Hanna Somatic Education

Hanna Somatic Education (also known as Hanna Somatics, Clinical Somatic Education, Clinical Somatics or "Somatics") - is a system of sensory-motor (sensation and movement) education developed by Thomas Hanna (1928-1990), upon the foundation work of F. Matthias Alexander, Moshé Feldenkrais and others.

Approach
Hanna Somatic Education (HSE) extends the findings of research into the physiological effects of stress (Hans Selye), somatic development/maturation (A.F. Frazier), learning theory and movement education (Moshé Feldenkrais, et al.) into practical clinical methods that rapidly improve function. According to Hanna, the methods of somatic education use the brain's capacity for ongoing development (neuroplasticity) to diminish or eliminate the residual memory impressions of injuries and stress that underlie involuntary patterns of muscular tension (that cause pain and restrict movement) and distortion of body image (alterations of movement and posture).

Hanna summarized his explanation of those residual effects with the term, Sensory-Motor Amnesia (SMA): loss of both the memory of free and well-coordinated movement and the ability to carry it out. Hanna stated that the loss occurs as the physiological memories of stress and/or injury displace healthy functional patterns — and alter muscle/movement memory and function. That alteration and loss constitutes the "amnesia", according to Hanna.