and both had the same speechless reaction.  After a moment of being frozen in position with their mouths open, the surgeon said he couldn't believe how I got my balance back in such a short period of time.

I firmly believe that no two people are exactly the same, physically or mentally.  Moreover, I do not recommend following the program I used to expedite my recovery.  In fact, I deliberately omitted an account of the exercise routine (physical therapy) I followed.  What I can confirm is that without Somatics and the expertise of John Loupos I would not have recovered faster than the younger professional baseball player and my recovery would have taken months longer.  If you have not taken the time to study Somatics and consulted with John, I would proffer you are selling yourself short.  To anyone who is a prospective Somatican, I impart the following question, to paraphrase an ancient Stoic, is it the anticipation of an event or an event itself that causes a person trepidation or anguish or is it the person's interpretation or opinion of the event?

Sincerely, Paul J. T