Sensory Motor Amnesia
Understanding Somatic Learning
Somatic learning is a process that expands our conscious awareness and control over our own movements. It’s important to distinguish this from conditioning, which is a more passive process where external influences shape our responses without conscious involvement. Conditioning treats the body as an object, manipulating it to produce automatic reactions—this is the basis of many psychological learning theories, such as those of Pavlov and Skinner.
Conditioning works by reinforcing involuntary reflexes, narrowing our range of conscious control rather than expanding it. It doesn’t require awareness, nor does it teach intentional movement. Instead, it creates habitual responses that operate outside of our conscious choice. This can happen not just through deliberate training, but also through repeated exposure to environmental stresses, which can reinforce unconscious muscular reflexes over time.
The Impact of Sensory-Motor Amnesia
When reflexive patterns become deeply ingrained, we may lose both the ability to control certain muscles and even the ability to sense them properly—this is known as sensory-motor amnesia. This condition is common in humans and often develops due to long-term stress. The muscles around the core of the body, particularly in the lower back and abdomen, are most affected.
Once sensory-motor amnesia sets in, a person may find it impossible to consciously relax or move certain muscles, even if they try. The muscles remain locked in a rigid state, no longer within the person’s voluntary control. This is often mistaken for the effects of ageing, but in reality, it is a result of accumulated stress and trauma, not the passage of time itself. Unfortunately, medical treatments and external interventions cannot resolve this condition, as they do not address the underlying loss of conscious control.
How Somatic Learning Restores Control
The key to overcoming sensory-motor amnesia lies in somatic learning. By directing focused awareness to forgotten areas of the body, a person can start to sense and move these muscles again. Even the smallest sensation can lead to a slight movement, which then enhances sensory feedback, gradually restoring voluntary control. This process unfolds step by step, as movement and awareness feed into each other, allowing lost functions to be relearned.
This approach is at the heart of various somatic education methods, including those developed by Moshe Feldenkrais, Elsa Gindler, F. Matthias Alexander, and Gerda Alexander. These techniques are not only used to address sensory-motor amnesia but can also be practised throughout life to prevent stress-related movement restrictions from developing in the first place.
The Goal of Somatic Freedom
Ultimately, somatic learning enables greater freedom of movement and awareness. A body that is free from involuntary conditioning has a wider range of voluntary responses to the environment, allowing for more adaptability and ease. From a scientific perspective, this means greater physical efficiency and less wasted energy. From a personal, first-hand perspective, it means moving and living with greater ease and without unnecessary restriction.
At its core, somatics is about more than just recognising the body from within—it’s about actively shaping how we move and experience ourselves. By consciously integrating involuntary functions into our awareness, we can expand our control over our own bodies, leading to greater autonomy and well-being.