Somatics in a Time of War
Aliona Bespalenko
Presentation:
“When nothing is clear, when the future is not defined, and life and safety are under constant threat, there is not much one can find support in. As an experienced Somatic Educator and Feldenkrais Practitioner living in Ukraine, I know first hand how war trauma influences both mind and body, and how Somatics can be used to cope with these challenges. As a manual therapist and rehabilitologist, I work with those who have been wounded and traumatized; with amputees and those who have been disabled; and veterans of the war, and I see the incredibly dramatic results of my work with them. I’m now ready to share my experience of how these long years of education are really paying off, and how this knowledge and these skills are most needed – in a time of war.”
– Aliona (Olena) Bespalenko (1)
Aliona Bespalenko
Born in Ukraine, and initially trained as a teacher of English and
German, Aliona (Olena) Bespalenko completely changed her occupation as the result of war. After severe traumas and the accumulation of chronic pain brought her to the Somatic realm, she began translating and subsequently learning at Somatic workshops and seminars. She enrolled in a professional program at The Ingle Institute for Somatic Education (2), graduated, and then became an assistant trainer herself. Eager to learn more and also to confirm that the Somatic discipline really does merge well with modern medical restorative methods, she enrolled in and graduated from a course at Kyiv National University of Sports and Physical Training (3) as a certified physical therapist and rehabilitologist. Being the perpetual student that she is, Aliona continued to deepen her understanding of Somatic work by taking a course on the Feldenkrais Method as taught by Elisabet Bloom (4) in her own unique approach. This course took 5 years for her to complete, through pandemics and war, to finish on this rather long and thorny path, and to finally receive the long-desired certificate of completion. Now, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage, Aliona has found that she can really actualize all the potential of the Somatic knowledge and skills that she has acquired as she helps those who need it the most – the traumatized and the wounded people, as well as soldiers, veterans and the disabled.
Presentation
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Discussion
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The After Effect
HSE Learning Community
Presenters and Attendees Wanted
The Hanna Somatic Education Learning Community is a monthly group that will be hosted by Ryan Moschell and the AHSE Education Committee. This group’s mission is to cultivate our members’ continued learning and deepen our community’s connection. All AHSE members would be most welcome to attend. Together, we’d benefit Hanna Somatics as a discipline, while supporting the common growth of our clients, the general public, and ourselves as Hanna Somatic Educators.
In this online group, AHSE members are invited to volunteer to teach a topic of their choice focused on Hanna Somatic Education. Each presentation would be 15 to 30 minutes in length. You’d have the valuable opportunity to practice your presentation skills and your HSE colleagues could process your chosen topic together. You certainly don’t need to be an expert on the topic. You’d inspire the group to learn from each other through their questions and discussion.
The presenter can get a recording of their own presentation that they can present to their clients, post on social media, upload to YouTube, or use to write an article. If the content is cleared by the AHSE Education Committee, your recording can be archived in the Members section of the AHSE website.
Suggested presentation topics:
o Anatomy
o Kinesiology
o Neuroscience
o Somatic movements / Techniques
o Diagnosis - somatic interpretations and possible solutions
o A case study (With permission to share)- problems and solutions
o Translating and incorporating HSE into other disciplines.
o Other HSE-related topics…
The group meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at 9:30 am PDT/PST, 12:30 pm EDT/EST, 5:30 pm BST/GMT, for 60-90 minutes. The first meeting of the Hanna Somatic Education Learning Community is _______________-and we already have a great presentation lined up.
We’ll need monthly presenters, so if you’d be interested in being a future presenter, Please submit a paragraph describing your topic to Ryan Moschell and the AHSE Education Committee. Let Ryan know if you have any questions about being a presenter.
