SomaHut workshop: Brain Levels and the Evolution of Movement with Thomas Greil

22/01/2022
5-7 PM
online

17.00 – 19.00 (CET) on Zoom

 

An online workshop based on Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®)
with Thomas Greil
January 22, 2022 organised by SomaHut

 

How we respond and adapt to different environments, how we move and
act in different circumstances depends on cellular and neural structures, which are very old
and date back to the early days in our phylogenetic history.
We share with other mammals, with reptiles and even more primitive organism
certain functions and circuits which are meant to facilitate the relationship
with and adaptation to a hostile environment. These processes include
keeping oneself and the community safe, searching for food
and allowing reproduction.

 

 

These evolutionary processes are still reflected in our brains. The oldest part, sometimes called the reptilian brain controls more instinctual behaviors and habits like movement patterns; the limbic system facilitates social behavior; and the neo-cortex cognition, reasoning and planning. Learning means to let new information enter the brain, making new connections, allowing a different response to a stimulus. For effective learning we need to include and integrate all the evolutionary layers. Easy flow between the different levels of integration of the body and the brain guarantees that we are functioning well. The idea of somatic learning is to provide stimulation through touch and movement, to allow new pathways to open.

 

𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴® (BMC®) was developed by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, an occupational therapist and movement artist. BMC® explores the foundations of learning, the organization of movement and its development from pre-natal to walking. Each developmental step leads to the next. BMC® is a study from an embodied and experiential perspective, from everybody’s own experience. The principles of Body-Mind Centering® have been brought into many fields of activities like dance, sports, acting, physical therapy, education, birth preparation, baby-parent groups, and many more.
The workshop gives a first idea of the BMC® approach to exploring the brain in touch and movement. The meeting is open to everyone interested. No previous experience is required.
𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗹 is a practitioner and trainer of Body-Mind Centering® and Jeremy Krauss Approach (JKA) for working with children with disabilities. He works with all ages since more than 20 years, especially children with disabilities. His research of human development, neuroscience, healing trauma led him to exploring the brain in relation to our functioning in terms of safety, bonding and curiosity. He lives in Faenza, Italy, where he directs together with Carla Bottiglieri minima somatica, a nucleus of somatic research in practices and narratives of embodiment.