Soma Neuromuscular Integration Bodywork
I offer Soma at Conscious Nectar in White Salmon
Tue & Wed: 10am, 12:30 & 3pm
$200 for 2 hours; First session $50 off
11 Series Package for $200 off
Mini 5 Series Package for $100 off
Treatments:
Soma Series
11 two-hour sessions. This full body/mind/spirit overhaul is our most comprehensive mode of treatment. Within the recipe of the Soma Structural Series, we address specific concerns while working to improve overall body balance. Clients proceed through the Soma Series as frequently as once a week or space the work out to once a month. For most people, even a few sessions result in marked pain relief, improved posture, and increased body performance.
Somassage
Somassage combines traditional massage technique with Soma Structural Integration work. The net effect is a very relaxing style utilizing broad strokes in a similar sequence and direction as the deeper structural work. It is a great introduction to Soma Bodywork and is also often used as maintenance after completing the Soma Structural Series.
To find lasting benefits, Soma Structural Integration is best experienced as a series of sessions: the Soma 11-Series.
In the Series, we work incrementally to re-balance the whole-body network of fascia, with time to integrate the new information between each session to allow for the changes to hold in your system long-term. The Series consists of 11-sessions that each address a specific part of the body, yet also work to balance the whole. Sessions are generally one to two weeks apart and approximately 2 hours in length.
In addition to the hands-on bodywork, we use movement re-education, reading materials, reflective journaling and other activities to support you to integrate this work into your everyday life. Each session builds on the previous ones, so completing all 11 sessions allows you to receive the most benefit. You may notice changes happening from one session the next, with your body eager to receive the next session.
The Soma 11-Series consists of three parts:
The Sleeve Sessions
The Series begins by balancing the existing structure, focusing on releasing the fascia surrounding large outer muscle groups called “the sleeve.”
SESSION 1: RIB CAGE
Focus: Releasing the tissue surrounding the rib cage and lengthen the lower back.
Results: A sense of lightness and well-being, a more upright posture and fuller deeper breathing.
SESSION 2: LEGS & FEET
Focus: The body’s foundation: lower legs and feet.
Results: A sense of being firmly grounded and in touch with reality.
SESSION 3: SIDES
Focus: The relationship between pelvis, rib cage and shoulder girdle.
Results: Expanded breathing, greater relaxation and more immediately available energy.
The Core Sessions
To bring about the most profound benefits of work, we restructure, educate and enliven the center of your body: legs, pelvis, entire spine and muscles that support you from deep within.
SESSIONS 4, 5 & 6: VERTICAL CORE
Focus: Adjust and lengthen the center line, or core, that runs vertically through the body.
Results: Better balance and freedom of movement. Walking takes a fraction of the energy typically expended.
SESSION 7: HEAD & NECK
Focus: Release the muscles of the neck, face and head.
Results: More softened and relaxed appearance in the face, with increased self-reliance and personal power.
The Integrative Sessions
These final sessions are the key to the lasting effects of Soma Structural Integration. By focusing largely on integration and connectivity, we allow your body-mind to fully “own” this new way of moving and being in the world.
SESSIONS 8, 9: INTEGRATION
Focus: Integrate first the lower, then the upper body in a new and more efficient manner.
Results: Less stress and increased energy as the body’s structure becomes better aligned with gravity.
SESSION 10: ARMS
Focus: Release and integrate the arms and shoulders.
Results: A lighter experience of the arms, greater ease through the shoulders, an experience of more connection through the entire torso.
SESSIONS 11: INTEGRATION
Focus: Integrate the whole body in a new and more efficient manner.
Results: Less stress and increased energy as the body’s structure becomes better aligned with gravity.
-Cited from Soma Institute
"Waiting tables for the entire decade of my twenty's plus 2 car accidents left my body in rough shape. I had reoccurring neck and back problems that were not only causing pain, but contributing to a loss in wages and a lack of ability to pursue the physical movement I was craving. In addition, emotional grief had settled into my body in the form of chronic insomnia. I saw multiple sleep experts and tried, literally everything, to heal myself but to no avail.
I found Em through the recommendation of friends and when I met her my body and nervous system felt immediately calm in her presence. I worked with Em for the entire 12 session SOMA series. It is difficult to put into words how much healing my body undertook in that time. I feel like Em and SOMA gave me the keys to unlock the strength, flexibility and peace that existed already in my body- but that I couldn't access. Injuries from the years of waiting tables, the car accidents, plus other minor injuries that I'd been dealing with for years, injuries I assumed I'd just have to deal with for the rest of my life, slowly transitioned. I could feel my body healing, growing and transforming between each session. I kept coming back because I could feel the results in my body. I started to sleep and my body healed even more rapidly.
In my time with Em I found her extremely knowledgeable, continuously soaking up new information, and extremely in-tune with what my body, heart and spirit needed to heal. I would highly recommend Em to anyone ready to heal, expand, or transform. She is a gifted healer who becomes a close advocate in supporting your growth and change and goes above and beyond to support you on your journey." - Maria McDonald
“I am a therapist and yoga instructor, with a passion for helping people find freedom in their body and mind. In order to do this work on behalf of others, I’ve needed to do this work for myself. Through my study of the mind and body, I gradually became aware of how much my trauma and repression were manifested within my physical body. No matter how cognitively aware I became, I continued to feel like my body wasn’t fully accessible to me. I felt stuck, within my own skin. Working with Em changed everything.
After my first session with her, I felt like there was more space in my body and I could move with ease. Each time I had a session with her, I reclaimed a little more of my body and self. She helped me to come into contact with deep layers of my body I didn’t know existed, and to release old patterns that kept me constricted. By shifting my embodied experience I am able to move more fluidly into my sexuality, my voice, and my power. I wish that every woman could experience the freedom that comes after working with Em. What she is doing in her VWBW is truly a missing link within the healing community.” -Jenny Wade
“I first encountered Soma a few years ago from a different practitioner. I only went to one session, and that was definitely the wrong approach. A few years went by and, as a runner, nagging leg injuries kept cropping up. It got to a point where I felt something succinct and undefined was going on in my system. Having exhausted the traditional medical diagnoses and therapies, I rethought my earlier Soma exposure and resolved to give it a dedicated shot. Mind you, it is a significant financial commitment that must be weighed, but for me, running and staying healthy was a far more important factor. You see, I have a coronary blockage that my primary MD felt would have killed me by now (aged 67) if not for the continuous exercise.
I started with Em and did the first series, during which any doubts or considerations died away! She was actually affecting areas that I KNEW were a problem but simply could not describe verbally or even point to. The immediate benefit was a gradual lessening of tension especially in my left leg, which had been the primary offender in the foot, calf, and knee.This relief has continued as I have gone on for maintenance sessions with special attention to these areas. I have been able to run without my typical injury now for about 2 years. In the last 10 years, this is a personal best!
What I have found is that for real success with Soma, one must approach with an open mind and be ready for the changes it will bring, whether expected or not. My first exposure mindset was a little off---I thought I'd see if there were any effects on my obvious symptoms after that first session and, of course, there weren't. This is a process and one I entered with Em. Over time, yes, my concerns have been and are being alleviated, but there is more! There is a systemic wellness that comes along AND many unsuspected skeletal and muscular imbalances will be discovered and improved. For me, as an aging person, it will be of great help in the coming years.” -Ken Stuhr
“The Soma series with Em Boardway was an amazing transformation for me. The fascial work greatly helped my back pain and anterior hip tilt. Doing one session regularly for extended periods of time until the series is complete creates a truly lasting effect. After the soma experience, general massage therapy seems like a cheap temporary solution. Soma is the way if your desire lasting change.
The effect on my emotional body was what stood out to me even more than the physical changes. Em is a gifted practitioner that is capable of more than just body work. Her ability to work with emotional traumas stored in the body and do general energy work concurrently with the body work is what makes her healing services so incredibly valuable.
I recommend Em’s services wholeheartedly.” -Aaron Vytlacil
"Getting SOMA body work was a truly transformative decision. After many years of stiffness and pain, my body feels reborn. Mobility, flexibility and overall stability after the series is back to what it was many years ago. Em's patient, caring and professional approach made this sometimes intense series a fantastic experience. I can't recommend it enough.”
- Ljubomir Bradic
"I have worked with Em for the past twelve months, undergoing treatment for chronic lower back pain. Initially, Em led me through her 12 part Soma series of structural integrative body work. After completing the series, she also provided follow up maintenance for my back condition and further integration of my structural changes. All of this proved to be hugely satisfying and beneficial to my healing process.
Em is a gifted body worker, with a strong foundation in anatomy, movement and the healing arts. She brings her warm personality, intuitive presence and deep understanding of physical and emotional energetics, while guiding one through their own unique healing journey. I fully endorse her professionalism and effectiveness as a Soma practitioner.” -Hal Abbott