What is “somatic exercise,” a practice that offers a gentle approach to relieving muscle tension?

Due to daily work, our body is more prone to injuries and muscle pain. Between the office and home, our body has become accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to poor posture. What if you learned how to release the muscle tension that accumulates in your body on a daily basis? This is what somatic exercises offer.

Somatic exercise, which comes from the Greek word soma, meaning body, allows us to connect with the body through exercise and become fully aware of our physical capabilities. In practice, it is characterized by thoughtful, slow movements and breath work. The peculiarity of this discipline is that it combines various movements inspired by yoga, Pilates and dance.

“Somatic exercises are used to increase awareness from within and can help a person deal with and release stuck tensions, memories and emotions.”explains Dr. Scott Lyons, a psychologist and personal injury expert, in an interview with TODAY. “Additionally, somatic practices can help a person become more efficient with their movements, making them stronger and reducing pain.”

Relieving muscle tension

This type of exercise aims to relieve muscle tension located in various parts of the body such as the back, abdomen, shoulders, hips, etc. “Somatic movements should be done as slowly as possible, preferably with eyes closed, in order to get in touch with the body and understand what it needs.”– explains Gabriella Espinosa, professor of somatic movements and founder of Women’s Body Wisdom in the columns of Glamor UK.

How to practice this? Specifically, there are different somatic movements. These include diaphragmatic breathing, which can be practiced alone or during other movements such as walking or yoga. We consciously engage the diaphragm and fill our lungs with air, being aware of each breath. Otherwise there is a “Body Scan”. We lie on our backs, stretch our arms and legs and relieve tension in every part of the body. If you want to try other somatic movements, just type “somatic exercises” into the TikTok search bar.

Thus, the rehabilitation caused by somatic movements will improve our normal muscle structures, leading to relaxation of tense muscles. According to Francesca Melluzzi, a somatic movement therapist also interviewed by Glamor UK, somatic exercises will help relieve “muscle pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, as well as issues such as digestion, hormones and sleep”. Although there is no research on somatic exercises to date, it has been proven that tai chi, a somatic practice, helps maintain balance and prevents falls in older people and may reduce depression and anxiety. When it comes to mental health, somatic movements will also be effective in combating depression, stress and anxiety, according to the expert.