Hanna Somatics teacher training
with lisa Petersen

You are a soma. Your soma is self-regulating, self-monitoring, self-assessing, self-correcting, self-renewing and ultimately self-healing.

What is Somatics?

Think of somatics as a big, beautiful oak tree. Its expansive branches include any movement practice through which you get to know yourself from the inside out. The branches that Lisa know intimately are Hanna Somatic Education, Body-Mind Centering, and the yoga lineage of Donna Farhi. Other somatic modalities include tai chi, continuum, somatic experiencing and all meditation practices.

'Somatics is the subtlest, deepest, most integrated
body therapy I have experienced.'

Peter Labanyi, Psychotherapist

In Hanna Somatics, you learn to become your own somatic educator: self-aware, self-sensing and self-healing. Many movement teachers call it the missing link. At its most basic it’s a way of teaching our muscles to relax and stay that way. In this way it offers an embodied antidote to pain and tension. The practice gives us the tools to free ourselves, moving us clearly in the direction of balanced strength and away from injury. This emphasis on agency (the ability to affect and change your life) is empowering, liberating and practical. After all, you’re the one that lives in your body. Who else knows you better?

What can Somatics do for me?

Somatics offers a practical tool-kit for physical and emotional resilience, freedom in the breath and calm in the mind. On a physical level, it’s used to treat a range of conditions like lower back, neck, hip, jaw, pelvic and knee pain. It helps re-pattern hyper-kyphosis and scoliosis, and is used to heal sports injuries and postural problems. It also addresses sciatica, pelvic floor issues, repetitive strain and many more conditions.

Somatic exercises can be seamlessly incorporated into yoga, pilates, physio and physical therapy. They can transform dance, running, swimming and all sports. Lisa has also taught doctors, psychotherapists, physical trainers, osteopaths, meditation teachers, massage therapists and movement professionals from all walks of life.

JOIN LISA PETERSEN FOR HER IN-PERSON TRANSFORMATIONAL
SOMATIC TEACHER TRAINING

MARCH-NOVEMBER 2025

Most movement, healthcare and therapy professionals continue to invest in their own learning. Newly fledged teachers soon realise they need additional training to become the knowledgeable, competent, authentic teacher they want to be. More experienced teachers look for inspiration and deeper understanding as they move through the stages of life; while others seek a supportive framework to continue to grow in their personal lives and professional careers.

No matter who we are, most of us hit a personal roadblock that presents as burn out, injury, pain, frustration, overwhelm, or a crisis of confidence at some point. It’s a dark night of the soul. Whatever your needs, you’re not alone. Help is at hand.

Somatics is love at first sight for so many practitioners, educators and therapists. It combines the heart of ancient wisdom practices with the rigour and depth of modern anatomy, neuroscience and somatics. It’s all there in one timeless package delivered with compassion, depth, wisdom and professionalism. What a gift!

Learn to become an authentic, competent, and confident somatic movement educator no matter where you are on your teaching journey.

THIS TRAINING IS FOR YOU IF...

You want to relieve pain, tension or stress in your body anywhere and anytime.

You wish to increase stability, strength, balance and flexibility in any movement practice.

You’d like to learn how to weave somatics into any practice or teaching.

You want a sustainable way to continue to practice and teach movement at any age

You wish to understand your nervous system and help others on their journey to freedom.

You want to develop a practice of self-care, self-trust and self-empowerment.

You’d like to develop natural confidence in yourself and your teaching.

What People Say

“‘I am not the same body, mind or spirit that came to the mat at the start of the training. The somatic teachings seem simple but are profound and have added so much to the way I practise, teach and perhaps most importantly live my life. Like all great teachings it continues to reveal more as you keep up the practice. It brings me ‘home’ as we grow together, and it sits so well with my yoga and mindfulness practices.’

— Paul Oakley, Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher, UK

‘On a Physical level, I have experienced more sustainable postural and functional improvements in 3 years than I have in 15 years of teaching and practising asana or my 22 years of working as a Physiotherapist. Somatic movement education is now a regular part of my daily practice, my teaching and my clinical practice - I describe it to clients as the 'missing link' between yoga asana practice and physio.’

— Shelly Freund, Yoga Teacher and Physiotherapist, Australia

'There is something about Hanna Somatics, as taught by Lisa, that is more than just releasing muscle tension, improving posture and deeply relaxing my body/mind. Something a bit magic happens. I feel more connected to my body, more at home in my body, and more at home in myself. It’s helped me access a piece of ‘the puzzle’ that nothing else has yet.'

— Sarah White, Yoga Teacher, Scotlan

‘Somatics has completely transformed my approach to my personal yoga practice and to yoga teaching’.

Colette Kealy, Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher, Ireland

TRAINING FOUNDATIONS

HOW THIS TRAINING IS ORGANISED TO SUPPORT YOUR LEARNING...

We accompany you on your 8+ month somatic journey from start to finish, helping to keep you on track, engaged and present. 

What is included!

+ 10.5 days of in-person training
+ 6 hours of live online training,
+ 10 hours of pre-recorded material,
+ 3 hours of small group mentoring
+ Online Community Space Via Sutra Platform
+ Live Online Support Classes In Between Modules

+ Detailed Personalised Feedback 
+ Live Online Support Circles
+ Small Group Mentoring
+ Study Buddy And Small Group Learning
+ Community Connection
+ Extra Reading List
+ Bonus Livestreams
+ 4 X Full Colour Manuals
+ Podcast Inspiration
+ 12 Months Of Content Access

+ Student Discounts at Yoga Moves during your course time period.
+ Available for 100+ contact hours of Yoga Alliance Continuing Education credit through the Subject Matter Expert pathway.

This training consists of 4 modules which begin in March 2025.

  • The 10.5 days of live in-person training with Lisa and faculty consists of: 

    • 8 days of personal practice.

    • 2 days of teaching methodology, teaching practice and class planning.

    • A half day of integration and competency.

    • Detailed personalised feedback from Lisa after the last module.

    • Dedicated online space for all training materials, group discussions and community connection.

Dates - Price - Location - Enroll

Dates & Times: Times will be 11.30-18.30
(there may be a couple adjustments to the start/end time on mid-week dates.)
Modules 1: Friday thru Monday | March 14-15-16-17 (four days)

Module 2: Thursday thur Sunday | June 12-13-14-15 (four days)

Module 3: Friday & Saturday | Sept 6 & 7 (two days)

Module 4: You will join for a half a day; for your practice evaluation and will be on Friday thru Saturday | November 5, 6 or 7 (to be determined)

Location:
Yoga Moves Studio Fly | Croeselaan 209, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Prices*

Until 1 June 2024   € 1.850
Until 1 October 2024 € 1.950
Until 1 Dec 2024  € 2.050
Until 1 Feb 2025   € 2.150
Regular € 2.250

Installments are available at the regular price (€2250) plus €50 admin fee.
If you want to pay with installments please contact us.

*This training is exempt from VAT because this is a professional course and Yoga Moves Training is registered by CRKBO.

In addition to Yoga Moves General Conditions, this training has these specific conditions you will be asked to agree to when you sign in.

Hi, I'm Lisa... It's nice to meet you!

I have three passions: yoga, somatics and embodied anatomy.

For me they are inseparable waves in a larger ocean of learning and living.
I use these practices to find the sthira or steadiness and the sukha or ease within movement and within life.  
I’ve been teaching for over 20 years and training teachers for over a decade. I’ve worked closely with both Donna Farhi and Amy Matthews over this time. 

My experiences as both a student and a teacher have shown me that each person has an exquisite inner intelligence that unfolds through skilful education.
Learning happens when we feels safe. It blossoms through cultivating three superpowers: curiosity, exploration and self-inquiry.
Teaching students to sense and feel, trust the information they perceive and know what to do with it is at the heart of what I do.
I am a teacher-of-teachers. It’s what I was born to do. I specialise in teaching with clarity, depth, humour and compassion.
I teach this way because these are the skills I had to cultivate when meeting myself and attending to my own self-care.
Students often say, ‘I always knew I could feel like this. I just did n’t know how to get there.’

A new door opens. Step through and discover what somatics can do for you.

More about me & my work here

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Yes. This happens on the last module of the training. It is divided into a short practice session and a short teaching session (conducted with your peers on pre-organised material). You receive detailed and personalised feedback from Lisa after this module.

  • There are five written tasks which we ask you to complete at home. Two of them are self-reflection tasks. If you are dyslexic or have learning challenges, please don’t suffer in silence. We will work it out with you.

  • You will receive ongoing faculty and peer feedback during Module 1, 2 and 3 as well as personal detailed feedback from Lisa after Module 4.

  • CPD is offered online and in-person.

  • Students can make up 3 hours on any given module with a qualified representative of Living Yoga. The cost for this will be in addition to the course payments.

  • If you wish to cancel after paying for the course but before 30 days of the start of the course, we will refund your money less the application fee. Refunds for other major life events or force majeure are at the discretion of the Training Co-ordinator and require written proof. All cancellation and refund requests must be made in writing. There are no refunds once the course has begun.

  • Somatic movement education classes, courses and workshops in a safe, professional and competent manner.

  • If you consider your private sessions as a class of one person, then yes. You are not qualified to clinically assess or treat students

  • You will be a Living Yoga Somatics Teacher

  • The ‘SOMATIC TEACHER TRAINING’ training comprises 10.5 full days’ training which constitutes 84 in person contact hours. Non-contact hours include 10 hours of professionally recorded and edited online support materials, live online classes in between modules, 120 hours of home practice, additional study buddy sessions, small group practice, mentoring, class planning, reflection and home study. PLUS 6 hours of live online contact hours

    PLUS 3 hours of small group mentoring

    Total: 200 hours

  • 120 hours of home practice. 15 hours of this can be how you apply somatics to your daily life activities like walking, swimming, cycling or even doing the dishes. All will be revealed : )

  • We ask you to keep a diary/journal/learning log to help you monitor the number of practice hours you are doing and any self-reflections or observations you make as you learn. You use this journal to help you inform the written tasks as part of Module 4.

Imagine feeling open, relaxed and free in your body.

What would it be like to be able to release tension and ease pain yourself wherever and whenever you want?

As Thomas Hanna says, if you can sense it and feel it you can change it.