Published in The High Country Shopper 1/15/25
The word ‘somatic’ comes from Greek sōmatikos meaning “of the body.” Over time, Somatics has evolved and now encompasses an entire and varied field of study including different therapy modalities, dance forms, and mindfulness practices.
Human bodies evolved to move all day over variable terrain. Movement in any form is good for the body. Go for a walk, go skiing, do weight-training, do pilates, do yoga, dance. Whatever it is, it is good to get your body moving!
But what is Somatic Movement?
Let’s try an experiential exercise if you are able and willing – clench and unclench one or both of your hands 5 to 10 times. Why? Because it helps get blood moving in the hands and helps keep them mobile and reduce the risk of injuries. That is an example of an externally directed movement, it’s good and useful.
To take the experience internal, to take it into the realm of Somatic Awareness, now clench and unclench your hands(s) while paying attention to any subtle sensations in your hands you notice. How does it feel? How does the air feel? How does the movement feel? Are there any tender places? Are there any tight places? After you are done moving, can you feel your pulse in your hands?
Now if you’re willing to experiment further, to shift all the way into Somatic Movement, ask your hands how they might like to move — and suspend your disbelief — and see what happens. . .
What subtle impulse arises? An impulse to shake out your hands? Would that feel good? Would they like to have a texture to feel? Something soft like animal fur, or a soft sweater to touch? Would they like something warm, like a tea mug to hold?
This is Somatic Movement – using the body as a doorway into the present moment and into the intelligence of the body and using that information to inform our actions. Somatic movement involves tuning into the body and listening for the subtle response, and the more we listen, the more information becomes available.
From Somatic Movement arises Somatic Dance – which is simply dance that is centered on the dancer’s experience of the movement vs. the way it looks from the outside. Increase the present moment awareness and now it’s called Somatic Dance.
Our bodies are having experiences whether or not we’re paying attention to them. “It’s estimated that the body sends the brain about 11 million bits of information per second, but the conscious mind can process only about 40 bits.” (Martha Beck)
It’s true that it can be inconvenient to get more information from the body, like ‘oh wow, that dessert that I really enjoy, if I eat more than one bite of it, I wake up in the night with a sore throat and runny nose.’ Even so, the richness that somatic awareness brings to life is vast and rewarding. Understanding our body’s messages enhances our overall self-awareness and resiliency, allowing us to better respond to our ever-changing lives.
Somatic Awareness and Somatic Movement increase the mind-body connection and has the potential to soothe the nervous system, relieve tension in the body and increase our capacity for emotional regulation among other benefits. Being embodied (having our awareness grounded in the body) helps us to receive the vast amount of information that our bodies have available to help us make good choices – from the very food we put into our mouths to where we want our children to go to school, to where our boundaries are and how we want to treat one another and the planet. If we can be at home in our flesh and bones, we can teach our children to be at home in theirs.