Essential Somatics® Free Your Movement Retreat
January 18 - January 25, 2025
Martha Peterson, CCSE and Gena Rho, CCSE
Contact:
cally@essentialsomatics.com
About the Retreat
Come awaken your senses to a new possibility for your body, yourself, and your life while surrounded by the stunning beauty of the ocean, white sand beaches, and vibrant sunsets. Essential Somatics is thrilled to return to Mexico for a seventh year to offer the Essential Somatic Movement Retreat, taught by Martha Peterson and Gena Rho.
Whether you are dealing with chronic muscle pain, limited mobility, a general feeling of “getting old,” or you just want to move and play, you will find something freeing and enriching when you come to beautiful Chacala in Nayarit, Mexico, and learn to move with mastery and joy. This course is for EVERY BODY, no matter your age or activity level.
Through lectures, movement sessions, and interactive participation, you will learn critical, missing-link information that will leave you feeling lighter and brighter, with a renewed sense of awareness of yourself.
We will dive deeply into:
- The root cause of most chronic muscle pain and how to reverse it
- How to retain voluntary muscle function and fluid movement with gentle, safe somatic movement
- How everyday stresses and one’s mindset contribute to common pain conditions and limited movement.
- How all humans respond reflexively to stress within three full body reflex patterns
- How to lengthen muscles and reset muscle function without stretching
- A basic routine of easy, safe, and profoundly effective Somatic Movements that, when practiced daily, restore muscle control and self-awareness, eliminate chronic muscle pain, and keep y
Schedule
Arrival: Saturday, January 15, 2025 by 3pm to Puerto Vallarta airport
Daily Schedule: Sunday–Friday (schedule subject to change)
- 7:30–8:30am | Optional Early Morning Session (Mon/Wed/Fri)
- 8:30–9:30am | Gourmet Breakfast
- 10:00am–1:00pm | Mid-Morning Session
- 1:30–2:30pm | Gourmet Lunch
- 4:00–5:00pm | Optional Afternoon Session (Tues/Thurs)
- 2:30–6:30pm | Free time to explore, swim, take a walk
- 6:30–7:30pm | Gourmet Dinner
Closing Circle: 7:30-8:30pm on Friday, after dinner
Departure: Saturday, January 25, 2025 after breakfast
Payment & Cancellation Policy
Early bird price: US$750 until September 1, 2024 / US$850 full price
Retreat fee includes cost of attendance at the retreat only.
- Inspiring daily Essential Somatics Movement classes for all levels of practice in which we explore what it means to move from the “inside-out.”
- Stimulating conversations and lectures on the philosophy, science, and “why” of Essential Somatic Movement.
Retreat registration fee does not include: Accommodation, catering, facility fees, travel insurance, incidentals, flights, or airport shuttles.
About the Teachers
Martha Peterson
Martha Peterson, CHSE, CCSE, graduated from Somatic Systems Institute in 2006. She holds a BA in Dance Education from the SUNY, and certification in Massage Therapy from the National Holistic Institute in Oakland, CA. Martha is the founder and CEO of Essential Somatics® and a leader in the field of Somatic Education. Martha has over 30 years of experience working with professionals in the field of dance, bodywork, and somatics. She discovered Clinical (Hanna) Somatic Education after suffering chronic hip and knee pain due to injuries after years of dancing professionally; it is the only method that taught her to reverse her hip pain and postural imbalances. For Martha, restoring the skill of self-sensing was the key to a life of movement, mastery, and joy.
Gena Rho
Gena Rho, CCSE, graduated with Essential Somatics in 2017. She has 30 years of experience in movement and education as a yoga teacher, former professional modern dancer, and educator. Gena is the owner of Emerge Somatics in Maplewood, NJ where she offers both somatic movement and yoga. Gena remembers well her first real experience of what it meant to be in “process”…always, refining, growing, changing, and adapting. Gena’s clients appreciate her ability to help them bring somatic awareness to yoga, athletics, performing art, and the functional movement patterns of everyday life. Gena’s practice continues to evolve and grow in fascinating ways and she enjoys working in collaboration with other inspiring teachers to help people further awaken the body and spirit. www.essentialsomatics.com