Somatic exercises are movement techniques designed to foster a deeper connection between body and mind. Used to increase body awareness, relieve tension, improve posture and alleviate mental health symptoms (1).
If you are familiar with yoga, some of these slow movements may resemble poses from your mat – however this stretching class differs significantly!
Increased Internal Awareness
Somatics exercises are a fantastic way to increase internal awareness. Their slow movements encourage students to shift their attention from thoughts and cognition to sensations they sense within their body (7), helping individuals address any emotions or feelings stored there (e.g. tension in hips from trauma). Somatics has also proven its ability to help increase physical health benefits by teaching people the benefits of emotional and mental awareness in particular body parts (e.g. tension in hips from trauma).
Movement and an emphasis on internal experience also helps students build self-efficacy. Students discover they can use movement to manage symptoms and enhance wellbeing without turning to outside sources for pain relief; ultimately this reduces costs associated with expensive treatments.
Though clinical somatics stretches may help alleviate many chronic musculoskeletal conditions, they should not be seen as a panacea for all discomforts and pains. If in doubt about your symptoms, consult a medical provider immediately.
Exercise too intensely may exacerbate muscle soreness. To avoid this, it is advised to move slowly and carefully during practice of Clinical Somatic exercises. You may experience new pain sensations if this movement style is unfamiliar to you; these symptoms could result from changes to skeletal alignment or an increase in pressure on joints or nerves; though these feelings should only last temporarily until muscles relax and alignment improves (8).
If you are suffering from pain or discomfort, consulting a clinical somatics educator to learn how to perform somatic exercises properly is recommended. A certified instructor can teach how to release muscle tightness safely as well as suggest alternatives if a stretch causes intense discomfort. Remember that no membership is needed to attend classes or complete home routines of somatic exercises; all you require is motivation, time and space for movement comfortably.
Increased Flexibility
Somatic exercises involve gentle yet focused movements designed to target the brain’s motor cortex and ease tension while relieving pain in muscles. Somatics also helps increase flexibility by retraining muscular habits; its purpose being learning new ways of moving that replace old, non-helpful patterns.
Somatic exercises differ from other forms of physical activity by emphasizing movement for its own sake rather than building muscles and burning calories. Each movement should feel natural rather than look forced; somatics helps connect emotional to physical states in a way that reduces anxiety and stress levels.
Somatics therapist Peter Levine notes that paying attention to our internal experience during each movement can actually be used as an antidote against negativity or an absence of positive emotions by teaching people how to move in a manner which makes them feel better. Even something as simple as standing up straight with feet pressed against the floor and contracting foot muscles for grip can have an immense effect on how we feel throughout our day.
Somatics has another benefit in that it can be done anywhere – no gym membership required and no special equipment necessary; all you need is an area to perform exercises in, enough space to move freely, comfortable clothing and a spot where the exercises will take place. While many choose to work with a somatics therapist directly, it may not always be necessary. Many somatic movement exercises are available online and you can follow along at home using apps such as BetterMe: Meditation & Sleep to follow along at home with somatic exercises online if need be.
Thomas Hanna created Clinical Somatic exercises by combining his knowledge of Feldenkrais Method with neurophysiology to create a safe and effective system of neuromuscular education that retrains the nervous system. This system, known as Clinical Somatics or Hanna Somatic Movement is very slow and gentle – ideal for all ages and fitness levels.
Reduced Stress
Somatic exercises help relieve chronic muscular tension that’s caused by psychological stress, relieving symptoms such as sciatica, scoliosis, rounded postures, plantar fasciitis and temporomandibular joint disorder – as well as helping alleviate headaches and migraines (1). Somatic exercises also have been proven to decrease headaches and migraines significantly. (1)
Somatic exercises aim to shift your attention away from thoughts and emotions and towards physical sensations and awareness. By helping you recognize how different parts of your body interact together and how your emotions impact on any particular body areas or groups, somatic exercises can increase emotional wellbeing as well as help manage trauma symptoms or stress symptoms (1).
Somatic exercises can also help you get in tune with your breath and calm down during an emotionally trying or challenging situation. Somatics movements often include tightening and then slowly relaxing muscles; these movements may help when memories or emotions bring up painful or unpleasant memories or feelings that trigger unpleasant associations or trigger anxiety or fear responses.
Somatics therapy can also help your body develop better balance and flexibility, decreasing your risk of injury and pain. One of the primary reasons people turn to somatics therapy is for relief of muscular-skeletal conditions like backache or joint discomfort.
Integrating somatic exercises into your daily routine can help you learn to control your breathing and relax, which in turn reduces anxiety, depression and fatigue (2).
Somatic Experiencing, which emphasizes nervous system regulation, has been found effective for treating trauma and stress. A recent longitudinal study demonstrated its success at decreasing vicarious trauma exposure among healthcare professionals. (3)
Clinical somatic exercises are slow and gentle, with no increased level of pain or discomfort. It is important to pay attention to how you are feeling while performing them and don’t overdo it. If there is discomfort during a session, speak with your practitioner about ways they could modify the exercise to be more comfortable for you.
Reduced Pain
Practicing somatic exercises regularly could be the solution to chronic pain. Their gentle movements have been found to stretch tight muscles and loosen joints, according to a 2017 study. Furthermore, regular somatic exercise practice increases body awareness while helping you avoid placing yourself into positions which cause additional injury in the future.
Somatic exercises aim to retrain the nervous system to release chronic muscle contraction, and stand, move, and sit differently. This is accomplished by slowly contracting and then releasing muscles in cycles so that your body learns to release any tension it had been holding onto all along. This movement pattern is known as pandiculation: involuntary stretching that occurs between cycles in biological behavior.
Somatic exercises can also help improve posture, balance and strength by engaging the senses directly rather than through thinking or cognition alone. Such practices encourage participants to shift their attention from mental processing toward body sensations that help improve emotional well-being – somatic exercises for anger reduction offer mindful awareness training for connecting to areas that store this emotion within oneself and practice mindful awareness around all sensations within your body that might hold onto this feeling.
Somatic exercises can also be an effective way of relieving trauma held within the body, with professional somatic therapists or practitioners helping individuals release any negative emotions and feelings stored there, relieving your physical body of any adverse physical consequences as a result.
If you are curious about somatics exercise, work with a trained Clinical Somatic Educator or Hanna Somatic Educator. They can teach the foundational techniques of somatic exercises while tailoring a practice that’s right for your specific needs. If that isn’t an option locally there are also online courses which teach the fundamentals of somatics which may help alleviate musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, plantar fasciitis, sciatica and scoliosis as well as helping reduce stress and anxiety.
