Somajoy for elders

Hampshire based SomaJoy combines somatic experiencing, education and awareness with a joyful, creative and colourful approach. It directly supports health, wellbeing and creativity through body awareness and somatic education.

JAMS’ Artistic Director, Louisa White works somatically to create joy with elders. Somatics is an approach to movement which brings attention to the felt sense of moving to empower and validate an individual’s lived experience.

‘Soma’ means ‘the body experienced from within’ (Thomas Hanna) and ‘Joy’ is the experience of great pleasure and happiness. Through living fully in the body one is able to experience great pleasure and joy.  

Working either 1:1 or in small groups, SomaJoy’s creative approach provides the opportunity for bodily autonomy, mental empowerment and greater physical freedom. It supports the individual(s) to explore their movement potential through an increased felt sense and non-judgemental mind and enables an environment of healing, acceptance and growth.

To support the movement therapy the session will include ‘mark making’, an invitation for the client(s) to put pastel to paper and just allow the ‘marks’ to flow, they can draw, write or scribble, it’s not about how the finished drawing looks, it’s about expression what needs to be expressed. This process can be very powerful to someone who struggles with speech.

The beauty of utilising additional mediums is in its dialogic nature. As we move from paper to body and body to word our experience of moving and understanding, our ability to be in the moment, in the creative body – our embodiment blossoms.

SomaJoy sessions will:

Empower the individual to participate creatively in the healing journey

Honour the fact that what is needed for healing and growth lies within us

Develop trust in an individual’s inner knowledge and intuition

Provide ways to tap into the body-mind resource to offer support in times of need

Through focused touch and breath, imagery and sensitively guided movement, voice, art and feedback processes, individuals will be able to explore their awareness in the body. By working with developmental movement patterns and responses individuals connect with earliest movement experiences and as a result may feel safe, secure and more confident. Somatic Movement can help release tension, blocks and habitual patterns in the body, which can result in more flexibility. With this, the mind also changes, allowing for greater openness, choice and spontaneity of being and perceiving the world.

A programme of weekly 60-90 minute SomaJoy sessions will:

Engage participants creatively to bring more awareness and ease to movement of body and mind.

Educate participants about the different body systems, how they can support us and what messages they might bring

Include gentle warm-ups, gentle cardio vascular exercise and creative exploration of the somatic theme

Through focussing on shared experience; build connections between participants and staff

Allow time for creative reflection through word, song and art making

Produce a wall display of the SomaJoy creative journey.

Louisa is delighted to offer this work on a 1:1 basis and to small groups (a minimum of 3 residents, a maximum of 6). Sessions are 60 - 90 minutes long, but Louisa is happy to work with a resident for shorter periods of time if needed.

Please get in touch to find out more or discuss your requirements.