RESEARCH

Scholarship on Somatics

A selection of peer-reviewed articles, theses, and dissertations examining Hanna Somatic Education and the wider field of somatic education and somatic movement.

References are listed alphabetically by author. Links lead to the publisher or an open-access copy where available.

Bennett, B. C. (2020). The somatic work of Thomas Hanna, tai chi, and kinesiology. Kinesiology Review, 9(3), 236-244.

Presents the philosophy, theory, and teaching techniques of Hanna’s somatic education, contrasts them with the movement training of tai chi, and considers what kinesiology and somatic education can offer one another. Available at: Human Kinetics

Costa, P. R., & Strazzacappa, M. (2015). To whom it may concern: Somatic Education in academic research. Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença, 5, 39-53.

Surveys academic databases of articles, theses, and dissertations to map how somatic education appears across scholarly fields, concluding that it is multidisciplinary and most strongly represented in the arts, followed by health.

Available at: SEER UFRGS (open access)

De Giorgi, M. (2015). Shaping the Living Body: paradigms of soma and authority in Thomas Hanna’s writings. Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença, 5(1), 54-84.

Examines the rhetorical strategies Thomas Hanna used to establish Somatics, and his own method, as legitimate in the eyes of the scientific community, centering on his concept of the soma.

Available at: SciELO (open access)

Drury, L. (2022). What’s in a name? Somatics and the historical revisionism of Thomas Hanna. Dance Research Journal, 54(1), 6-29.

A critical study arguing that Hanna rooted somatics in a Western intellectual tradition that he misconstrued, and examining how that framing shapes inclusion, exclusion, and power within the field.

Available at: Cambridge Core

Fernandes, C. (2015). When Whole(ness) is more than the Sum of the Parts: somatics as contemporary epistemological field. Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença, 5, 9-38.

Clarifies the conceptual and technical basis of somatics, addresses common misunderstandings, and proposes somatics as an autonomous epistemological field spanning therapy, education, aesthetics, and research.

Available at: SEER UFRGS (open access)

Gim, J. M. (2018). Sensory-motor amnesia and somatic solutions. The Asian Journal of Kinesiology, 20(1), 54-63.

Reviews the neurophysiological basis of sensory-motor amnesia and presents Hanna’s somatic education, including pandiculation, as a clinical remedy. The author’s research included visits to the Novato Institute.

Available at: Asian Journal of Kinesiology (open access)

Hanna, E. C. (2020). Somatics research bibliography: A working tool for somatics and somatic psychology. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 39(1), 24.

A bibliography compiled over four decades by Eleanor Criswell Hanna, gathering research references across the somatic disciplines and somatic psychology as a working tool for researchers and practitioners.

Available at: Digital Commons CIIS (open access)

Knaster, M. (1989). Thomas Hanna: mind over movement. East West, 19(2), 56-66.

An early profile of Thomas Hanna and his somatic work for the wellness magazine East West, presenting his ideas on movement, aging, and sensory-motor amnesia for a general readership.

Print article. Available through library databases (Gale).

Lee, H. I. (1998). Understanding Somatic Education and Exploring Its Class Format. 움직임의 철학: 한국체육철학회지, 6(1), 235-253.

An early Korean-language study examining the foundations of somatic education and how it can be structured and delivered as a class.

Korean-language article. Available through Korean academic databases (KCI).

Saumaa, H. (2020). Somatic practices: Going beyond the classroom to build resilience and gain new insights. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 26(3), 106-108.

A short reflective essay by dance scholar and movement educator Hiie Saumaa on how somatic practices extend beyond formal classes to build resilience and personal insight.

Available at: Mary Ann Liebert

Saumaa, H. (2024). Letting Go with Bodily Awareness and Somatic Movement. Integrative and Complementary Therapies, 30(2), 73-77.

A reflective essay on how bodily awareness and somatic movement support the practice of letting go, drawing on somatic and contemplative traditions.

Available at: Mary Ann Liebert

Takamatsu, M. (1996). Analyses of the Concepts and Framework of T. Hanna’s Somatics. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education, 18(1), 21-32.

Analyzes the central concepts and theoretical framework of Thomas Hanna’s somatics through close attention to his terminology.

Available through the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education on J-STAGE.

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

Mingle, A. J. (2018). Applications of somatic education principles to voice pedagogy. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.

A doctoral dissertation exploring how somatic education principles can support voice pedagogy, helping singers integrate mind and body and move with greater ease and efficiency.

Available at: Rutgers (open access)

Noulis, C. (2017). Somatic education and piano performance (Doctoral dissertation, Birmingham City University).

A doctoral thesis examining piano performance through a somatic lens, testing whether the Pilates Method, Yoga, and the Alexander Technique can benefit pianists, drawing on workshops conducted in Greek conservatoires.

Available at: BCU Open Access

Posner, G. B. (2022). Documenting Hanna Somatic Education: A Multiple Case Study. Saybrook University.

A descriptive multiple case study documenting how Hanna Somatic Education is practiced, observing four practitioner-client pairs through session recordings and interviews in order to define its techniques and procedures.

Available at: ProQuest