Everything You Need to Know about Somatic Yoga

Somatic yoga is a practice that combines yoga with somatics—a type of movement therapy that retrains your brain and body to move and sense muscles. Although there is limited research on the benefits of somatic yoga, initial evidence suggests that it can help improve stress, reduce pain, and relieve trauma.

Core Principles of Somatic Yoga

Yoga combines postures (called asanas), breathing exercises (known as pranayama), and meditation to create a connection between your mind and body.

Meanwhile, somatic principles include interoception, exteroception, and proprioception. These principles help build awareness in the following ways:

• Interoception: Being aware of your body's internal sensations, such as your heart rate, breathing, and pain
• Exteroception: Being aware of the environment, such as how hot or cold it is, vibrations in the floor, and other external factors
• Proprioception: Being aware of your body's movement, balance, and position in space

When these somatic elements are combined with yoga, somatic yoga is born. When you practice somatic yoga, you learn to pay attention to your bodily sensations even while moving. This builds self-awareness and allows you to feel restored and empowered in your mind and body.

Benefits of Somatic Yoga

Engaging in somatic yoga offers several wellness benefits. Yoga improves flexibility and balance, but when combined with somatics, it may also increase mind-body awareness, reduce pain, and improve mental health.

Boosts Mind-Body Awareness

Somatic yoga is designed to improve your ability to recognize your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations like your heart rate and breathing. You can later call on this awareness to help you manage your body's response to stress, like actively slowing your breathing and, eventually, your heart rate.

Reduces Chronic Pain

Research has found that there is a potential link between emotions and chronic pain. For instance, depression can increase the risk of developing fibromyalgia later in life.

Somatic yoga can help you process emotions and reduce physical pain. One study found that increasing your awareness of your mind and body through somatic movement can help you manage chronic pain. It also may help lower your perception of pain.

Promotes Recovery From Trauma

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect your cognition (thinking and learning), mood, and behavior.

Researchers in a small study found that somatic movement (like somatic yoga) could help people address the negative emotional effects and symptoms of trauma—even when those symptoms have been present for years.

Sample Poses

Researchers note that stress and trauma create patterns in your body that lead to chronic muscular contractions that can cause ongoing health concerns like poor posture, decreased flexibility, worsening balance, debilitating pain, and reduced quality of life. Engaging in somatic yoga may help treat and potentially reverse these issues. To get started, consider these sample poses.

Easy Pose (Sukhasana)

The easy pose opens the hips, stretches the knees and ankles, and strengthens the back. Commonly used for meditation and practicing breathing exercises, this pose is both popular and calming. Here is how it's done:

1. Use padding like a blanket or bolster to put your pelvis higher than your knees
2. Bend the right leg and place your foot under your left thigh
3. Repeat this with the left leg, placing your foot under your right thigh
4. Keep your body balanced and upright
5. Extend your arms so your wrists rest on your knees and palms are turned upward

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

The mountain pose is a foundational yoga pose for all standing poses and can be used to prepare for other poses. It also can be done by itself to help you improve your posture. Pay attention to each part of your body and the role that it plays in keeping your spine long. Follow these steps to do this pose correctly:

1. Stand and create a wide, solid base
2. Let your feet and calves root to the floor and engage your quadriceps
3. Shrug your shoulders up to your ears and then roll them back to release your shoulder blades
4. Let your arms hang naturally with the elbows slightly bent and the palms facing forward
5. Check all your alignment points, and then take 5-10 breaths while you hold yourself in this position

Tree Pose (Vriksasana)

The tree pose is one of the first poses taught to beginners. This pose requires you to focus on remaining stable, builds your balance and coordination, and improves strength. You can perform this pose using these steps:

1. Allow both feet to root into the floor and distribute your weight evenly on all four corners of each foot
2. Lift your arms toward the sky and touch your palms together above your head while also bringing the sole of your left foot to the inner thigh of the opposite leg, keeping the left hip externally rotated and the knee out to the left side
3. Focus your gaze on something that does not move to help maintain your balance
4. Take 5-10 breaths, then lower your foot to the floor and repeat on the other side

How To Get Started

You need very few items to practice somatic yoga, and there are no special requirements for clothing—just something comfortable that allows for unhindered movements. If you decide to get a yoga mat, look for one that can provide stability and cushion your joints. Some studios have them available.

You may have to look around to find a yoga studio that practices somatic yoga. If you have trouble finding one, online platforms may offer free classes, video tutorials, and workshops. You also can look for people certified in somatic movement through online directories like Somatic Movement Center Certified Exercise Instructors and International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association.

It's worth noting that if you are a beginner to yoga, there are some minor risks of injury, especially if you do not perform the movements correctly or push your body too far. The most common yoga injuries include repetitive injuries, muscle strains, sprains, and torn ligaments.

Before you get started, consider these tips:

• Ask a healthcare provider if somatic yoga is right for you
• Start slow and work with a certified yoga instructor or a somatic movement specialist to ensure you are performing the movements correctly
• Know your body's limits, and do not push it beyond what you can handle

A Quick Review

Somatic yoga combines yoga with somatics, a movement-based therapy that focuses on internal experiences, perceptions, and sensations, improving the mind-body connection. Early studies show that somatic yoga can help improve stress, trauma, pain, balance, and flexibility.

If you think somatic yoga would be helpful for you, look for someone trained in somatic yoga or find a class online. The key is to combine movement and awareness of your body and environment.