Atha SomaYoga

Atha SomaYoga SomaYoga Therapy is a gentle practice that incorporates traditional yoga, therapeutic yoga, the Neur Atha SomaYoga is located inside Core PT.

Labels don't really mean much in my world.....I buy what I like, and what works well for me. I do want to give a shout o...
11/14/2025

Labels don't really mean much in my world.....I buy what I like, and what works well for me. I do want to give a shout out to Patricia Nash, as I've carried this same adjustable purse for about 6 years! (I have had to have the leather repaired once, and would do it again!) And I have to give credit to my friend and collleage, Samantha Sambrooke, for showing me hers! It's convertable, so you can use it like a regular purse (I don't, ever.) You can use it as a side body purse (I do this almost all of the time.) And you can use the straps like a backpack (I do this when traveling sometimes!) Using it as a side body purse or backpack allows me to keep my posture more even, my hands free if I need them, and keep me from getting sore! It's something I talk about a lot with my lady clients, and it can actually make a huge difference in how you feel!

So guys/partners, maybe be on the look-out for a good side body purse or a stylish backpack that you can get for your special someone this Christmas! (Or go buy one for yourself!)

11/14/2025

Guys, get your ladies a purse! It can be something that will help them stay out of pain as well - see my next post!

11/11/2025

As we move into colder months (and recently the ups and downs of the transition) we often notice that we get a little more achy. In somatics, we often think about stress and trauma and how these cause reflexive patterns to affect our body. Well, temperature and pressure changes do too! Think about how you hold your body when it's cold, windy, or rainy. We might pull our arms across our chest, tuck our chin down, take smaller steps. Or we might try to go as fast as we can to get back inside and in doing so, take larger steps and pull our shoulders back. Either way, we often get a littel stuck in these positions, or patterns. Sometimes it a bit of both! Learning to pay attention to these tension patterns that creep in can often make the difference of feeling achy and tight, or feeling relaxed and free. Learning the practice to "check in" with yourself to see what's showing up, can help us see when these creep in and do some simple practices to release them and find better balance.

Check in with your posture! Are you holding your shoulders or your legs and hips differently because of the weather??

10/24/2025

This is Michelle - she is a friend, a client, a Physical Therapist, and a SomaYoga 500 hour instructor. Find her at SomaYoga with Michelle! You can hear her talk a little, stating, "this is dynamic" when first starting to use the Movemate board. She has a Movemate board at home. You can see how she moves the weight distrubution on her feet from side to side, front to back, etc. The closer your feet, the more stable the board. The farther away, the more your feet move, and the more your body and your core muscles are going to have to move and adjust. Several of my clients have bought these for themselves and they have stated that at first, they had to use for a short time and rest. After time, as they have built up their endurance and been able to get more balanced movements, they are staying on it longer, and feel LESS TIRED AND SORE at the end of the day! This is because they're not staying static and/or going further into their imbalances when they're just standing or just sitting. It's a great tool, as you saw in the last post, to help feel the imbalances of your "normal" standing posture, and then to move in all ways so that you're using your muscles more evenly. I love mine as well!
www.letsmovemate.com/atha is my link - please use and share!

10/24/2025

Movemateboard! www.letsmovemate.com/atha is my link, as I love what these guys are doing and what this board does! The first video I'm showing is my client (who has allowed me to share) who is working on his balance due to vestibular issues and essential tremors. The board is intended to allow you to MOVE while standing at a desk, etc. In my sessions, I use the board to see how a person STANDS and how their posture affects how they bear weight through their feet. You can hear us talking about this in the clip..... We don't often realize how much pressure we're putting on different areas of our feet when we stand. And we don't realize that how we hold ourselves in space with our postural muscles in our core affects that! With the Movemate board, you can both see what your typical pattern is when you stand (unconsciously) and, you can move the feet to access some of the postural muscles differently, to find better balance. And then, you can move through the feet during the day if you have a board at home! I'll be sharing another video in my next post that's more about moving on the Movemate! I know a lot of people that would like this for a gift!

10/24/2025

This one is a bit more spendy, and would make a GREAT gift for someone who is at a desk a lot. I think it's better than a treadmill under the desk, and definitely better than a balance board with a half ball under it - they're tricky to use, so most people I know who have purchased one end up not using it. See my next post for more details!

I talked about integrity earlier in the week with a client. It's something I learned from my dad. It's something I try...
10/23/2025

I talked about integrity earlier in the week with a client. It's something I learned from my dad. It's something I try hard to maintain. It's something I value. It's something I strive to never lose.

10/19/2025

Adding an additional post about the Movemate board, as it's in Pam's Picks for gift giving, and it's a great tool to help improve posture! The next post will show a video of the inventor of the board..... check it out!

These were actually a gift I received recently. A friend and I talked about them a while ago, and they showed up in the ...
10/17/2025

These were actually a gift I received recently. A friend and I talked about them a while ago, and they showed up in the mail a couple weeks ago..... and I love them! See, I love barefoot shoes (you can tell by the worn backs of the ones pictured!) And, when you put your feet in barefoot shoes and go for long walks, they get stinky! I've worn the little socks and those are fine, but these barefoot "socks" add just a little cushion to the bottom of the shoe, they absorb odors well, and you can throw them in the wash when they do get a little smelly or dirty. Win win!! They also come in lots of fun prints, and you can trim them to fit the shoes you have. They are a great add to shoes, and they keep your feet free to move. They'd make a great stocking stuffer! I don't sell these, but you can find them here: https://flatsocks.com/collections/floral-prints/products/flat-socks-floral-embroidery

10/17/2025

Flat socks?!? What the heck are those? Check out my next post if you're curious!

10/13/2025

Posture - did I hit a nerve when I said good posture isn't pulling your shoulders back? Well, that's ok if I did. I've literally had people arguing with me in their first sessions doing SomaYoga with me. These same people had a lot of tension and pain in their upper back/shoulders/neck. And after they learned to release the muscles in the upper back (and probably lower back as well) they felt better, even though they felt like they were slouching or falling forward at first. Those of us that were told to "stand up straight with your shoulders back" for years, or were athletes and told to "stand up tall" or in the military, etc. typically have a lot of upper back tension and pain. The cool thing is: YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT besides going to your amazing massage therapist or dry needler to have them turn the muscles off. (Don't get me wrong, those are both amazing and sometimes needed.) AND YOU CAN LEARN TO RELEASE THE MUSCLES YOURSELF. That is the beauty of Somatics.

I love teaching people how to find better balance in their posture, and to learn to release chronically tight muscles themselves. It's not by stretching. It's by what's called Pandiculation. Some of my clients have said it's like having a Posture Coach. I'll take that title, if it helps people find relief! Once you're able to release these muscles, you can change how you're standing, sitting, even lying down, so you don't have the tension in your shoulders. If this is you, I hope you try Somatics!

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1200 Valley West Drive, Suite 300
Des Moines, IA
50266

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