6 Ways Somatic Movement Can Benefit Your Mind and Body

Sometimes, moving your body is about accomplishing a specific goal. For example, you might know exactly how many miles you want to run or how much you want to improve your squat form. Other times, moving your body serves as a way to access your emotions and support your mental health, as is the case with somatic movement. 

Somatic movement is moving with full-body awareness, focusing more on how you’re feeling rather than meeting a specific fitness goal. Research shows that stress, trauma, anxiety, and depression have physical symptoms in addition to emotional and mental symptoms. Somatic movement is 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.

What Is Somatic Movement?

“Somatic movement helps people get in tune with their body, release built-up emotions, let go of trauma, and manage mental health,” says Peloton instructor Kristin McGee. “Somatic movement is done consciously and focuses on the internal experience rather than the outcome... Exercise is physical activity that is done to improve your strength, fitness, endurance, mobility, or overall health. I often think of somatic movement as movement for the sake of movement and internal connection as opposed to movement for an end goal or result—even if it also does improve mental well-being.”

Somatic movement therapist Sue Choi says she likes to describe somatic movement as a way to move the body that isn’t performance-driven. She explains that it’s a way to recognize how you’re feeling physically and mentally as opposed to trying to accomplish something, such as improving speed or endurance. 

Kristin says that exercises rooted in somatic movement can take many forms, including breathwork, yoga, and dance. “Any mind-body movement with an emphasis on turning inward [is a form of somatic movement],” she says.

What Are the Benefits of Somatic Movement? 

Both Kristin and Choi say that any form of movement can be considered somatic if a focus on the mind-body connection is applied to the practice. While research on somatic movement, in general, is limited, there are some studies looking at specific somatic movement techniques that have been developed over the years. More research is still needed to understand if the benefits apply more broadly to all types of somatic movement. 

Some of the physical and mental benefits of somatic movement are listed below, based on both scientific studies focusing on specific somatic techniques and broader somatic studies.

1. Somatic Movement May Help with Chronic Pain

Research shows that somatic movement may be helpful for people who are experiencing chronic pain. For example, a 2008 study published in The BMJ found that people with chronic pain who regularly engaged in lessons on the Alexander technique (a type of somatic movement) over one year experienced an 86 percent reduction in the days they experienced pain compared with people with chronic pain who didn’t do any somatic movement. 

2. It Can Increase Flexibility and Mobility

A major reason why somatic movement can help with chronic pain is because it helps with flexibility, balance, and mobility—particularly somatic stretches, yoga, and tai chi, which are all forms of somatic movement. Somatic stretching, for example, often involves holding static stretches, which helps improve flexibility and mobility. Yoga and tai chi have both been found to help with balance, as well as increase flexibility and mobility.

3. It Can Help You Feel More Relaxed

“Many people express feeling relaxed or calm [after engaging in somatic movement],” Choi says. To this point, studies show that yoga, one form of somatic movement, leads to relaxation by helping you slow your breath and heart rate, which can take the body out of fight-or-flight mode. Breathwork, which is often integrated into somatic exercises, has also been shown to slow heart rate and lead to feelings of relaxation. 

4. Somatic Movement Can Lessen Feelings of Anxiety and Provide a Mood Boost

Choi emphasizes that, at its core, somatic movement is about identifying how emotions make you feel physically. For example, if you start feeling anxious, it can be beneficial to do a somatic breathing exercise and pinpoint where you’re feeling the anxiety in your body. Do your shoulders feel tense? Is your stomach in knots? Do you have a headache? Research shows that this type of breathwork (including techniques like box breathing and cyclic sighing) can help alleviate feelings of anxiety and boost your mood. 

5. It Can Be Part of Trauma Healing

Some preliminary evidence, including a 2021 study published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, shows that somatic exercises may help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it’s important to note that this study looked at one particular type of somatic method called Somatic Experiencing® and that more scientific studies are needed to confirm this connection. 

Moreover, somatic movement should not be used in place of other forms of PTSD treatment therapy. Research on somatic therapy techniques, including somatic movement and exercise, is not as extensive as the research supporting traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating trauma disorders. Given this, it’s important to know that somatic therapy or movement should not be done in place of CBT or other therapies suggested by a doctor or health care professional. 

6. It Can Help You Become More In Touch with Your Emotions

Though science has made it clear that emotions impact physical health, Choi explains that not everyone is aware of their own mind-body connection. Can you relate? Maybe your days are spent moving from one task to the next, trying to accomplish everything on your to-do list, and any downtime is spent watching TV or scrolling social media as a way to mentally escape. If so, you may notice your emotions catching you off guard at surprising times, like when you’re lying in bed trying to sleep or in line at the store. Or you may be experiencing chronic physical pain without even considering that it may be connected to your emotions. Somatic movement is about identifying feelings in the body through mind-body exercises, Choi explains.

Types of Somatic Movement

There are many different types of somatic movement. Whichever form of somatic movement you choose, Choi says the key is tuning inward while you do it. “Somatic exercises are feeling-based,” Choi says. “To do that, you have to pull back from the compulsion to ‘do something’ and shift your focus to how you are feeling physically and mentally.” Different types of somatic movement can include stretching, breathwork, and mind-body exercises, with more details on each below.

Somatic Stretching

Somatic stretching can be dynamic (moving) or static (when you hold a stretch in one position for an extended period of time). “With somatic stretching, you’re breathing into the stretch and looking for a state of elongation,” Choi says. At the same time, she says the focus should be on how the stretch is making your body feel and how it may change your current emotions.

Mind-Body Exercises Such as Yoga, Martial Arts, Tai Chi, Dance, and Pilates

“All yoga is a form of somatic movement,” Choi says, explaining that this is because the mind-body connection is integral to what yoga is. Other practices that focus on moving the body intentionally—including martial arts, tai chi, Pilates, and dance—can also be forms of somatic movement.

Breathwork 

Though not somatic movement, per se, Choi says that grounding exercises and meditation are forms of somatic breathwork. By taking slow and controlled breaths, it becomes easier to identify where any pain or tension may be held in the body. It also provides an opportunity for self-reflection and insight into your emotional state. Breathwork helps calm the central nervous system, which can reduce anxiety and lead to feeling more relaxed.

4 Somatic Exercises to Try

Engaging in somatic movement doesn’t always mean taking an hour-long yoga class (although it can), Choi says. There are also somatic movement exercises you can do for just a few minutes at any point during your day. Below are a few to try.

Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

Diaphragmatic breathing, sometimes called belly breathing, is a type of breathwork that engages your diaphragm, the large muscle at the bottom of your lungs that’s part of your deep core. Try this diaphragmatic breathing exercise to give it a shot. As you breathe, mentally take note of how you are feeling physically and mentally. Notice if you feel yourself becoming more relaxed as the exercise progresses.

Body Scan Meditation 

If you’ve ever followed a guided meditation to fall asleep, there’s a chance you may have engaged in a body scan meditation. This method involves slowly bringing your awareness to each part of your body with the goal of releasing tension. Follow the steps below to try it, or take a guided Body Scan Meditation on the Peloton App.

Seated Spinal Twist 

This somatic stretch helps improve posture and relieves tension from the shoulders and neck.

Child’s Pose

Many people hold tension in their lower back, chest, hamstrings, and shoulders. If you can relate, Child’s Pose (Balasana) is a somatic stretch you can benefit from.

How Often to Practice Somatic Movement

Honestly? As often as you’d like. You can incorporate simpler practices, such as somatic breathing or gentle stretches, into your daily routine, or call on a more extensive practice, like a 45-minute yoga class, less often when you’re craving a deeper connection.

Somatic movement is generally considered safe; however, there is limited research on exactly how often or how much is best. Remember that listening to your body is at the core of the practice and, like any new movement practice, doing too much too fast can pose some risk. When in doubt, consult a healthcare professional to make sure this practice is safe for you.

How to Know If Somatic Movement Is Right for You 

“I think everyone can benefit from somatic exercise, especially in a time when we tend to be very outward-focused,” Kristin says. “Slowing down and listening to the body and releasing pent-up emotions that can get trapped in our musculature can help everyone. I often say our issues are in our tissues. Somatic movement encourages us to let go of patterns or thoughts that we may not even realize we are holding on to until we listen in and move through it.”

Choi agrees that anyone can benefit from somatic movement, but it does require patience since the movements are typically slow and gentle. Whether you want to try a short somatic breathing exercise or a full hour-long yoga class, engaging in somatic movement can bring more awareness to your emotions and how they may be impacting your body. Give it a shot and you’ll likely notice a difference in how you feel both physically and mentally. You’re sure to see firsthand that the mind-body connection is real!