Somatic Yoga Teacher’s Guide

Table of contents :

Citation preview

SOMATIC YOGA TEACHER'S GUIDE Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D. A Guide for using Somatic Yoga with clients and students.

Somatics Educational Resources 1516 Grant Ave., Suite 212, Novato, CA 94945 USA [email protected] (415)892-0617 All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.

SOMATIC YOGA TEACHER'S GUIDE Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D. A Guide for using Somatic Yoga with clients and students.

Somatics Educational Resources 1516 Grant Ave., Suite 212, Novato, CA 94945 USA [email protected] (415)892-b617 All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.

SOMATIC YOGA TEACHER'S GUIDE Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D.

-----

\

Somatics Educational Resources - Novato, California

The term "Somatic Exercises" is trademarked, and may not be used to designate products with out the permission of Eleanor Criswell-Hanna.

Production Supervisor and Second Edition Revision: Allegra Hiner Editorial Assistant: Marsha Calhoun

Copyright © 1993 by Eleanor Criswell-Hanna All rights reserved. First Edition. Second Edition, Copyright © 2007

Somatics Educational Resources 1516 Grant Ave., #212 Novato, CA 94945

CONTENTS

1

Foreword Chapter I.

2

Introduction

Chapter II. What is Somatic Yoga? What are the Somatic Exercises?

4

Somatic Meditation

6

Sensory-Motor Amnesia (SMA)

6

How to Benefit from Somatic Yoga

7

How to Give Yourself the Maximum Benefit of Somatic Exercises

8

Individual Somatic Yoga Sessions

10

How to Use the Somatic Approach to Yoga with Other Yogas

10

Chapter III. How to Conduct a Somatic Yoga Class

11

Chapter Iv. Schedule/Outline for Somatic Yoga Classes

12

Chapter V.

14

Other Resources

What Is Somatic Yoga? by Eleanor Criswell-Hanna

15

What is Somatics? by Thomas Hanna

16

Teacher's Kits and Somatic Educational Resources Catalogue

27

i

SOMATIC YOGA TEACHER'S GUIDE

by Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D.

FOREWORD There are many yoga teachers in the world. There are many orientations or styles of yoga, many historical lineages. The styles or orientations vary in emphasis. The somatic approach to yoga can be blended with a variety of orientations to enhance them. This blending can be done by yoga teachers or yoga therapists; it can also be done by the indi vidual student or practitioner. Many eclectic yoga teachers are beginning to use somatic exercises as preparation for the yoga experience and at the conclusion of yoga sessions. The purpose of the Somatic Yoga Teacher's Kit is to enable you to use the elements of the approach in a variety of settings.

1

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION

The Somatic Yoga Teacher's Kit will enable you to teach a somatic yoga class (indi vidual or group) or bring the somatic approach to yoga into your existing classes. It will also enable you to do the same with your own personal practice. The Teacher's Kit includes the book How Yoga Works: An Introduction to Somatic Yoga by Eleanor Criswell; the Somatic Exercise Yoga audio tape/CD series; the "Cat Stretch" audio tape/CD created by Thomas Hanna and narrated by Eleanor Criswell; the Somatic Yoga video/DVD; and the Somatic Yoga Teacher's Guide. In addition, it is suggested that you read the book, Somatics by Thomas Hanna. First published in 1988, Somatics is designed to introduce you to the basic somatic concepts. The organization of the book includes five case studies illustrating the Red Light, Green Light, and Trauma reflexes, with directions for and pictures illustrating the basic somatic exercises in the back of the book. The book How Yoga Works: Introduction to Somatic Yoga, first published in 1989, is designed to

to

introduce you

to

the basic Somatic Yoga concepts, or the somatic approach

yoga.

Chapters include: Part One: Entering the Path: Entering the Path; The Goals or Outcomes of Yoga; Yamas Things

to

Avoid; Niyamas: Things

to

Do

Part Two: The Body in Somatic Yoga: Asanas: What to Do; Pranayama: Breathing Exercises; Pratyahara: Progressive Relaxation Part Three: The Mind in Somatic Yoga: Concentrating the Mind; Meditation: The Com munication Loop; Samadhi: The State of Union Part Four: The Psychophysiology of Somatic Yoga: The Psychophysiology of Yoga; Asanas: . How They Work; The Senses and Concentration Training Part Five: The Spiritual Side of Somatic Yoga: Yoga, Altered States of Consciousness, and the Kundalini Experience; SomatiC Yoga and Psi Conclusion: Somatic Yoga as a Way of Life; and a Suggested Program. 2

The "Somatic Yoga" videorape/DVD (Eleanor Criswell) was produced by Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., directed by Arthur Block, as part of Mishlove's "Thinking Allowed" col lection. It is 90 minutes long and has two parts. The first part is an interview of Eleanor Criswell by Jeffrey Mishlove, during which Criswell discusses somatic yoga and demonstrates the pranayama practice of alternate nostril breathing. In the second part, Criswell narrates the "Cat Stretch" (created by Thomas Hanna), a set of somatic maintenance exercises and demonstrates/ guides the movements; then, Mishlove narrates the demonstration portion of the somatic yoga session. There are also other yoga postures that you may include (see How Yoga Works, pp. 31-72, and other yoga books). The "Cat Stretch" audio rape/CD (visually demonstrated on the Somatic Yoga video/DVD) guides you through the daily maintenance program developed by Thomas Hanna. The benefit of the audio version is that you are guided through the movements, so that you remain more aware while moving; you can be more relaxed because you are not remaining in "executive control" in order to remember what to do next. The Somatic Exercise Yoga audiotapes/CDs guide you through an extended experience of the blend of somatic exercises and somatic yoga. The Somatic Exercise Yoga tapes/CDs can also serve as a sample one-day workshop. When you first learn the somatic movements you will be more aware while doing them. Later, it becomes a challenge to remain aware while doing them. Learned movement patterns are valuable, but it is important to do the movements freshly. We have a tendency to habituate

to

stimulation. That means that with experiences you cease to have the full

cortical response to what you are doing. This is useful because it economizes our efforts, but we tend to cease to be as aware of them. Therefore, to continue to remain aware and integrated while you are moving requires a special effort in attending. The Somatic Yoga Teacher's Guide is designed to give you support, information, and materials so that you can conduct a somatic yoga class or incorporate some of the principles into your existing classes. We would appreciate hearing about your somatic yoga classes so that we have a sense of their development, and so we can let others know what you are doing. We often get questions about where somatic yoga classes are available. 3

CHAPTER II.

WHAT IS SOMATIC YOGA? WHAT ARE SOMATIC EXERCISES? Somatic yoga is a blend of somatic exercises with yoga practices. The somatic exercises are done with a yogic approach (mind-body integration), and the yoga is done with a somatic approach. This might include visualization where possible in the yoga sequences, perhaps to move more slowly with increased mind-body awareness into the postures, and to pause to be more aware of the proprioceptive feedback from doing the postures. Through somatic yoga you can bring more of your body back into awareness and use. When a muscle or muscle group is chronically contracted, it is contracted because your nervous system is contracting it. The nervous system control is at a low level in the brain, a brain stem level, that is out of your conscious control. You can take or retake control by consciously using the area. With the conscious contraction and utilization of these muscles you shift areas to the more voluntary areas of the brain. You are still using the reflexive and cerebellar functions, but with a higher level of organization. Continued study of anatomy, physiology, and neurophysiology will enable you to be more and more aware of how the body is functioning during somatic yoga sessions. Changes occur not only in the sensory-motor system, but also in cardiovascular responses, hormones, neurotransmitters and transmitter substances, etc. Somatic yoga therapy allows the practitioner to put the person through the postures in an aware, integrated fashion. The goal is to remain as mind-body aware as possible during all of the practices, and in everyday life. This can have psychological and! or physiological effects. As we use our physiological systems we are more prepared for life activities. We become more and more aware of how important it is to relax. The shift toward PNS (pro prioceptive nervous system) dominance that is a part of relaxation is very important.

4

You can do a somatic yoga program or you can bring the somatic dimension to your preexisting program. This means that you use the somatic exercises as warm-ups and incorporate an understanding of psychophysiology while doing your yoga. Somatic yoga draws heavily upon the knowledge of neurophysiology. This information is necessary because you want to keep in mind what areas of the brain are being stimulated or involved during the practices so that you can organize the systems as efficiently as possible. For example, it is valuable to realize that the parasympathetic nervous system is involved in relaxation and that the many practices of somatic yoga help shift the nervous system balance in the PNS direction. That is why you want to clear your mind as much as possible during meditation or postures so that the SNS gets stirred up as little as possible. This enables a maximum shift in various PNS structures to occur. It is valuable to keep this in mind. In somatic yoga, we want to understand how the nervous systems work so that we can give full permission to ourselves to use the appropriate systems, and so we can use the appropriate systems more specifically. For example, a visual meditation target is perceived through input along the optic nerve. Its pattern comes in more on the rods; its color is processed by the comes located in the center of the eye. If the object has moved, the oculomotor nerve and the superior colliculi in the brainstem will be involved. All somatic yoga activities are used to stimulate, activate, and utilize systems. This increases readiness and priming of systems and appropriate biochemical changes. As a teacher of somatic yoga, it is valuable that you know your muscles and muscle groups (names, origins, insertions, actions). Concepts such as flexors, extensors, rotators, agonists/antagonists, synergists, and co-contractions are important. It is important to have a general knowledge of neurophysiology. This level will enable you to know more specifically what you are asking your students to do. You can guide then more meaningfully. As they are in the posture, muscles that are contracting or shortening are agonists. They are being inhibited and allowed to lengthen. (There is a difference between stretching a contracted muscle and inhibiting it, that is, allowing it to lengthen. Inhibiting a muscle allows it to lengthen without triggering the stretch reflex and the muscle's subsequent re-contraction.) The stretch reflex occurs when a muscle is suddenly stretched. The receptors within the muscle are sensitive to stretch and cause a recontraction by way of the spinal cord. 5

SOMATIC MEDITATION Somatic meditation uses mind/body integration as its focus. Therefore, an extremely useful focus is the movement of your breathing. You need to sit in a comfortable position --lotus pose, pose of the adept, or in a chair -:- with your feet on the floor and hands resting in your lap. Your hands may be in a variety of positions. You clear your mind. If thoughts come in, you allow them to go out again. You count your breaths, breathing easily and normally. A mantra may be said on each breath. (A mantra is a Sanskrit word or name which is said to have special vibrations and meaning.) For example, say "OM" on the inhale and count one on the exhale; repeat consecutive numbers through to lOon subsequent breaths. With each breath you become more an more relaxed. You may use the somatic mantra: So-rna. "So" on the inhale and "rna" on the exhale~ Become more and more of your soma, your body experienced from within. Awareness is the key to somatic yoga. You should be aware of the proprioceptive and other feedback. Proprioception (Latin for self-sensation) refers to the feedback we receive from our joint position sense (for example, information about whether joints are flexed or extended), kinesthetic sense (information fed back from end organs located in muscles, tendons, and joints stimulated by movements of our bodies and muscle tensions), vibration sense, and some aspects of the location of our bodies in space.

SENSORY-MOTOR AMNESIA (SMA) Sensory-motor amnesia (SMA) is the habitual contraction of muscles and muscle groups until they cease to be under voluntary control. It is the habituated state of (motor) forgetfulness, the loss of memory of how certain muscle groups fell and how to control them. The term SMA was developed by Thomas Hanna in his book, Somatics.

somatics .. , .

, ' . , ...... , I .

"" .. . "~

I tl!"~l'l~l!J

6

.

.~, ...... , I . . . ~ " ....

honnu

HOW TO BENEFIT FROM SOMATIC YOGA The general steps for doing the somatic yoga postures incltule: 1) Visualize the posture for 10 Oms or 10 seconds 2) Move slowly into the posture. Take about 10 Oms/seconds to get into it 3) Do the Om-count while holding the posture; keep your attention on the posture 4) Follow the appropriate breath pattern for that posture 5) Come slowly out of the posture. Take about 10 Oms/seconds 6) Take the corpse position. Do deep breathing for about one minute or 60 Oms 7) During that time, be aware. Practice self-sensing. Scan your body for the aftereffects of having done the posture: proprioceptive sensations, heat changes, differences in body position, feelings of relaxation 8) Visualize the next posture Research literature on mental imagery rehearsal shows a small gain in effectiveness with mental preparation; there is another related research literature on mental set. It is considered in /~,

somatic yoga that visualization helps develop a mental set which allows the postures to be dome more effectively. We might consider the analogy that the visualization of the posture helps program your biocomputer (brain) for the subsequent action (i.e., loading the program and then running the program). Using visualization allows you to assume the posture more effectively for the length of time you choose

to

hold the posture.

Somatic exercises can enable you

to

get your body ready for the yoga practices. It is par-

ticularly valuable to offset age-related changes or formerly undeveloped areas. In somatic yoga you do not stretch contracted muscles, which triggers the stretch reflex ~ but release the contracted muscle by allowing the muscle

to

lengthen with awareness. There is also maximal mind-

body awareness brought to the process. This is a growing experience. As you are somatically aware, you become more and more somatically aware. It is also quite interesting and pleasurable.

7

HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT OF SOMATIC EXERCISES by Thomas Hanna The most important thing for you to remember is that Somatic Exercises change your muscular system by changing your central nervous system. If you do not remember this important fact, their effectiveness will be diminished for you. You will receive the maximum benefit from the Somatic Exercises movement patterns if you do the following: 1. While doing the Somatic Exercises, your primary task is to focus your attention on the internal sensations of movement. These movement patterns those areas of the body most commonly affected by sensory-motor amnesia. As you perform the exercises, concentrate on developing a careful sensory awareness of the movements in these body areas as a direct way to maintain control over them. 2. Ideally, you should do your Somatic Exercises while lying on a rug or mat, wearing loose clothing, and being away from all distractions. A rug or mat allows comfort while providing a firm support for your body. This allows you to be more precise in performing the movement and more precise in perceiving it. People whose movement or strength is extremely limited may do their Somatic Exercises in bed. The firmer the mattress, the more effective the exercises will be, and they should move to a rug or mat as soon as is possible. The object of Somatic Exercises is to loosen your body from constricted muscles, so it makes no sense to wear constricting clothing while you do them. On the other hand, there's no need for athletic gear. You're not supposed to work up a sweat doing Somatic Exercises. 3. Always move slowly. Moving slowly, you give your brain the chance to notice all that is happening in your body as your move. Slow-motion films are essential in sports training because they allow athletes to study details of a movement or play. The same goes for focusing attention on the internal sensations of your own movements: The more slowly you go, the more you perceive. 4. Always move gently and with the least possible effort. Again, this is so that your brain can receive precise and uncluttered sensory feedback from the exercises. When you experience excessive effort and strain - as is usually the case in doing calisthenics - then your brain is cluttered by sensory feedback that is irrelevant to what you are relearning how to control. It is better for you to feel that you are doing "too little" than to risk doing too much and undermining the somatic learning process.

8

5. Do not force any movement. Somatic Exercises help you maintain sensitivity and control, but until your brain learns how to move your muscles, no amount of force and effort will release the involuntary contractions in your body. Pushing against your muscles is from the old tradition of physical training, which always fails to release the hold of sensory-motor amnesia. If you attempt voluntarily to force a muscle that is involuntarily contracted, you will cause an equal and opposite resistance of that muscle. It will contract even tighter, finally

to

the point

of spasm.

Remember:

Ifyou want to untie a knot, you must look at the cord carefully, then gently undo

the tangle. Yanking on the cord will only make the knot tighter. 6. Somatic Exercises are not painful. The movement patterns of these exercises are the normal movements of the musculoskeletal system. If you perform them slowly and gently, they are completely harmless. Hurting yourself while exercising is unnecessary, harmful and, of course, no fun at all. People who are already suffering from sensory-motor amnesia, especially those with severely contracted lower back muscles, will sometimes feel soreness when these muscles first begin to lengthen. This is to be expected; once their muscles lengthen, the soreness will disappear. Even very painful lower back muscles become comfortable after about three days of Somatic Exercises, once they have relaxed

to

their natural length and blood has circulated

through the muscle fibers. Thus, if you feel some pain while doing the exercises, move gently and slowly, never forcing your movements, and keep in mind that this is the normal direction of movement that you are trying

to

reestablish.

There are always unusual situations where normal musculoskeletal movement patterns are impossible because of an observable obstacle. In such cases, you should seek medical advice and follow it. Physicians usually agree that Somatic Exercises are anatomically harmless when done properly.

9

INDIVIDUAL YOGA SESSIONS Individual somatic yoga sessions or somatic yoga therapy sessions can consist purely of somatic yoga or be a bit more psychologically interactive. The session may be 50 minutes long. The first 10 minutes may be devoted to a discussion of the previous week. The first session of the series is an initial interview that is devoted to getting relevant information about the person: presenting complaint or focus, medical history, psycho social history, etc. The second session begins with discussion of the somatic yoga practice of the week (problems, successes, questions, life issues, insights). The next 20 minutes are devoted to new somatic exercises and somatic yoga postures. The remaining 10 minutes are devoted to debriefing the session: what came up during the practice, home practice plans, and future plans.

HOW TO USE THE SOMATIC APPROACH TO YOGA WITH OTHER YOGAS Different approaches to hatha yoga come from different historical lineages. The somatic approach to yoga can be blended with these different approaches. The way to do this is to use the somatic exercises as warm-ups - the cat stretch, for example - and other relevant movements. The next step might be to include visualization where possible in the yoga sequences, perhaps moving more slowly with increased mind-body awareness into the postures, and pausing to be more aware of the proprioceptive feedback from doing the postures. With somatic yoga, the somatic exercises are used with a greater sense of integration of mind and movement than usual.

10

CHAPTER III. HOW TO CONDUCT A SOMATIC YOGA CLASS A somatic yoga class should be conducted in a spacious room with a clean carpet. Students are invited to wear loose clothing appropriate for lying on the floor and to bring a mat or blanket. Good ventilation and appropriate temperanlre are essential. The classroom needs to be large enough for students to be able to stretch out comfortably. A clean, carpeted floor is

ideal, but a clean, bare floor can be used. In the case of a bare floor, students can use blankets, mats, or the like. Sometimes these are provided by the class and sometimes brought by the students. It is said that as you use a blanket or mat over time, it begins to absorb the energy of your practice. This ·then affects your next practice. The blanket begins to symbolize the yoga state for you and suggests that state to you as you see it, touch it, and beg~ your practice.

11

CHAPTER IV. SCHEDULE/OUTLINE FOR SOMATIC YOGA CLASSES This section will discuss sample schedules for the eight-week class, the one day workshop, and the college/university course. The eight-week class is designed to teach the physical practices, including meditation. The class period is spent primarily reviewing previously learned practices and learning new ones. Instruction is focused on the practices, with a brief description of how to do them, what their benefits are, and how to get proprioceptive/sensory feedback from them. Postures follow the sequence discussed earlier of visualization, om-count during the posture (movement and posture), and relaxation and self-sensing after the posture. The following is the key to Postures listed in the class outline below: a) legs up b) half shoulderstand c) shoulderstand d) fish e) plow f) cobra

g) locust h) bow i) spinal twist

j) yoga mudra k) head-to-knee 1) tree The eight-week somatic yoga class might use the following outline: WEEK 1. What is somatic yoga? What are the Somatic Exercises? (Overview) Basic principles for doing both. Warm-ups; Postures a & b (30 seconds); Pranayama (rapid breath); Pratyahara; Meditation (5 minutes).

12

WEEK 2. Warm-ups; Postures a, b, & c (30 seconds); Pranayama (rapid breath); same-nostril breath 1:4:2 ratio; Pratyahara; Meditation (10 minutes). WEEK 3. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minute); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (1 minute); Posture d (30 seconds); Pranayama (rapid breath); alternate nostril breath 1 :4:2 ratio; Pratyahara; Meditation (15 minutes). WEEK 4. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minute); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (1-112 minutes); Posture d (1 minute); Posture e (30 seconds); Pranayama (see week 3); Pratyahara; Meditation (20 minutes). WEEK 5. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minute); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (1-112 minutes); Posture d (1-112 minutes); Posture e (1 minute); Posture f (2 repetitions); Pranayama; Pratyahara; Meditation (20 minutes). WEEK 6. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minute); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (2 minutes); Posture d (2 minutes); Posture e (1-112 minutes); Posture f (3 repetitions); Posture g (2 repetitions); Pranayama; Pratyahara; Meditation (20 minutes). "WEEK 7. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minure); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (3 minutes); Posture d (3 minutes); Posture e (2-1/2 minutes); Posture f (3 repetitions); Posture g (3 repetitions); Posture h (2 repetitions); Pranayama; Pratyahara; Medi.tation (20 minutes). WEEK 8. Warm-ups; Posture a (1 minute); Posture b (40 seconds); Posture c (3 minutes); Posture d (3 minutes); Posture e (2-112 minutes); Posture f (3 repetitions); Posture g (3 repetitions); Posture h (3 repetitions); Posture 1 (30 seconds each side); Pranayama; Pratyahara; Meditation (20 minutes).

13

CHAPTER V. OTHER RESOURCES You may want to use other Somatic Exercises and books in your classes. The list of books and audio tapes/CDs by Eleanor Criswell Hanna and Thomas Hanna follows. SOMATICS - Magazine-Journal of the Mind/Body Arts & Sciences is published semiannually (founded by Thomas Hanna; edited by Eleanor Criswell Hanna). Founded in 1976, articles concern research, theory, and practice in the body-mind integration disciplines. Many back issues, covering a wide variety of somatic approaches, are available. The Somatics Society annual membership entitles you to SOMATICS Magazine, the Somatics Society Newsletter, and discounts on selected Somatics Educational Resources books, audio tapes/CDs, and videos/DVDs. Further information and a downloadable complete catalog can be found on the Somatics Educational Resources website: http://www. somaticsed.com If you have questions about the Somatic Yoga Teacher's Kit materials or the Somatic Exercises, please contact: The Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training, 1516 Grant Ave., #212, Novato, CA 94945, phone (415)897-0336, or email: info@somaticsed. com If you would like

to

schedule an individual consultation or somatic yoga or bodywork

session with Eleanor Criswell Hanna, Ed.D., please call (415)897-0336 for an appointment.

14

WHAT IS SOMATIC YOGA? by Eleanor Criswell Hanna, Ed.D. The yoga presented in the Teacher's Guide is called somatic because it aims toward mind-body unification. It uses hath a yoga practices coupled with raja yoga practices. It includes the principles of psychophysiology, awareness techniques, visualization exercises, etc.

It also draws heavily from the biofeedback research literature for actual effects of the practices. It is a composite yoga which aims toward increased unification of your mind and body during all the experiences of daily life. A yoga for modern times, it is designed to be blended wirh your daily activities and lifestyle. Somatic Yoga has to do wirh rhe evolution of rhe person - mind, body, and spirir. It leans heavily on sensing your life's work or destiny. The various practices facilitare being able to hear more and more messages from your inner wisdom or guidance.

Eleanor Criswell-Hanna, Ed.D., is Professor of Psychology, Sonoma Srare University (1969present), Psychology Graduare Coordinator, and former Chair of rhe Psychology Department. She was rhe founding direcror of rhe Humanisric Psychology Institure, San Francisco (now Saybrook Institure). She has been a student of yoga psychology and mediration for 30 years. She has raughr yoga psychology in the Psychology Department of Sonoma Srate University for 22 years. She has published articles on yoga psychology in magazines and journals during thar time. Currently, she is Editor of Somatics Magazine and has a strong interesr in furthering the awareness of the possibilities for healrh and well-being inherent in mind-body integration. To thar end she has also trained reachers of yoga psychology.

15

WHAT IS SOMATICS? by Thomas Hanna, Ph.D. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SOMA AND BODY Somatics is the field which studies the soma: namely, the body perceived from within by first-person perception. When a human being is observed from the outside - i.e., ITom a third-person viewpoint - the phenomenon of a human body is perceived. But, when this same human being is observed from the first-person viewpoint of his own proprioceptive senses, a categorically different phenomenon is perceived: the human soma. The two distinct viewpoints for observing a human being are built into the very nature of human observation which is equally capable of being internally self-aware as well as externally aware. The soma, being internally perceived, is categorically distinct ITom a body, not because the subject is different but because the mode of viewpoint is different: It is immediate proprioception - a sensory mode that provides unique data.

It is fundamental to recognize that the same individual is categorically different when viewed from a first-person perception than is the case when he is viewed from a third-person perception. The sensory access is categorically different as are the resultant observations. The categorical distinction between these two viewpoints establishes the ground rules for all studies of the human species. Failure to recognize the categorical difference between first-person observation and third-person observation leads to fundamental misunderstandings in physiology, psychology, and medicine. Physiology, for example, takes a third-person view of the human being and sees a body. This body is an objective entiry, observable, analyzable, and measurable in the same way as any other object. The universal laws of physics and chemistry are brought to bear on this body, because - as an observed body - it richly displays universal physical and chemical principles. Ftom a first-person viewpoint, however, quite different data are observed. The proprioceptive centers communicate and continually feed back a rich display of somatic information which is immediately self-observed as a process (hat is both unified and ongoing. Somatic data do not need, first, to be mediated and interpreted through a set on universal laws to become factual . Firstperson observation of the soma is immediately factual . Third-person observation, in contrast, can become factual only by mediation through a set of principles. It should be understood that this difference in data is neither a difference in truthful accuracy nor of intrinsic

v