What Is Somatics? A Gentle Revolution in Movement, Embodiment & Yoga Teaching
In today’s fast-paced world, many of us live in a state of disconnection—from our bodies, our breath, and even our inner selves. This disconnection is what the field of Somatics seeks to address. Have you've ever wondered what it really means to be embodied, to feel your body from the inside out, or to move with intention rather than habit? In that case, Somatics offers a profound path toward that rediscovery.
As a yoga teacher, wellness practitioner, or simply someone interested in more authentic movement, understanding Somatics can deepen not only your personal practice but also the experience you offer your students.
This post explores what Somatics is, where it comes from, and why it’s such a valuable resource—especially now.
And, if you value the Somatic approach to movement, here at Yantra we offer 3 different classes giving you the opportunity to move more mindfully - see below for details.
Defining Somatics: More Than Just Movement
The term Somatics is derived from the Greek word soma, which refers to the living body in its wholeness—not just the physical form, but the body as it is experienced from within. Unlike traditional approaches that often treat the body as an object to be sculpted or corrected, Somatics honors the body as a living, sensing, moving being.
The term was popularized by Thomas Hanna, an educator and philosopher who saw movement not just as biomechanics but as a form of embodied intelligence. As Hanna famously wrote:
“The living body is a moving body—indeed, it is a constantly moving body. This is the prime trait by which we recognize life and distinguish the quick from the dead.”
— Hanna, T, 1986
In Somatics, movement is not about performance or aesthetic. It’s about internal awareness, freedom, and the capacity to adapt. It is process over product. In this way, Somatics challenges the norms found in mainstream fitness, dance, and even modern yoga, where external appearance can often take precedence over internal experience.
Somatics as a Field: Interdisciplinary and Healing
Somatics is not a single method but an interdisciplinary field that includes various movement and therapeutic practices, such as:
Body-Mind Centering™
Feldenkrais Method
Alexander Technique
Rolfing (Structural Integration)
Dance Movement Therapy
Somatic Experiencing
Contact Improvisation
Release-based dance practices
What unites these diverse disciplines is a commitment to exploring how the felt sense—what you feel inside your body—can be a guide to healing, movement efficiency, and deeper self-awareness.
Many somatic pioneers came to this work through personal crises: injuries, chronic conditions, or limitations that conventional medicine could not solve. Take Ida Rolf, the founder of Structural Integration (commonly known as Rolfing). Struggling with spinal arthritis, she combined her experiences with yoga, osteopathy, and chiropractic techniques to create a system that restructured posture through deep connective tissue work. Her legacy is part of a larger movement that views the body not as a machine, but as an expressive, adaptive, and intelligent organism.
Somatics in Practice: From Dance to Yoga and Beyond
Somatic practices are widely used by dancers, athletes, therapists, and increasingly, yoga teachers. Dancers often turn to somatic modalities to release habitual tension, recover from injuries, and improve coordination. Rather than striving to achieve an “ideal” form, they learn to listen to the body’s cues, explore the space between stillness and motion, and move from a place of inner sensation.
As Dixon (2005) noted, somatic practice involves “a connectedness of body parts through the internal (centre) and external space.” This is a sentiment that resonates deeply with yoga philosophy, which speaks of unity, awareness, and embodiment.
In yoga, we often teach alignment and form—but what if we taught sensation and presence just as much? What if instead of instructing students to “straighten the leg” or “square the hips,” we invited them to feel into their movement and discover what alignment means for their unique soma?
This is the promise of integrating somatic principles into yoga: less correction, more connection.
Somatics and Well-Being
Research and anecdotal experience suggest that Somatic work supports:
Relief from chronic pain (e.g., low-back pain)
Emotional regulation
Recovery from nervous system dysregulation
Improved performance in sport and daily activities
Greater body-mind integration
In a time when stress and disembodiment are widespread, somatic practices provide a pathway back to the self—one breath, one movement at a time.
In Summary: Somatics Is a Practice of Coming Home
Somatics is not a ‘trendy practice’. It's a return to something deeply human: the experience of living in, and through, our bodies. Whether you're a yoga teacher looking to expand your toolkit, or someone who feels out of sync with your own body, working in a more somatic way offers a compassionate, intelligent, and liberating approach.
This is not just about moving differently—it’s about being differently in your body.
Ready to Explore?
James Jackson teaches ‘Somatic Pilates Matwork’ at 9.30am Thursdays
Marie Williams teaches Embodied Flow at 9.30am Monday mornings and Shake the Dust at 9.30am Fridays.
Booking through our app or website
Blog written by Abby Hoffmann, adapted from the 2012 PhD thesis, ‘The Embodied Dancer’; integrating yoga into dance education.
Dixon, E. (2005) ‘The mind/body connection and the practice of classical ballet’. Research in Dance Education, 6 (1-2), 75-96.
Hanna, T (1986) ‘The field of somatics’ Somatics: 30-34.