Hans Selye (1907-1982) was a medical researcher in the fields of rheumatism (known today as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia syndrome: joint swelling, stiffness & chronic pain affecting soft tissues and muscles accompanied by a general sense of fatigue); heart disease and psychiatry. He opened up a more open-minded, holistic and integrated approach and changed our collective understanding of stress and stress responses.

Selye highlighted that problems caused by long term activation of the 'flight-or-fight' response was not limited to soldiers but included all of humanity. He described how we can resist and adapt to the first 'alarm' or shock reaction, when the sympathetic nervous system is activated; but when constantly activated and depending on behaviour and personality, the sum of the stress responses throughout the functioning systems brings exhaustion.

In particular Selye defined two varying levels of stress: Eustress, a positive "good" stress giving us increased performance; and Distress, a negative stress, inability to adapt to and resist internal strain decreasing our performance bringing a lack of purpose, personal growth and boredom.

Thomas Hanna (1928-1990) influenced by Hans Selye, designed three 'protocols' of facilitated pandiculation, which all certified Hanna Somatic Educators are trained in.

Thomas Hanna's phrase "Sensory Motor Amnesia" expresses his observation of what arises in the human being when one or more than one of these reflexes develop and become prominent in the individual. Sensory Motor Amnesia is a chronic partial contraction of muscles and muscle groups that become painful, weak and sore generating constant energy drain, postural distortion, poor weight distribution and secondary pain. It refers literally to muscles being unconsciously held in continual contraction in sustained stressful conditions when we experience constant demand and the feeling of over effort (Green Light); fear, apprehension and anxiety (Red Light); or trauma, and our autonomic nervous systems and brain stem automatic reflex actions take over.

We eventually become 'amnesic' to what is happening around and within us. The effect our lifestyle is having on all our functioning systems is that our muscles are being held in specific patterns of neuromuscular contraction. However the symptoms manifest within us, they may at first seem unrelated. They are however intimately connected and this is what you will find out through your practice Hanna Somatically. The sum of your responses are initially out of your control, they are automatic and unconscious reactions that have been learned over time and they can be un-learned.

The three protocols of facilitated pandiculation provide the voluntary motor cortex with new sensory information which the brain uses to re-organise your movement patterns and create new possibilities for you in movement and in life.

Pandiculation actively engages the client by inviting them to voluntarily go into a particular movement very slowly contracting a muscle or muscle group against gravity. Most importantly they make a slow release of that contraction to rest. Pandiculation is both initiated and adapted by the person doing the pandiculation. This provides new sensory feedback to the voluntary motor cortex which gets 'excited' and creates new possibilities of movement.

The voluntary motor cortex is the only part of the motor system that can inhibit the firing rate of the alpha motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it synapses with thereby inhibiting hypertonic muscles. Thus the client is learning the refinement of a movement which is synonymous with the process of differentiation in the brain. Brain cells (neurons) reorganise and reform and new connections between brain cells (synapses) are made creating new neuronal pathways and the development of new functions.

Facilitated Pandiculation refers to the practitioner getting used to the timing of responses for a particular client when they voluntarily go into a contraction using the practitionern's hand to make the movement against rather than gravity. It takes very fine sensitivity of the practitioner to feel the very subtle and tiny movements as they wait for the client to respond and provide very gentle resistance. This helps the client to feel the movement however it does not need the client to "feel' the differences for the change to take place.

Thomas Hanna's phrase "Sensory Motor Amnesia" expresses his observation of what arises in the human being when one or more than one of these reflexes develop and become prominent in the individual. Sensory Motor Amnesia is a chronic partial contraction of muscles and muscle groups that become painful, weak and sore generating constant energy drain, postural distortion, poor weight distribution and secondary pain. It refers literally to muscles being unconsciously held in continual contraction in sustained stressful conditions when we experience constant demand and the feeling of over effort (Green Light); fear, apprehension and anxiety (Red Light); or trauma, and our autonomic nervous systems and brain stem automatic reflex actions take over.

We eventually become 'amnesic' to what is happening around and within us. The effect our lifestyle is having on all our functioning systems is that our muscles are being held in specific patterns of neuromuscular contraction. However the symptoms manifest within us, they may at first seem unrelated. They are however intimately connected and this is what you will find out through your practice Hanna Somatically. The sum of your responses are initially out of your control, they are automatic and unconscious reactions that have been learned over time and they can be un-learned.

The three protocols of facilitated pandiculation provide the voluntary motor cortex with new sensory information which the brain uses to re-organise your movement patterns and create new possibilities for you in movement and in life.