You stretch to get more flexible, right? But did you know the Stretch Reflex is probably getting in your way? In this post, learn about the myotatic reflexes and how and why to avoid them by doing Somatic Movement. Ready to have your mind blown?
In Hanna Somatics we have one very specific goal: to help the individuals nervous system reset their resting muscle tone. Another way to say this is to help a body let go of chronic or habitual tension. The result is that we can rapidly alleviate the pain or soreness associated with chronically tense muscles, and also improve range-of-motion and flexibility by allowing the skeletal muscles to easily achieve their full length, as needed. This is a game-changer for equestrians!
How does Hanna Somatics work?
Rather than doing anything directly to the muscle tissue, like stretching or massaging it, when we do Somatic Exercises we change the output from the brain to the affected muscles. Another way to say this is that Somatic Exercises can influence the way the brain and muscles communicate in a way that most other types of exercise or ‘bodywork’ just can’t do consistently.
To get the brain to stop telling the muscles to be habitually shortened (aka tense or tight) even when you think you are at rest, we use a natural reflex called pandiculation.
What is Pandiculation?
To put it simply, pandiculation is a natural reflex that involves the contraction and slow de-contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. The purpose of pandiculation is to ‘wake-up’ or prepare the body for movement, by resetting muscles to their optimum resting length. Pandiculation happens spontaneously for all vertebrates, usually shortly after waking, or after sitting still for long periods. You have probably seen your cat or dog pandiculate after a nap! It looks like a big luxurious stretch, often accompanied by a yawn.
Doing voluntary pandiculations is what sets Hanna Somatics and Somatic Yoga apart from all other modalities or methods. Voluntary Pandiculation, used strategically to target the most contracted and dysfunctional muscles first, is also the technique that creates such an incredibly high rate of success and the long-term lasting changes that are everyday occurrences with a Hanna Somatics (or Equine Hanna Somatics) practice.
What is the difference between Pandiculation & Stretching?
To trigger the effect of pandiculation, we must do a very specific type of movement that involves a concentric contraction of a muscle (or group of muscles) and then a very slow eccentric contraction of the same muscles, all without going outside the persons (or animals) current comfortable range of motion. Staying within the current range of motion means we are not stretching the muscles while moving into or out of the exercise.
When you stretch a muscle, you are using leverage and/or gravity to apply a lengthening force to the muscle, which also pulls on the surrounding connective tissues (tendons, ligaments and fascia).
What happens when you stretch?
When a muscle is stretched, involuntary myotatic reflexes (aka ‘the stretch reflex’) are triggered. These reflexes are involuntary, meaning they happen automatically and unconsciously at the spinal cord level.
What is the Muscle Stretch Reflex or Myotatic Reflex?
It’s as simple as the ‘knee jerk’ reflex. When muscle tissue is stretched, like when your doctor taps on the tendon just below your kneecap with that little rubber hammer, there is an immediate contraction of the muscle – this is what makes your foot do a little kick. This reflexive firing of the muscle is involuntary, meaning it is out of your conscious control.
Once the receptors in the muscle fibers sense the stretch, they send a quick signal from the sensory neuron straight to the motor neuron that controls the muscle and causes the contraction – without ever consulting the brain. This is known as a ‘local reflex arc’ because it’s all happening at the spinal cord level.
Now, here’s the real kicker –
The purpose of the stretch reflex (aka myotatic reflex) is to maintain the current length of a muscle.
In fact, the stretch reflex not only works to bring the muscle back to the same length it was before you stretched it, but it can even re-contract the muscle to be even shorter! Eep!
This can be great for maintaining an upright posture and for preventing muscles from being over-stretched and damaged. But it’s not so great if you are stretching with the intent of making a muscle longer – and isn’t that why most of us were taught to stretch??? Well, dang. This means that while we are stretching to get more flexible, we are also working against ourselves by triggering our natural stretch reflex. This is not just my opinion, this is 100% physiology.
This is why we tell you NOT to Stretch while doing Somatic Exercises, and why NOT to pull on your horse when doing Equine Hanna Somatics.
While doing Hanna Somatics, we actively avoid stretching, because triggering the stretch reflex (aka myotatic reflex) interferes with our goal of allowing the muscles to lengthen passively, and to return to a neutral resting tonus. When we trigger the stretch reflex, we are also interfering with Pandiculation. And pandiculation is the reflex that can safely lengthen our muscles by changing the output from the brain to reset the resting muscle tone – the goal of Hanna Somatics, Equine Hanna Somatics and Canine Hanna Somatics.
Hanna Somatic Educators would never say that “Stretching is bad” or that you should never do it… In fact, a little mechanical stretching can be helpful in loosening up stuck fascia and improving our body awareness by sending extra sensory feedback to the brain. BUT we do often find ourselves needing to educate our clients and interested folks about the stretch reflex, and why we actively avoid it during Somatic Exercises, in order to achieve the effect of naturally supple and lengthened muscles.
Is Yoga at odds with Somatics?
The short answer is NO! There is absolutely a way to practice yoga and also benefit from following the somatic principles of mindful movement while not triggering the stretch reflex. Many modern yoga classes are promoted and taught for fitness and to improve flexibility – but they are often missing the core of what yoga is about – bringing the mind and the body into harmony or “oneness.”
In fact, there is a unique type of yoga practice called Somatic Yoga, which was developed by Eleanor Criswell – who also happens to be my mentor and the creator of Equine Hanna Somatics and Canine Hanna Somatics!
What is Somatic Yoga?
“Somatic Yoga, developed by Eleanor Criswell, is a unique approach to yoga that blends somatics (mind-body integration), Hatha yoga, and Raja yoga (Patanjali’s yoga). It is based on the principles of somatics, yoga, neuroscience (especially the somatic nervous system), applied psychophysiology, and psychology.” (From somaticsed.com)
Interested in learning more? Read How Yoga Works: An Introduction to Somatic Yoga by Eleanor Criswell
Resources for further learning:
Joseph Feher, in Quantitative Human Physiology, 2012
Darryl L. Millis, Joe Mankin, in Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy (Second Edition), 2014
