Essential Somatics® Free Your Movement Retreat

About the Retreat

For many people, chronic tension becomes something you simply learn to live with. Treatments may bring temporary relief, but the tightness, pain, or restriction keeps coming back. Over time, your body can lose the ability to fully relax certain muscles, leaving patterns of tension that feel stubborn or familiar.

At the Free Your Movement Retreat, you’ll be introduced to Clinical Somatic Education: a gentle movement approach that helps restore voluntary control and awareness within your nervous system. Rather than forcing muscles to stretch or relying on passive treatment, this approach uses slow, intentional movements and pandiculation to help the brain relearn how to release chronic muscular contraction.

Set on the Pacific coast of Mexico at Mar de Jade Retreat Center, this week is your opportunity to step away from daily demands and reconnect with your body in a supportive, restorative environment.

Morning sessions throughout the week will explore common patterns of stress-related tension in the body, including the back, shoulders, neck, hips, breath, and feet. Martha’s teaching combines guided movement with hands-on support to help participants experience greater ease, awareness, and coordination.

Afternoons are left open for rest and integration. Spend time by the ocean, relax in a hammock, enjoy the tropical setting, or participate in optional activities offered through the retreat center. Optional late afternoon movement sessions will also be available on select days.

The schedule is intentionally spacious, balancing focused learning with downtime so the nervous system has time to absorb and integrate the work.

Whether you are completely new to Essential Somatics or returning to deepen your practice, this retreat is designed to meet you where you are and give you practical tools you can continue using long after the week ends.

About the Teachers

Martha Peterson

Martha Peterson is the founder of Essential Somatics, a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator, and the author of Move Without Pain. For more than 20 years, she has taught people how to work with chronic tension and discomfort through Clinical Somatic Education, continuing the tradition of Thomas Hanna’s work.

Known for her clear teaching style and compassionate approach, Martha helps students better understand the relationship between stress, the nervous system, and chronic muscular tension. Her teaching combines neuroscience, movement education, and practical tools that participants can continue using in daily life.