“I felt a sense of ease beyond the physical”

“Somatic movement didn’t just help me move better; it recalibrated my nervous system toward calm,” writes Anne Jablonski, a yoga teacher in Virginia, US. “With each session, I felt a spaciousness opening inside, a sense of ease that extended beyond the physical.” 

By Anne Jablonski

There are journeys that encompass a lifetime within a mere nine months. My time with Movingness was one of those – a stretch of days that held moments of deep grief, awe, gratitude, fear, and everything in between. The training carried me through an ocean of feelings, allowing each one to find its expression and release.

Steeped In Sorrow

When I began the training, I was steeped in sorrow. I had just lost two beloved companions, my cats who had filled my home with their quiet, steady presence for over a decade. Their sudden absence cast a shadow over my days, and I felt that emptiness with every breath. It was a heartbreak I hadn’t expected and one that many might not fully understand, but for those who know the deep bond with animals, it was a wrenching loss. During this time, I also faced the looming reality of a dear friend’s serious illness, less than a year after having lost two close friends. All of it felt like a weight too heavy to bear; I sometimes wondered if I had the energy or focus to begin a new training.

I underestimated just how much the experiential focus of the training would allow for Movingness to become an anchor through the storm. The impulse-driven, natural movements didn’t erase my grief but reminded me of a deeper truth – that love endures. Through those early weeks, each class became a balm, a way of coming home to myself. Each session offered me a taste of peace that felt like a homecoming, a return to a steady place within that remains even through life’s upheavals.

As the training progressed over the coming months life threw other challenges my way that brewed fresh storms with lightning bolts of tension sometimes visiting my days and worry creating sleepless nights. But even through this, Movingness held its quiet power, helping me find sustained moments of stability, a pause amidst the urgency.

About a month into the training, I adopted Frank, an adult rescue cat.

“It Touched Something Deep Within Me”

Of all the segments, the Wild Goose series stands out most vividly. Its playfulness allowed me to carry those movement principles into everyday life. I found myself experimenting with these gentle motions not just on the mat, but in small, unexpected moments: standing in line, brushing my teeth, even cleaning the litter box. It was as though these impulses had woven themselves into the fabric of my daily routine, making each mundane act a little more mindful.

“It was as though these impulses had woven themselves into the fabric of my daily routine, making each mundane act a little more mindful.”

On the other hand, the Dolphin Series brought its own set of challenges. Physically, I was struggling with a tight hip, an old tension that reared its head with discomfort. Yet, as I moved through the practice, I noticed an unmistakable softening. By the end of each session, the pain had lessened, the tightness easing in a way that surprised me every time. I was astonished at how slow micro-movements would release my chronically tight psoas and iliacus muscle, which created a cascade of full-body release and relief.

But perhaps the most profound memory was my first encounter with Movingness. The Waves practice touched something deep within me, a beauty so pure that it has become a part of my daily routine. It’s a practice I now share with my yoga students, confident in its power because I feel it so deeply myself.

My practice evolved into something both sensory and profound.

What Movingness Gave Me

If I had to distill the gift of Movingness, it would be this: permission to indulge in a somatic practice that marries body and mind. The movements, familiar yet new with each repetition, allowed my body to become a landscape of sensation, rich with feedback and presence. My love for intuitive movement was reaffirmed, my practice evolving into something both sensory and profound.

This journey with Movingness also changed my relationship with my mind. It taught me to witness instead of control, to move from a place of feeling rather than judgment. Under Peter’s gentle guidance, I learned to release the need to control, to let my mind soften and my body speak. This shift felt monumental – a kind of mindfulness that rooted itself in my muscles, my breath, my bones.

I began to notice the subtle impact of thoughts on my body – the tension from stress, the ease from relaxation, the knots that arise with strong emotions. And as I tuned in more deeply, I felt a quiet resilience growing within, a strength drawn from honoring these signals and allowing myself to respond.

My body became a landscape of sensation, rich with feedback and presence.

Freedom Beyond Systems

A longtime lover of yoga, I have woven my practice through tides of form and flow, more and more bending it toward intuition, untethered. Movingness called me – a path that opens wide, where instinct dances, and no mold, holds me. A strong, quiet pulse leads me to keep my freedom, to embrace movement as spacious as breath, as boundless as being

“With Movingness, there’s a sense of spaciousness and freedom that resonated with me. Its fluidity allows me to explore and evolve without feeling confined or obligated to follow a strict set of guidelines. This adaptability means it can change and grow with me, rather than me having to fit into a pre-existing mold.”

While I have deep respect for established body movement modalities like Feldenkrais and the Alexander Technique – which have each taught me so much – what ultimately drew me to Movingness was its flexibility and openness. These other methods are rich with insight, precision, and depth, and I’m profoundly grateful for the time I’ve spent within their structures. However, at this point in my life, I find myself a bit hesitant to commit to a system that arrives with a predetermined map of rules and frameworks.

With Movingness, there’s a sense of spaciousness and freedom that resonated with me. Its fluidity allows me to explore and evolve without feeling confined or obligated to follow a strict set of guidelines. This adaptability means it can change and grow with me, rather than me having to fit into a pre-existing mold. It feels more like an open invitation to discovery and self-expression, rather than a path with fixed guardrails, and that makes it feel right for me at this stage.

I’ve found a way to inhabit my body with grace and awareness. (Photo: Zane Williams)

Reclaiming Calm and Creativity

Movingness didn’t just help me move better; it recalibrated my nervous system toward calm. With each session, I felt a spaciousness opening inside, a sense of ease that extended beyond the physical. And in that newfound space, healthier thoughts, more responsive emotions, and even a touch of creativity began to blossom.

As I carry these practices forward, I know that Movingness has given me more than a training – it has given me a way to inhabit my body with greater grace and awareness. This journey, with all its highs and lows, has woven itself into the tapestry of my life, each movement a thread that connects me to a deeper truth.

Anne Jablonski

About Anne: “I am a passionate advocate and practitioner of ‘freedom yoga,’ as taught by my mentor Erich Schiffmann – an approach that acknowledges that yoga’s true gift lies not in form but in the art of listening to the pulse of life in each moment. I’m a rat race survivor-in-training, a registered Yoga Alliance teacher, and share my offerings at Sun and Moon Yoga Studio in Northern Virginia and at a nature-focused mindfulness program I helped to create offered every summer at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Montana.”

Feel free to contact me through my website at www.yogasetfree.com