SomafLux

the bright body perpetually changing

The body is the exquisite container of our energy, our experiences, our consciousness. How we live and feel expresses itself in our bodies as health or disease. Living deeply and consciously in our bodies offers us health, flexibility and resiliency to face life’s challenges. This amazing vessel carries us through life yet how we “drive” it is often how we might drive a machine. Deepening our embodied experience is the goal of my work. How do we nurture and develop our strength and stability while maintaining our flexibility? How do we find and maintain space while moving through our often hectic lives?

By synthesizing my experience and prolonged study of different forms and somatic practices, I offer a class gleaned from years of practical research.

In this work I utilize sequences of Bartinieff Fundamentals, Pilates, yoga and chi-gung.

BF based warm-up enhances our mind-body connection and facilitates releasing the habitual tensions we hold. Through breath awareness and support, we deepen into our body’s resources, accessing our tensile, dynamic alignment and core support. Maintaining our focus on our inner physical well being through our breath, we move through yoga asanas that challenge our cores, lubricate our joints and stretch our muscles. Moving from the ground, through the quadiped, to standing, we change our orientation to gravity, as we learn to support ourselves efficiently. Standing, we work on balance, weight shift and gait.

The class and exercises are modified to accommodate for each individual.

Despina Sophia Stamos is somatic practitioner that has been teaching in NYC and internationally since 1994. Stamos’s work integrates her studies of Yoga, Pilates, Bartenieff Fundamentals, chi-gung and dance and uses these modalities to improve your exercise experience.

Stamos studied Pilates with Cary Reagan and Shelley Studenberg. Bartinieff fundamentals with Dr. Martha Eddy and Leslie Powell,  Ashtanga Vinyasa, and Iyengar yoga, Chi-gung with Daria Fain. Stamos’ study includes in-depth study of anatomy with Gil Hedley. Stamos has been certified from the American Council of Exercise since 1994. She holds certifications for yoga, pilates, exercise for special populations.