Photo : Cécile Lopes

Body-Mind Centering® Somatic Movement Education Program 1st Cycle : Somatic Movement Education

View Schedule

500 hours of class spread over three years

This program explores the richness of the relationship between body, mind, movement and touch in the context of our dynamic Embodied Anatomy and Embodied Developmental Movement approach to Somatic Movement Education.

Students are introduced to the foundations and fundamentals of embodiment in working with themselves and others. This 500+ hour program requires three years of study.

Goals :

 

Course content

 

Senses and Perception 1/ Introduction to Body-Mind Centering®

Our senses begin as potential and develop in response to stimulation and experience. The senses of touch and movement are located throughout the body — in every cell. The senses of vision, hearing, taste and smell are located in the head. It is through our senses that we receive information from our internal environment (ourselves) and the external environment (others and the world).

How we filter, modify, distort, accept, reject, and use that information is part of the act of perceiving. Perception is a global experience. It is the psychophysical process of interpreting information based on past experience, present circumstances and future expectations.
When we choose to absorb information, we bond to that aspect of our environment. When we block out information, we defend against that aspect. Learning is the process by which we vary our responses to information based on the context of each situation. This course will include:

4 days; 28 contact hours

 

Skeletal System

This system provides us with our basic supporting structure. It is composed of the bones and the joints. The bones lever us through space and support our weight in relationship to gravity and the shape of our movements through space. The spaces within the joints give us the possibility of movement and provide the axes around which the movement occurs.

The skeletal system gives our body the basic form through which we can locomote through space, act on the environment, and sculpt and create the energy forms in space that we call movement. Through embodying the skeletal system, the mind becomes structurally organized, providing the supporting ground for our thoughts, the leverage for our ideas, and the fulcrums or spaces between our ideas for the articulation and understanding of their relationships. It provides the foundation for the psychophysical qualities of clarity, effortlessness and form. This course will include:

9 days; 63 contact hours

 

Organ System

Our organs are vital and alive. They provide us with our sense of self, full-bodiedness, and organic authenticity. Organs are the contents within the skeletal-flesh container and carry on the functions of our internal survival — breathing, nourishment and elimination. Organs are the primary habitats or natural environments of our emotions, aspirations, and the memories of our inner reactions to our personal histories. They support our postural tone and our feelings, and give volume to our movement. This course will include:

7 days; 49 contact hours

 

Basic Neurocellular Patterns

The Basic Neurocellular Patterns are the words of our movement. They are the building blocks for the phrases and sentences of our activities. They also establish a base for our perceptual relationships (including body image and spatial orientation) and for our learning and communication.

The BNP are one of the foundations of Body-Mind Centering® and are interwoven with the Embodied Anatomy (body-systems material) in later courses. The BNP have extensive application in the areas of movement and psychophysical expression. Done in sequences, the BNP can also form the basis for a deep and ongoing personal movement practice. This course will include:

7 days, 49 contact hours

Primitive Reflexes, Righting Reactions and Equilibrium Responses

If the Basic Neurocellular Patterns are the words, the Primitive Reflexes, Righting Reactions and Equilibrium Responses are the fundamental elements, the alphabet, of our movement. Underneath all successful, effortless movement are integrated reflexes, righting reactions and equilibrium responses. The reflexes are the most primitive patterns that occur in response to specific stimuli, and they establish basic survival patterns of function. The righting reactions are important in establishing a vertical or upright posture against gravity and a continuous head-torso axis. The equilibrium responses are patterns which maintain balance of the whole body in the dynamic relationship between the shifting of one’s center of gravity through space and one’s base of support. This course will include:

6 days; 42 contact hours

Ontogenetic Development

The period from intrauterine life through approximately 12 months of age is an extraordinarily formative time for humans. Our basic movement patterns emerge in utero, are present at birth, and develop through the first year of life. It is during this time that we build the groundwork for our movement and perceptual skills and pass through the milestones by which we mark our development. This course will include:

5 days; 35 contact hours

 

Endocrine System

The endocrine glands are the major chemical governing system of the body and are closely aligned with the nervous system. Their secretions pass directly into the blood stream and their balance or imbalance influences all of the cells in the body. The glands are the keystone between the organs and the nervous system and between the nervous system and the fluids. They create crystalline psychophysical states.

This is the system of internal stillness, surges or explosions of chaos/balance and the crystallization of energy into archetypal experiences. The endocrine glands underlie intuition and the perceiving and understanding of the Universal Mind. This course will include:

5 days; 35 contact hours

 

Nervous System

Experience first occurs on the cellular level. The nervous system is the recording system of the body. It records our experiences and organizes them into patterns. It can then recall the experience and modify it by integrating it with patterns of other previous experiences. The nervous system is the last to know, but, once knowing, it becomes a major control center of psychophysical processes. It can initiate the learning of new experience through creativity and play. The nervous system underlies alertness, thought, and precision of coordination and establishes the perceptual base from which we view and interact with our internal and external worlds. This course will include:

7 days; 49 contact hours

 

Fluid System

The fluids are the transportation system of the body. They underlie presence and transformation, set the ground for basic communication, and mediate the dynamics of flow between rest and activity, tension and relaxation. The characteristics of each fluid relate to a different quality of movement , touch, voice, and state of mind. These relationships can be approached from the aspects of movement, mind states, or from anatomical and physiological functioning. This course will include:

6 days; 42 contact hours

 

Ligamentous System

The ligaments set the boundaries of movement between the bones. They coordinate and guide muscular responses by directing the path of movement between the bones and provide specificity, clarity, and efficiency for the alignment and movement of the bones. When all of the ligaments of a joint are actively engaged, the movement of that joint becomes highly specific and is carried effortlessly to surrounding and successive joints. The ligaments support the psychophysical quality of detailed specificity. This course will include:

7 days; 49 contact hours

Muscular System

The muscles establish a tensile three-dimensional grid for the balanced support and movement of the skeletal structure by providing the elastic forces that move the bones through space. They provide the dynamic contents of the outer envelope of flesh encompassing the skeletal structure. Through this system we embody our vitality, express our power, and engage in the dialogue of resistance and resolution. This course will include:

9 days; 63 contact hours

 

SME Competency

Competency : 1 day, 7 contact hours

Professional Issues 1

What does it mean to be a professional and how do you transition into this role? This course will cover some of the important issues facing professionals in the somatic field. This course will include:

2 days, 14 contact hours

To graduate as Somatic Movement Educator, all students need to complete specified homework requirements. A homework pack is available to all students during the course and copies can be requested. Each course may be taken individually without any prerequisites except for the very last course of the cycle – Competency

 

Certification

To obtain the Somatic Movement Education certificate, all the modules in the first and second year must be completed.

The following must also be completed:

A complete description of these requirements will be given to students at the beginning of the session.

Note: The cost of the individual work with a BMCSM Practitioner or Teacher is not included in the tuition prices of the modules, since it only concerns participants who wish to obtain the certificate.