Our fast-paced world encourages us to live in ‘doing mode’, stuck in our thinking minds – a place where we create stress, worry and rumination. Over time, we start to feel disconnected from the intelligence of our bodies, causing issues like injuries, tension, and a general sense of disconnect from ourselves. This might sound all too familiar, but what can we do about it?
Return to Your Body’s Wisdom
Enter somatic-based yoga, a practice that invites you to drop into your ‘being mode’. Instead of goal-oriented movement or exercise, it focuses on cultivating body awareness, releasing tension and nervous system regulation through gentle, mindful movements. It follows the understanding that physical and emotional wellbeing and healing can occur when we truly allow ourselves to ‘be’ in our bodies.
The Origins of Somatics
Somatics, from the Greek word “soma”, means the living body as experienced from within. Pioneered by Thomas Hanna in the 1970s, it encompasses a field of movement studies and bodywork that focuses on internal, physical sensations and experiences of the body. Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen has had much influence in this area with her Body Mind Centring approach to restoring balance through movement.
Moving with full-body awareness involves focusing more on how you’re feeling rather than meeting a specific fitness goal. It’s a way to connect your emotions to how you’re feeling physically. When done regularly, somatic movement can benefit both the body and mind in profound ways.
How Somatic-based Yoga Differs from Traditional Practices
While traditional yoga often emphasises the achievement of specific poses and physical alignment, somatic yoga takes a more exploratory approach. In our classes, you’ll be invited to:
- Approach movement without force or striving
- Move slowly and attentively, noticing sensations that arise
- Take micro-movements to explore your range of motion
- Integrate changes in the nervous system with periods of rest
Rather than pushing through pain or comparing yourself to others in the class, somatic-based yoga invites you back into embodiment.
Benefits of Somatics
Research in neuroscience supports what somatic practitioners have long known: our brains can create new neural pathways – a concept known as neuroplasticity. Studies show that mindful movement practices like somatic-based yoga can:
- Regulate the nervous system, decreasing stress hormones
- Improve proprioception (body awareness)
- Enhance motor control and coordination
- Increase mental clarity and emotional resilience
Key Principles of Somatic-Based Yoga
1. Internal Awareness
Somatic-based yoga cultivates interoception – the ability to sense internal bodily signals. You’ll learn to distinguish between different qualities of sensation, from subtle energy flows to muscular engagement patterns.
2. Nervous System Regulation
By moving slowly and mindfully, somatic yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting rest and digest responses. This helps counteract the chronic stress that keeps many of us in fight-or-flight mode.
3. Gentle, Mindful Movement
Every movement in somatic yoga is performed with conscious attention. Rather than forcing the body into positions, you’ll explore your current range of motion with curiosity and patience.
4. Neurological Repatterning
Through repetitive, conscious movements, somatic yoga helps the brain update its motor programs. This can release long-held tension patterns and restore natural, efficient movement.
5. Proprioception Development
Enhanced body awareness reduces injury risk and improves overall coordination. Somatic yoga helps you develop a nuanced understanding of how your body moves through space.
Discover Somatic Yoga at Sāmya Studios
Coming back to your body’s own inherent wisdom is what we preach at Sāmya. Whether you’re seeking relief from stress and tension, looking to deepen your mind-body connection, or simply wanting to move with more freedom and ease, our somatic yoga classes offer a nurturing environment for exploration and healing.
Here are some classes to try to start your somatic journey:
- Vinyasa Flow with Claire Wilson, Reetesh Rambhai, Tamzin Jade, Leila Sadeghee
- Slow Flow with Laura Childs, Roberto Rubalcava
- Yin with Anna Fahy
- Qigong Flow with Emma Tian Williamson
- Meditate + Flow with Tamzin Jade
Your Journey Back to Embodiment
Somatic yoga invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and rediscover the natural wisdom of our bodies. In a world that often demands we push harder and move faster, this practice offers a counter-cultural approach: healing through gentleness, transformation through awareness, and freedom through conscious movement.
As you explore somatic-based yoga, remember that every body is unique, and every moment offers a new opportunity for discovery. Trust your own experience, move with curiosity rather than force, and allow your nervous system the time it needs to integrate new patterns of ease.
Ready to begin? We’d love to welcome you on your mat. Check out our schedule and book here.
