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 done gently and with intention and it focuses on the connection between mind and body.

4 benefits of somatic exercises

1. Improved balance, flexibility, posture and range of motion

Unlike dynamic stretches (active movements where your muscles and joints experience a full range of motion) that people often do to help warm up before exercising, somatic stretching involves holding stretches, which can help improve mobility and flexibility. The somatic practices of tai chi and yoga have both been shown to help with balance, boosting flexibility and improving mobility. A study of older adults found that many participants experienced enhanced mobility after 12 Feldenkrais Method movement lessons. And according to another study , using somatic methods in dance practices can help improve movement for professional and student dancers.

2. Chronic pain relief

A 2020 review suggests that somatic exercises could relieve chronic pain. For example, in one of the studies included in this review, researchers found that people with chronic pain that practiced somatic movement on a regular basis for a year experienced an 86% decrease in the number of days they felt pain.

3. Relaxation

Studies show that yoga – a type of somatic movement – helps people relax by helping them slow their breathing and lower their heart rate. Other research has shown that breathwork, which is often incorporated into somatic exercises, results in feelings of relaxation.

4. Reduced anxiety and boosted mood

Somatic exercises involve determining how your emotions make you feel physically. For example, if you begin to feel anxious, doing a somatic breathing exercise can help you identify where you’re feeling that anxiety in your body. It could be in the form of tension in your shoulders, a headache or knots in your stomach. Research shows that this kind of meditation and breathwork can help reduce anxiety and improve mood.

2024-09-09

source: www.participaction.com