Somatic Presence professional training
Background
Somatics – the study of the lived experience of the body – is fast becoming one of the core leading edge approaches to personal and professional development. Pioneers like Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Paul Linden, Arawana Hayashi, Wendy Palmer, George Leonard, Peter Levine and Stanley Kelleman have been working for years to bring an understanding of the body into many mainstream fields of endeavour. Thanks to their groundbreaking work we are heading towards a much more integrated view of the world where the body is not just a vehicle that drives our brains around!
In the UK there is a growing group of somatic professionals, many of whom have trained with some of the ‘greats’ in this field mentioned above.
Francis Briers is rare in the UK as having developed his own approach to somatic development work. It has been 9 years in the ‘growing, testing, and studying’ stage but is now a coherent model and methodology for working with people somatically. He calls this approach ‘Somatic Presence’ as it is focused on creating a present orientated state in the body. Being in the present moment gives us greatest access to our own truth, and the greatest range of possible choices for our future. If we are stuck in the past then our options are limited by old beliefs; if we are rushing into the future we will be missing the myriad opportunities which are happening right now.
Presence is a coming together of all our faculties in the here and now. While the body is not the only part of us that needs to make that journey it is a vital and too often forgotten part. There is a physical state which makes a present orientation much more possible and that is what this approach to posture and alignment work is focused on.
While the work of Presence can seem ephemeral this approach to posture work is grounded in a foundation of understanding fundamental body mechanics. Working with this understanding you can find the most effective and efficient ways to use the body in any given situation. Whatever you want to apply it to is an open door. We frequently work in our trainings with breathing, standing, walking and talking. Afterall, if you can’t do these basics then what’s the point of working on anything else?
This work can be applied to:
- Coaching 121 to help the client create the physical state necessary to step into the future they want
- Working therapeutically to help clients uncover and release where they hold trauma and stress in their bodies
- Training people to move with greater grace, efficiency, and power
- Helping performers to have greater ‘Presence’ on stage
- Working with people to understand the connection between structural integrity and moral integrity
- Creating a more powerful meditation practice by fully integrating the body
- Deepening your understanding as a practitioner of body mechanics and optimal performance
The first step to Somatic Presence training is to do the Somatic Presence Foundation Training. For the dates of the 4 workshops which comprise this training see the calendar of events. Once you have completed the foundation, you then move on to the professional training detailed below.
Professional Training
Several coaching, therapeutic and somatic professionals are now training with Francis to be able to work with clients using Somatic Presence. Francis is training a body of tutors so that in the future there can be a large professional training. However, if you are interested in training in Somatic Presence there is a route to training available now.
Francis is training people in small groups (minimum 2, maximum 5). The training consists of having an hour of 121 work with Francis including posture work and being taught exercises to practice, and attending a half-day group training once a month for a year. If you have a group of people who wish to train then the sessions can be set up as a day training once a month where half the day is given over to 121 sessions and half the day to the group training. In the group training section you learn the underlying theory of the work and begin working on each other under Francis’ guidance so you get hands-on experience of adjusting posture; you will also learn exercises to practice and teach to others. This balance means that you get the personal development to stand with integrity in this work, the practical experience of working on others, and the body of theory and application to have a professional level of expertise.
While you will have to meet a certain standard to be certified at the end of the year (and therefore certification is not guaranteed merely by attendance) it is our experience that a year generally gives people a solid foundation in the work. You will need to be prepared to practice between training sessions.
This course of study can be arranged in Brighton, UK where Francis is based or, if there are enough people in an area to form a group then the training can be run in your area. Please contact us if you want to know more about either of these options.
The cost for this year long professional training including certification as a Somatic Presence Practitioner is £2700.
Please get in touch if you would like any more information. We can organise 1 day taster workshops if you want to grow interest in your area to help form a training group.