What is Proactive Postural Restructuring?

As you stand, walk, play your sport or run, every step is either helping or hindering the balance of your skeletal structure, which can result in a multitude of issues:

• poor posture
• bunions and hammer toes
• plantar fasciitis and foot pain
• knee pain
• hip pain
• stiff walking, particularly in your ankles
• tight, sore back
• scoliosis
• excessive turn-out or inward-rotation of one or both feet
• knock kneed or bow-legged

Proactive Postural Restructuring can help you balance your hips and increase tone (strength and flexibility) in your feet and ankles. This somatic (brain-body) approach focuses primarily on exercises for the feet, legs and pelvis to create better anatomical alignment of your bones and joints through out your entire body. Because how your legs align and function is connected to how your pelvis, spine and neck function.

The exercises you learn will help:

• release tension in your back.
• tone your ankles and feet. Increases strength and mobility of your ankles, feet and restructure the muscles of your lower legs. 
• Develop extremely strong and straight legs. Activate the fascial lines and anatomical chains from the feet up through the spine.
• Lengthen and widen your back. Release tension in the back of your body, better sense and stabilize the shoulder blades.
• Let go of excessive tension in the gluteal muscles. Your bootie muscles are for moving, not stabilizing you. 
• Balance the inner and outer thigh muscles. Improving support and stability of the hips.
• Re-educate and re-program the muscles of the hips. Better sense how your thigh bones move in the hip sockets without recruiting excess tension in the torso. 

PPR is for you if. . .

• you have aches and pains that typical approaches aren’t remedying
• you feel (and see in the mirror) slumpy, slouchy posture that makes you feel and look older than you actually are
• you are tired of spending so much time and money on treatments and gadgets that don’t work long term?
• Or you have resolved your pain problems with Somatics—awesome!— and are now seeking a safe, mindful movement practice that enhances and strengthens your anatomical alignment and posture.

Somatic Vocabulary + Key Principles

somatic nervous system - the part of your brain and nervous system in charge of controlling how you move and sensing/feeling what you are actually doing.
neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to form neural pathways between the brain and body in response to learning or experience or following injury. Neural pathways can deteriorate too.
sensory motor amnesia (SMA)- when the feedback loop between the brain (sensory motor cortex) and muscles are out of sync, which can result in altered movement patterns.
altered movement patterns (AMP)- gradual and unconscious ways of moving due to repetitive motion, pain, injury, lifestyle, over-active muscles.
pandiculations - safe, simple and enjoyable movements to recalibrate the feedback loop between the brain and muscles. Pandiculations are not stretches or strength movements.
Somatics lessons - a series of pandiculations and constructive rest to relearn how to release your muscles to their true resting length. Benefits include Somatics should be foundational to any fitness routine, sport and overall quality of life.
Pro-active Postural Restructuring - a somatic learning method to address anatomical imbalances and altered movement patterns with special attention of the lower body (pelvis, hips, legs, ankles, and feet). Benefits include better posture, smoother and steadier gait, diminished back, hip and foot pain, sculpted hips, legs, ankles, and feet.
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I've been doing the moves you taught me, and my lower back pain is much better. 
​​I never did reschedule with my chiropractor since this works so well.
​This will save me so much time and money!  
~Juanita R, 51, Portland, Oregon

Proactive Postural Restructuring is simple, safe and pretty much “mind-blowing!”
PPR students can’t believe how much of a difference they feel in their legs, feet and overall power in their gait after just the first session. Just like Somatics classes, they feel like it’s magic. But it’s just neuroplasticity in action, changing how your brain runs your body for better mobility with less effort.

What happens in PPR classes?
Kristin will blend two somatic modalities (Hanna-based Somatics and Pro-active Postural Restructuring) into a fantastic somatic learning experience only offered from Think Somatics. Kristin is the only person on the planet blending Hanna-based Somatics with Proactive Postural Restructuring (PPR) movements for one of a kind somatic education experience.

Learn simple, safe exercises you can do right at home with nothing more than a chair and quiet space on your floor.
The movements will help you improve and develop

• anatomical alignment of joints and bones
• graceful posture
• toned legs
• healthier feet and ankles
• restore proper function of SI joints and hips