What is a somatic exercise?
In our fast-paced world, finding time to get active can often feel challenging. But making movement a part of your daily routine doesn’t always mean going to the gym or doing intense workouts. Enter somatic exercises: gentle, mindful movements you can easily fit into your day, whether you’re at home, at work or on the go. Read on to learn more about these exercises, including their benefits and examples you can try yourself. A somatic exercise is a slow, intentional and mindful movement that involves focusing on your internal experience as you move to increase your inner awareness and enhance the mind-body connection. It’s movement for the sake of movement rather than for reaching specific fitness goals like increasing strength, for example. Yoga, tai chi, meditation and qigong are all ancient somatic practices that involve focusing on how one’s body and its movements feel. Other examples include dance, Pilates and aikido . Technically, however, any physical exercise can be somatic if ...
