Dominant Somatic Pattern-A-Protector

Your Somatic Profile:
The Protector

Your nervous system has learned to respond to life's stressors through withdrawal and protection - what Thomas Hanna* called the "Red Light Reflex." This is your body's intelligent way of dealing with overwhelm, worry, or situations that feel too demanding.

_{*[Somatics by Thomas Hanna]}

"I'm waiting for this to be over."

The Hidden Pattern:

Your nervous system automatically contracts your front body muscles as protection.
This helpful reflex, once vital for coping, has now become an unconscious habit—one that may be limiting your breathing, posture, and sense of openness.

Why This Pattern Developed

Your pattern likely developed from:

Ongoing worry, anxiety, or caregiving stress
Feeling overwhelmed by life's demands
Needing to "get through" challenging periods
Natural tendency toward being careful and protective
Spending long hours sitting or curled inward—at a desk, on the couch, or looking down at a screen—reinforces this protective shape over time

How this shows up in your body

Tendency to round forward or hunch, especially when tired
Shallow breathing, particularly when stressed
Feeling like you need to "unfold" or open up
Preference for gentle, less demanding activities
Sometimes experiencing digestive issues or tension headaches
Spending long hours sitting or curled inward—at a desk, on the couch, or looking down at a screen—reinforces this protective shape over time

Common pain points and physical symptoms you may experience

Chronically sore shoulders and neck
Stooped posture with slumping shoulders and chest
Aching knees from altered walking patterns
Chronically fatigued and sore thigh muscles
Soreness under the knee joint and behind the knee
Shallow breathing that limits oxygen and energy
Constipation and digestive issues
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Development of "dowager's hump" over time
Hemorrhoids from chronic tension patterns
Underlying feelings of fear and anxiety held in the body

Why This Pattern Makes Sense

According to Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, the body responds to chronic stress in 3 stages — the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage.

The Protector pattern represents that alarm phase—where the system reacts to perceived danger by pulling inward, bracing, and preparing to survive.

This response was natural. It helped you stay safe when things felt overwhelming or too much to handle.

But now, your nervous system may be signaling that it’s time to update the strategy — and begin exploring what it feels like to move with more safety, openness, and trust.

THE TAKEAWAYS

The Hidden Pattern

Your nervous system automatically contracts your front body muscles as protection, but this helpful response has become an unconscious habit that may be limiting your breathing, posture, and sense of openness.

What This Means:

You're not broken or just getting old. Your nervous system developed this pattern to help you cope. Now you can learn to consciously release it when it's no longer needed.

Somatic Learning Goals

Learn to recognize the feeling of your dominant pattern. Reduce anxiety. Restore, Elongate, Lengthen, and Decompress, Breathe Freely.

If this sounds familiar, you're not imagining it—and you're not alone.

Many people feel confused by chronic pain or posture issues that don’t improve, even with exercise, stretching, or bodywork. That’s because the root of the pattern isn’t just physical.

It’s neurological.

Your Protector pattern didn’t come from doing something wrong. It’s an involuntary, adaptive response your brain and nervous system developed in response to the experiences you’ve lived through—especially chronic stress, overwhelm, or caregiving demands.

Over time, this response became habituated—stored in your nervous system’s memory as the “safe” way to move and organize yourself.

But just like it was learned, it can be re-educated—gently, and through the right kind of process.

^Note:
^{This quiz draws on Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, a widely recognized model of how the body responds to stress in three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. Chronic or unresolved stress may lead to long-term adaptations in posture, movement, and energy — patterns that can be updated through gentle, brain-based learning.}

Now let’s help your brain learn something new.

You’ve just uncovered an important pattern in your nervous system—and now it’s time to take the next step.

Hi, I'm Adrienne and I've been a movement educator and clinical somatic practitioner for over 20 years.

In this short video, I’ll show you:

Why these patterns develop (and why they stick around)
How they affect your body, your energy, and even your emotions
What it really takes to change them—gently, from the inside out

And I’ll introduce you to UNA-The 20 Minute Movement Makeover System, so you can start re-wiring your responses and moving with more ease—right away.

Click play to learn what your body has been trying to tell you—and how to finally respond with something that works.

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Your Next Step: Try The Moovy Studio Membership

You don’t need to figure this all out—you just need to start where you are.

Inside The Moovy Studio Membership, you'll access the UNA 20 Minute Movement Makeover System, where you’ll experience gentle, brain-based lessons that help you decompress, re-coordinate, and rediscover your somatic intelligence—without strain or pressure.

Just 20 minutes can shift your entire experience of being in your body.

⇨Start your 10 day Guest Pass.
Gentle. Brain-based. Designed for you.