Somatic Movement Essentials for Acupuncture

COURSE DETAILS

Four, One Hour Classes

Online Course begins September 17th

Somatic movement with embodiment specialist Donna Brooks is a gentle and effective way to develop pain-free mobility and agility, improved well-being, emotional resilience, and deep levels of comfort in your body.

Unfortunately, many of us have “blank spots”, numbing or pain that inhibits the fullness of our spirals running from feet to toes out to fingertips and into our neck, eyes, and head. This class is designed to improve your actions gently but deeply.

I will introduce the 6 basic movement patterns that underlie all our spirals and help you optimize the functioning of the movements in your body. You may also see where clients maybe blocked in these neuro-muscular patterns and how to help them.

These tools help relieve chronic stress patterns, aches, pain, strain, anxiety, and limitations in movement.

Live Classes

9/17/2025 11am – 12pm
Clearing the Palate
Most of us pay attention to internal sensations when we feel pain, discomfort, exhilaration, or are actively meditating. Yet, it’s our  “blank spots” or the places of numbness that are the optimal places for change and deepening of our embodied experience.Class one will explore neutral observation, embodied curiosity, gravity and what it is to de-prioritize larger muscles.

9/24/2025 11am – 12pm
The Layered Body
Building on week one, we will explore gently rhythmic movements rooted in early developmental experiences. These are not experiences we necessarily remember, but they are foundations of our movement and body-mind integration.You can expect to have new awareness and understanding about glitches in your movement and body-mind.

10/1/2025 11am – 12pm
Continuing the 6 Foundational Patterns for all Movement
Incorporating the experience of the central core axis (the notochord embryologically) to access healthy movement and body-mind integration that exists under repetitive stress patterns and trauma.

10/8/2025
Bringing it All Together
Incorporating the experience of the central core axis (the notochord embryologically) to access healthy movement and body-mind integration that exists under repetitive stress patterns and trauma.

Donna Brooks is a somatic movement therapist and educator, yoga therapist, and embodied meditator who has 40 years of experience teaching, counseling and coaching in movement and the healing arts.

She is a certified Yoga Therapist and a Master Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator who holds a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook. Donna has been teaching yoga since 1981 and somatic movement since 1992.

Originally trained in Iyengar yoga, Donna has also studied with somatic movement/ embodiment pioneers including Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Emilie Conrad. She learned about the geometry and physics of movement and momentum with tennis pro Art Carrington and through Contact Improvisation. She is trained in the Healing Ground work of Judith Blackstone.