A Comprehensive Guide to Somatic Yoga

The practice of yoga yields many benefits for the body and mind. However, how much you reap depends on the mindset you apply to your practice. Somatic yoga, through a focus on gentle internal awareness over rigid external conformity to guidelines, strengthens the mind-body connection, which helps it provide relief for trauma, mental illness, and even chronic pain. 

Below, we take a deep dive into somatic yoga and how to practice it. 

What Is Somatic Yoga?

Somatic yoga comes from somatics, a field in alternative medicine centered around exploring the internal perception and experience of the body for therapeutic purposes. It comes from the Latin word soma, which means the experience of the living body from within. 

Somatic yoga applies the principles of somatics to traditional yoga movements. However, instead of focusing on the correct form, somatic yoga pays particular attention to the sensations that occur in the body across movements. These sensations include emotional responses, heart rate, breathing, discomfort, and pain.

In somatic yoga, the goal is not to surpass physical limitations or achieve a level of relaxation but to cultivate a deeper and more self-compassionate mind-body relationship. Studying the body helps practitioners identify areas of tension and mitigate the factors that exacerbate pain, stress, and other mental or physical issues. You understand your body, then you help it feel good. 

Somatic Yoga vs. Traditional Yoga

Somatic yoga uses the same postures and movements as the types of yoga commonly practiced in the mainstream, such as hatha, vinyasa, and yin yoga. Yoga, as it is traditionally taught, emphasizes adherence to established postures and movements. It aims to exercise the body and mind. 

Meanwhile, somatic yoga aims to deepen the mind-body connection. The internal holds more value than the external. Because the goal is cultivating an awareness of the body, you only need to follow forms to the level you are comfortable with.

Somatic Yoga vs. Restorative Yoga

Somatic yoga and restorative yoga are similar in their emphasis on gentleness. However, the practices differ in end goals: somatic yoga seeks to promote exploration and awareness, while restorative yoga seeks to promote relaxation. 

The key characteristics of restorative yoga include holding poses for longer durations, using props for support, and paying attention to the breath. Meanwhile, somatic yoga is about noticing sensations in the body as you move according to your natural breath and comfort level. 

Benefits of Somatic Yoga

Since somatic yoga uses the same poses as traditional yoga, it yields many of the same benefits. These include:

  • Increased strength: Holding yoga poses engages many of the core muscle groups. Though somatic yoga places less emphasis on challenging the body to endure complex poses, doing the practice repeatedly still helps build strength. 

  • Increased flexibility: Yoga stretches the muscles. Again, while somatic yoga doesn’t aim to push you past your stretching limits, committing to the practice regularly will exercise the muscles enough to improve flexibility slowly. 

  • Increased mobility: The combination of improved strength and flexibility helps your body move more freely and efficiently. 

  • Relaxation: Yoga includes breathwork and mindfulness exercises, which aim to calm the body. Furthermore, somatic yoga emphasizes taking a gentle approach to poses, allowing you to nourish your body in a pressure-free environment.  

Somatic yoga also yields unique benefits through the philosophies it applies. 

  • Improved mind-body connection: Body scans are a major part of somatic yoga. The practice encourages you to notice your body and the sensations that affect it, and this deepened awareness strengthens the mind-body relationship. 

  • Improved emotional awareness: Somatic yoga trains you to notice your emotions when they arise and regard them with curiosity and non-judgment. 

Applications of Somatic Yoga

Somatic yoga’s emphasis on mind-body connection helps practitioners identify and accommodate the stressors exacerbating mental and physical ailments. Its ability to cultivate relief through self-compassion makes it helpful in treating trauma, mental illness, and chronic pain. 

Mental Illness

All somatic practices encourage creating a nurturing environment for self-care. It discourages creating pressure or chasing achievements. Instead, you are meant to approach the practice with patience and curiosity. 

It encourages you to explore your body and the sensations it feels without judgment. Not only do you gain a better understanding of yourself, but you also learn to show compassion for everything you observe. Through the practice’s nourishing gentleness, you reduce stress, mitigating the effects of mental illnesses like anxiety or depression. 

You yield benefits not just from the mindset but also from the physical exercises. Breathwork triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging relaxation. Meanwhile, moving the body releases endorphins, which elevate mood. 

Trauma

Trauma is stored not just in the mind but also in the body. Somatic yoga targets both. It allows you to identify the movements that trigger trauma and locate where the body stores tension. Then, it uses breathwork, meditation, and mindfulness to encourage relaxation in the nervous system.

Repeatedly engaging areas of tension with these gentle movements coaxes the body into releasing trauma and reclaiming its sense of safety. And because somatic yoga encourages staying within the bounds of what is physically comfortable, there is no risk of creating more stress. 

Chronic Pain

Pain is both physical and mental. External factors like temperature, pressure, and chemicals stimulate the body’s pain receptors and await a response from the brain. Once the brain receives the message, it tells the body how to respond. Because pain processing, while not conscious, occurs in the brain, mental factors like stress, anxiety, and depression can affect our perception of severity. 

Somatic yoga helps practitioners identify and manage the emotional stressors that exacerbate pain. A practitioner who enters a pose that triggers discomfort will be encouraged to pull back and find a more comfortable way of holding the position. They can also use techniques like meditation and breathing to manage their response. 

Emotional triggers are not the only stressors somatic yoga helps to identify. In the process, you can spot physical pain triggers and develop strategies for accommodating them. For example, a patient with back pain can use yoga to train their core for better spinal support. 

Somatic Yoga Tips and Techniques

There are no poses associated with or explicitly designed for somatic yoga. To engage in the practice, choose a flow appropriate for your skill level and apply the following tips. 

Wear Lightweight Clothing

As with any yoga practice, what you wear to yoga class matters. The most optimal choice is wearing well-fitting clothing that permits freedom of movement. Choose fabrics that are breathable and lightweight. We recommend materials like spandex, polyester, or nylon. 

Choose a Suitable Room

Somatic yoga is all about studying your internal experience of your body. External distractions like noise might make the task difficult. Choose a room away from noise or chaos to make the atmosphere more conducive to mindfulness.

Additionally, you need enough space to move around and execute typical yoga poses properly. Make sure you have a flat surface and a comfortable yoga mat for support. 

Keep Your Eyes Closed

Again, somatic yoga is about engaging with your internal experience of your body. Limiting outside stimuli will reduce your risk of distraction. Close your eyes and pay closer attention to bodily sensations, emotions, heart rate, and breathing. 

Move Slowly and Gently

Somatic yoga is neither a race nor a competition. Moving slowly and gently will give you more time to acknowledge the sensations you are experiencing. Gentleness also reduces the pressure on your body, helping you stay relaxed as you approach the practice. 

Follow a Natural Breath Pattern

Breathwork in somatic yoga is less rigid than other breathing techniques. Instead, it calls you to pay attention to your natural breath pattern as you move and then make changes when you notice discomfort. For example, if a pose moves you to hold your breath or breathe shallowly, try breathing more deeply to alleviate the tension. 

Approach Movement With Curiosity

Somatic yoga is about exploration and discovery. Unlike other physical activities, which aim to boost the body’s capacity to achieve complex physical feats, somatic yoga focuses on understanding the body and its limitations, sensations, and triggers. Focus on the process rather than the results, and regard the experience with an attitude of curiosity, nonjudgment, and self-compassion. 

Stick With What’s Comfortable

A critical part of somatic yoga is respecting your body’s limits. You can challenge yourself occasionally, but remember that enduring discomfort is discouraged. The goal is to notice when you feel discomfort and why, then attempt to remedy the feeling through pose adjustments or breathwork. Should you feel pain, revert to a more comfortable position. 

Use Props When Necessary

Since comfort is a priority, using props is encouraged. If you have physical limitations, it helps to use yoga blocks or pillows. Seniors or individuals with limited mobility can try chair yoga poses for increased support. 

Summary

Exercise isn’t always about pushing your body past its limit. It can be used in tandem with mindfulness to get you in-tune with your body. Gentle practices like somatic yoga are as valuable to your health and self-development as physical training because they cultivate an attitude of self-compassion and resilience. It also provides lasting relief for serious issues like chronic pain, mental illness, and trauma. 

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