The Module Description below includes the following information:
Course Title and Description
Faculty
Calendar Link (includes details of daily schedule)
Full Module Program (includes details of the course structure and content)

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This dynamic movement based introductory training program integrates various somatic modalities including Bartenieff Fundamentals™, Alexander Technique and Somatic Therapy based on the Hakomi Method. These somatic approaches support you to develop body connectivity, re-pattern habitual alignment and movement patterns, increase kinesthetic awareness through embodied anatomy, and learn skills for deepened communication with self and others. The curriculum is rooted in experiential exercises and supported through lectures and readings.

Choose to take the Somatic Education curriculum alone, or take an additional Massage Intensive that prepares you to become a Certified Massage Technician as a Somatic Educator (CMT-SE).


Faculty:

Cathie Caraker (Learning to Move: Principles of Developmental Movement)
Carol Swann (Alexander Technique, Somatic Therapy based on the Hakomi Method)
Peggy Hackney (Bartenieff Fundamentals™)
Susan Bauer (Experiential Anatomy and Kinesiology)
Alive & Well faculty, to be announced (Massage)

2008-2009 MOC Program Calendar

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Full Program Description: Module 1

The Somatic Education / CMT-SE certification program is an intensive training program offered in partnership with Alive & Well School of Conscious BodyWork. The full 5-week CMT-SE program prepares you to become a Certified Massage Technician as a Somatic Educator. If you aren't interested in massage certification, you can choose to just take the 3-week Somatic Education curriculum alone for professional development, personal growth, or as an entry point to Martha Eddy's Somatic Movement Therapy Training through MOC.

The CMT-SE program goes beyond traditional massage training and provide a lively introduction to the growing field of somatics. The program teaches introductory skills in movement re-education and hands-on movement education and therapy through the integration of various somatic modalities.

At Moving On Center, we embrace a more holistic view of the body. Our training engages the whole bodymind- the feeling, sensing, learning and expressive being. As a Somatic Educator, you learn to connect with and support the fullness of your clients' embodied experience, not just their muscles and bones.

You learn when it's best to use the subtle strengths of four different somatic systems. We provide training in Experiential Anatomy/ Kinesiology, Bartenieff Fundamentals™, The Alexander Technique, and Somatic Therapy based on the Hakomi Method. In integrating the methods of various somatic modalities, students get multiple perspectives on movement repatterning. Each modality offers different tools for evoking the intelligence and resilience of the bodymind.

The Somatic Education curriculum is rooted in experiential exercises and supported through lectures and readings. Our program is set up so that you learn to deeply embody the work yourself before bringing it to your clients. The classes provide opportunities for you to learn about your own habitual movement patterns and how they may cause pain or restrict your full range of motion. You will learn how to change maladaptive patterns within your own bodymind first so that you can then support others through this same process with a depth of knowledge that is rooted in embodied knowing.

The Somatic Education curriculum includes the following core classes:

Experiential Anatomy
Learning to Move: Developmental Movement
The Alexander Technique
Bartenieff Fundamentals: Patterns of Total Body Connectivity
Somatic Therapy (based on the Hakomi Method)
Somatic Integration

These core classes provide an overview of anatomy, kinesiology, and fundamental neuromuscular movement patterns. You will learn to spot habitual movement patterns that produce pressure and imbalance in the body, and learn how to introduce more supportive ways of organizing our bodies in relation to the demands of the modern world.

Given that our chronic holding patterns often have an emotional counterpart, you will also develop tools for meeting and supporting clients on an emotional level as they explore new ways of being in their bodies.

The core curriculum is supported through additional classes that serve to build community within the group and provide opportunities for deeper integration of the core material. These support classes include:

Orientation
Heart Circle
Singing & Movement
Practice Labs
Group Advising
Authentic Movement

The support structure of the program deepens the learning process so that we connect our bodies, voices, hearts and minds as we become active participants in our own growth and well-being. These classes offer chances to explore the deeper layers of what we are learning within the context of a supportive community.

The optional two weeks of in-depth massage training provides students with a solid foundation of skills and knowledge in the practice of circulatory massage. In addition to hands on techniques, students will learn about the anatomy of the body (both physical and energetic), practical application, and the legalities and ethics of massage. Students learn the ergonomics of giving a great massage without exhausting or damaging their own body in the process.

The Somatic Education / CMT-SE program is a unique opportunity to integrate the desire for personal growth with the development of meaningful professional skills. Many students who complete the CMT-SE certification go on to advanced studies in Somatic Movement Therapy Training.

As in each MOC module, we include heart circles and verbal check-ins as a way to foster group cohesion and assure that emotion, spirit and critical thinking are nurtured in individuals and as a collective body.

Students are required to participate in study groups and do integrative homework assignments using themes from Participatory Arts. As in the other modules, there will be some mandatory reading, and occasional homework assignments for all students.

To learn more about this program, we encourage you to set up a phone appointment or come in and speak to us in person. You can reach us at info@movingoncenter.org or at (510) 834-0284.

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