What if the person giving you a massage knew how to work on just the right spot, found just the right pressure, and stayed there exactly the right length of time? With self massage using yoga balls, you get to be that perfect therapist. Yoga balls are often called myofascial release balls because they don’t just help open your muscles but slowly melt the connective tissue wrappings around the muscles. These wrappings, called fascia, slowly shrink-wrap to the shape of chronically tight muscles, and hold us in a straight jacket. As the balls melt the fascia, muscles can open and lengthen, making it easier for us to stretch and move.
While yoga balls are great for working at stuck spots in your body, Somatic Patterning adds the “big picture”, helping you work with the dysfunctional holding patterns that create tension. Somatic Patterning guides you into a deep exploration of the holding patterns in your body.
Together, Somatic Patterning with yoga balls creates a balanced approach to opening up stuck places in the body. It allows the body to unwind its tensions, following its own path and its own pace. As the body reorganizes, Somatic Patterning encourages a change in relationship to your body, helping you learn to move from working on your body to working with it.
The instructor, Matthew van der Giessen, has been a somatic practitioner and instructor for over 30 years, and has been teaching with yoga balls for over a decade. He also draws upon his work as an anatomy instructor, enhancing the effectiveness of body rolling and its application in everyday life.
Introductory classes will be held at the Fitness Centre, starting in January. The Winter series is five sessions, starting January 13, either on Tuesdays (9 a.m. - 10 a.m.) or Saturdays (10:30 - 11:30 a.m.). Cost is $73.50. Balls and yoga mats are provided. Wear comfortable clothing.
To register, contact Bowen Island Community Recreation at 604-947-2216, on-line, or in person at the rec office below BICS.
