Somatics 101
If intuition had a clinical name, it would be somatics.
Huh. It’s like our bodies are actually telling us something.
In a world that often prioritizes productivity over presence and intellect over intuition (hey, staring directly at myself here), it’s easy to become disconnected from the body. We ignore aches, suppress emotions, and treat our physical selves as machines to be maintained rather than a partner in our overall well-being. This disconnection can have profound impacts on our mental and emotional health — and that’s where somatics comes in.
Somatics, at its core, is the practice of reconnecting with your body—listening to it, learning from it, and using it as a tool for healing and self-awareness. It’s a term derived from the Greek word “soma,” meaning “living body,” and it’s both a philosophy and a practice that bridges the gap between mind and body. Yeah, the ‘s’ at the end is throwing me off and I want to make it plural, too, but alas.
What Is Somatics?
Somatics is an umbrella term for practices that focus on embodied awareness and the interplay between physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Unlike traditional fitness or mindfulness practices, somatics doesn’t aim to achieve an external goal like weight loss or mental clarity. Instead, it’s about tuning into your internal experience and developing a deeper relationship with your body.
Thomas Hanna, a key figure in somatics, defined the practice as the study of the body as perceived from within. This perspective shifts the focus from how our bodies look or perform to how they feel and function. Somatics invites you to explore your physical sensations and movements as a way to understand and process your emotional and mental state.
Why Somatics Matters: Mind-Body Connection
Modern research increasingly supports the idea that the body and mind are deeply interconnected. Trauma, for instance, doesn’t just reside in the brain; it’s stored in the body. Psychiatrist Bessel Van der Kolk’s groundbreaking work in The Body Keeps the Score highlights how unresolved trauma manifests as physical symptoms, from chronic pain to heightened stress responses.
Somatics offers a pathway to release these stored emotions and experiences by focusing on body-based awareness and movement. Practices like somatic experiencing, developed by Peter Levine, show how engaging the body’s natural rhythms can help people process trauma without re-traumatization. These practices have demonstrated strong results; a 2017 study published in Frontiers in Psychology demonstrated that somatic-based therapies reduced symptoms of PTSD more effectively than cognitive-only approaches.
Core Principles of Somatics
So what does this actually entail? Here are the core principles:
Embodiment:
Somatics encourages you to fully inhabit your body, noticing sensations, emotions, and movements without judgment.Awareness:
It’s about cultivating mindfulness of your body’s signals, like tension, warmth, or pain, as clues to your internal state.Autonomy:
There’s no “right” way to practice somatics. It’s about discovering what feels true and healing for you in the moment.Integration:
Somatics bridges the gap between your mental and physical self, creating a more holistic sense of well-being.
Popular Somatic Practices
1. Somatic Experiencing:
Developed by Peter Levine, this practice focuses on releasing trauma by gently guiding the body through the sensations associated with it, without reliving the event.
2. Feldenkrais Method:
This approach uses gentle, mindful movement to improve physical function and increase awareness of how your body moves.
3. Yoga:
Though not exclusively a somatic practice, yoga encourages embodiment and awareness, making it a powerful tool for reconnecting with your body.
4. Body Scan Meditation:
This mindfulness exercise involves slowly bringing attention to different parts of your body, noticing sensations, tension, and ease.
5. Authentic Movement:
This practice invites you to move intuitively, exploring how your body wants to express itself without external judgment or choreography.is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
How to Start a Somatic Practice
You don’t need fancy equipment or a specific location to begin incorporating somatics into your life. Here are a few steps to get started:
Practice Mindful Awareness:
Set aside five minutes to sit or lie down. Close your eyes and notice the sensations in your body. Are you holding tension anywhere? What feels soft or warm? Observe without trying to change anything.Move Intuitively:
Play a piece of music and let your body move however it wants. Focus on how the movement feels rather than how it looks.Try a Guided Practice:
Take a good ol’ scroll on YouTube. There are channels featuring body scan meditations and somatic exercises that are a great place to start.Incorporate Breathing Exercises:
Breathwork is a simple yet powerful way to connect with your body. Try diaphragmatic breathing to calm your nervous system and ground yourself.
Final Thoughts
By reconnecting with our physical selves, we can access a deeper level of awareness, resilience, and peace. Whether you’re seeking to heal from trauma, manage stress, or simply cultivate a stronger relationship with your body, somatics offers a compassionate and accessible path forward.
Remember, this is not about perfection or performance. It’s a presence and partnership kinda thing with yourself. And remember, that’s the longest and most important relationship we’ll have.
Sources:
Levine, P. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.
Mehling, W. E., et al. (2011). Body Awareness: A phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine.
Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: Using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in Psychology.
