Somatic Stretching: How It Works, Benefits, and Getting Started Exercises (2024)

FAQs

Somatic Stretching: How It Works, Benefits, and Getting Started Exercises? ›

Somatic exercise is mindful movement that encourages you to observe how you feel as you move your body. Somatic stretching may promote mind-body awareness, reduce stress, and ease muscle tension. Mind-body practices, such as yoga, tai chi, and Pilates, are forms of somatic movement.

“Somatic stretching is based on letting the brain slow and calm down enough that you can learn the feeling of sensation,” she says. You don't pull on anything or force any big movements — it can be as simple as letting your head hang and noticing how that feels for the muscles in your neck.

The bottom line. Although experts haven't yet found conclusive proof to support the benefits of somatics, some evidence does suggest these approaches may help relieve pain and tension and promote easier movement. Future research may shed more light on these benefits and other possible uses.

Some people experience significant benefits within the first few days or weeks of practicing the exercises, while for others it takes longer.

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

Although by itself, somatic movement will likely not result in weight loss, it can be a great addition to your usual fitness routine, because of all the benefits we listed above. The truth is that losing weight is a mental game just as much as it is physical.

Somatic experiencing was designed to help release trauma that's “trapped” in the body. During therapy, you'll work with your therapist to safely release pent-up energy to overcome your triggers.

Somatic therapy should be done with a therapist, but there are some somatic experiencing exercises you can do on your own. Doing things like breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation can help a person find some relief throughout their everyday life, along with seeing a somatic therapist.

You may take a deep sigh and notice an ability to breath easily, or you may feel like you've dropped a huge brick from your heart. Clients often express a lighter feeling after their body has properly sequenced through an event or emotional experience.

What happens after somatic exercises? ›

The main effect of Clinical Somatics exercises is the release of chronic muscle tension. But along with the retraining of the nervous system can come a variety of sensations—some of which may be surprising and even unpleasant.

One of the most common types of Trauma Release Exercises is stretching, which can relieve muscle tension. These stretches might include sitting in a hip squat to release chronic stress or doing wall sits to lessen deep tension. The Spiral Technique is another common Trauma Release Exercise.

Somatic stretching includes gentle, mindful movements that help you reconnect with your body, better manage stress, and regulate your nervous system. Practitioners have long touted the routine as an accessible way for people to experience somatic stretching without special training or a big time commitment.

While the benefits reaped will vary with each person, somatic exercises "can help relieve pain and stress, improve emotional awareness, and other trauma or mental health-related concerns," says Lyons.

The core aim of somatic stretching is to release stress, trauma, and discomfort held in the body through mindful movement and stretching. Somatic stretching involves various forms of intuitive movement, often based on pandiculation (muscle contraction and release).

Somatic yoga is an offshoot of these therapies. A somatic yoga practice is more intuitive than a standard yoga class, which often asks you to move mechanically—flex this way, extend that way, stretch, hold, push. Somatics is about becoming more of an expert in yourself.

Trauma release exercises (TRE) incorporate stretching techniques to release pent-up stress and trauma stored in muscles that can interfere with automatic nervous system functioning and regulation. Trauma survivors and those living with anxiety disorders can benefit from associated reduced tension and physical pain.