'Lying as relating' by Isabella Shirley-Miller
Holistic Studies in Human Anatomy
exploring the dynamic relationship between
mind & body
A two year course in Experiential Anatomy held over 10 weekends running October to March annually.
The course studies traditional Anatomy & Physiology from a multi-disciplined approach informed by the Experiential Anatomy of Body-Mind Centering®, whole person learning and reflective practicum.
There are five modules per year including the following skeleton, Nervous, Endocrine, Muscle, Organs & Fluid Systems.
Click here for Modules & two year course content.
Click here for details of this years Course 2020 via zoom
Each module includes the study of traditional anatomy models, maps, charts & books complimented by guided explorations in embodied practice, hands-on touch & movement.
This course is based on a holistic teaching and learning approach exploring the relationship between western science (a science of quantities) and first person perception (a science of qualities).
Our next intake of first year students will be October 2021.
Course Dates will be released in Spring 2021. Please contact us if you would like to learn more or to be included on our mailing list for updates & taster workshops.
This year 2020, the second year anatomy course has been divided into two parts. Part I - an introductory journey is being offered online as a one day introductory course to the second year this academic year. Year II: Part I Course Content click here. Part I only is open to SOEL staff, grads and experienced professionals in somatics and anatomy, see course content above.
We hope to return to in person teaching in Autumn 2021 with Year II Part II and our new intake of first year students.
"I appreciate that in this practice there is no ideology, technique or way of looking at the world, just an opportunity to (re)-consider things from a different perspective that is person centred and unique to each individual"
Dr Tiffany Strawson 2016
Holistic Studies in Human Anatomy
Course Information
The course is a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of western science and anatomy fostering our felt sensory capacities to experience the dynamic, innate intelligence guiding all our body’s functioning, internal maintenance and well being.
The focus of the course is the study of traditional anatomy and physiology supported by the complimentary embodied practice of Body-Mind Centering®.
This unique approach supports the cultivation of a deeper felt sensory understanding of human biology and our relationship to our self and other.
Students are supported to discover and develop their own interests & inquiry pertinent to their experiences. This approach is rooted in a somatics practice and informed by Whole Person Learning, Holistic Science & Reflective Practicum. Teaching includes the following modalities:
-
Anatomy models, maps, charts, articles, DVDs & books
-
Hands-on-touch and movement integration
-
Reflective dialogue, writing and drawing
People who have studied the course before include the following professions: Teachers & Lecturers, body work therapists, Play Therapists, Yoga teachers, Cranial Sacral Therapists, Writers, Visual Artists, Performance Artists, Arts Managers, Biodynamic Practitioner & growers.
Course content in brief:
240 hours taught content
10 weekend modules over 2 years
4 private one-to-one tutorials
Library membership with access to over 300 books Additional articles & module handouts
Film screenings
Course Handbook
SOEL Certification
Graduate Feedback
The pace, different learning styles and non-judgemental approach is something precious. To slow down in the learning and trust myself to know has given me a different outlook on learning. The tutorials were so generous and personal. I felt so seen and known. The richest experience was with the lungs and the touch on my back.
Dr Abigail Jackson 2018 Academic
I have been able to draw out and examine creativity, trauma, new and more joyful ways of being, inspiration, grounding, kindness…It continues to be a beautiful, fascinating…process of discovery and undoing. Annabie Daly 2017 Artist & musician
I come away from this course with a deep sense of longevity in that there were many aspects of my learning that I feel I will be able to carry far into the future. Participating in this course had clear impacts on how I entered and responded to life beyond the course. Helen Williams. 2016 Director Being in Circle, Arts Manager & Stage Manager.
Course dates, Year II: Part I: 2020 - 2021
"Balancing between individuality & connectivity -
an introductory journey"
MODULE 1: Muscles - an introduction
Friday 2nd October 2020
Muscle as sensory organ: tonus & proprioception
MODULE 2: Nervous System - an introduction
Friday 30th October 2020
Nervous System: the topography of sensing & motion
MODULE 3: Endocrine System - an introduction
Friday 27th November 2020
Endocrine System: our glands, our hormones: energy & balance
MODULE 4: Organs II - a introduction
Friday 22nd January 2021
Organs II: the brain in our gut
MODULE 5: Reflections on Learning
Friday 26th February 2021
Reflections on Learning: an embodied perspective
course content: Year II: Part I: an introductory journey
"Balancing between individuality & connectivity -
completing the journey"
MODULE 1: 2 days / dates tbc / October 2021
Muscle & Skeleton: The matter of motion, tonus & proprioception
MODULE 2: 2 days / dates tbc / November 2021
Nervous System: Sensing Movement, neuroplasticity & the senses of perception
MODULE 3: 2 days / dates tbc / December 2021
Endocrine System: The chemical governing system: glands, hormones, balance & our universal mind
MODULE 4: 2 days / dates tbc January 2022
Organs II: The abdominal, pelvic regions & our gut brain
MODULE 5: 2 days / dates tbc / February 2022
Graduation: Final Presentations & Portfolio Review
Course Dates, Year I: 2021 - 2022
"Exploring relationship to self, other & place through direct experience in the body"
MODULE 1: three days / dates tbc / October 2021
Cells to Skin: Levels of organisation in the human body
MODULE 2: three days / dates tbc / November 2021
The Skeleton: Structure, support & organisation
MODULE 3: three days / dates tbc / January 2022
Organs I: Nourishment, breath, the heart brain & the kidneys
MODULE 4: three days / dates tbc / February 2022
The Fluids: The nature of transformation
MODULE 5: three days / dates tbc / March 2022
Presentations & Portfolio Review
Course modules & content click here
Course dates: Year II: Part II: 2021 - 2022
TASTER WORKSHOPS
Dates released for 2021 intake in Spring 2021
Taster group workshops in Devon
Practical workshops in experiential anatomy followed by course information & questions for October 2021 intake.
Booking for taster workshops opens Spring 2021.
Testimony
“In a world where disease and pain has become so normal this approach to learning and knowing ourselves offers a key for our health, by listening to the wisdom of our bodies, we learn to embody a new paradigm, one where ease and grace are at the heart.”
"As a Cranial Sacral therapist it has been very meaningful to enter the consciousness of my own cerebrospinal fluid, (on the first year module: Fluids), this is a familiar consciousness that I enter every time I work with a client, and yet I had never been simply guided into the experience of my own CSF. Resting in my Cerebrospinal fluids I am filled with a luminous light, at one with the cosmic universe. I am peace and I am resting in stillness. (Fluids module: February 2018)
Course graduate, Isabella Lazlo 2017-2019
Excerpt from article June 2018