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by chemistry (food or drugs) or by psychology (talk it out), but very little social effort is going into training the kinesthetic sense, opening our fibrous body, or exploring the role of shape and form in our personality, health, development, and function. So in our master's program, we would need to include embryology and morphogenesis—how shape comes into being. The lessons of embryology are just beginning to reveal their mysteries to the world. Any glance at the embryology texts shows how primitive our understanding is of the forces involved and how they work. Most embryology concentrates on the biochemistry and has completely ignored the biomechanics of embryology. Now that we understand cellular mechanics more completely, and see the wide role mechanotransduction plays in normal function and pathology, it is time to extend that knowledge into embryology: How does the fetus form? What are the tensional lines inside? Which are elastic and which inelastic?18, 19, 20 Aside from the problem of formation, we need to explore the avenues of intra-body communication. Although we know something of nerve conduction and blood circulation, we are only just getting hints of the dynamic interaction among these two systems and the third whole body system—the blood, the nerves, and the fascia. Our somatic practitioners need to be conversant with palpation and release techniques for all three of these systems, not just the musculoskeletal system. Manipulation methods are available for the meningeal system around the brain, for the bags around the organs, and for the sheaths surrounding the nerves and blood vessels, as well as the joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascial membranes. Exposure to, if not familiarity with, all these would be a requirement of the person who wishes to build a career in somatics. The nervous system, of course, is responsible for coordinating movement, and the sensory nerves invest the fascia more than any other organ; your fascia is your richest sense organ. From the sensory collection of raw data though the perception of the world, to organizing an action plan, to coordinating the cascade of impulses, to executing those impulses down through the motor system to the muscles, the neural symphony of movement—already well-studied in neurology and kinesiology—would be necessary to complete our education for the somatic therapist. ADVANCING THE DIALOGUE Associating with a university, I realize, is not everyone's cup of tea. Lots of folks got into this kinesthetic profession because their learning style did not lend itself to regular school visual and auditory learning. That is all well and good, but I am urging those of us with the youth or background or inclination to associate with a university in whatever way you can. Take courses, contact professors, work to get a somatics program started within the dance or psychology department. Do not be frightened or intimidated; no one starts out with all the answers. The important part is to have some questions, and then to find the people who can help you find the answers. Working therapists are the essential part of this profession, supported by schools and professional organizations. Researchers are necessary to confirm or correct the impressions gained by practitioners or innovators in the field. In the current environment where our methods and goals are reaching up beyond the original parameters, we need degree programs in somatics to advance the dialogue, connect the research to the practice, and coordinate with other professions engaged in similar inquiries. Let's get started! bodywork for nearly 30 years. He teaches workshops internationally on anatomy, movement, and soft-tissue work. His book, Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists, was published by Elsevier in 2001. He lives, writes, and sails on the coast of Maine. Thomas Myers has practiced integrative NOTES 1. D. Juhan, Job's Body (New York: Barrytown, 1987). 2. A. Montagu, Touching, 3rd ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1986). 3. M. Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma (New York: Penguin, 2006). 4. H. Selye, The Stress of Life, (New York: McGraw Hill, 1956). 5. S. Taylor, Health Psychology, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2003). 6. S. Levine, Waking the Tiger (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1997). 7. B. Rothschild, The Body Remembers, (New York: W. W. Norton, 2000). 8. R. Kurzweil, The Age of Spiritual Machines (New York: Penguin, 2000). 9. F.M. Alexander, The Use of the Self, Original 1932, (London: Orion Books, 2001). 10. M. Bond, The New Rules of Posture (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2007). 11. M. Feldenkrais, The Case of Nora. (New York: Harper and Row, 1977). 12. J. Aston, Aston Postural Assessment Workbook. (San Antonio: TX: Therapy Skill Builders, 1998). 13. C. McHose, How Life Moves (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2006). 14. D.E. Ingber, "The Architecture of Life," Scientific American 278 (January 1998): 48-57. 15. S. McGill, Low Back Disorders (Waterloo, ON: Human Kinetics, 2002). 16. J.P. Barral, Visceral Manipulation, Rev. Ed. (Seattle: Eastland Press, 2005). 17. R. Schleip. see articles on myofibroblasts by Hinz, Grinnell, and Schleip on www. somatics.de, accessed September 2008. 18. R. Sheldrake, The Presence of the Past (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1995). 19. E. Blechschmidt, The Ontogenetic Basis of Human Anatomy (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2004). 20. R. Grossinger, Embryogenesis (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1986). visit massageandbodywork.com to access your digital magazine 85