What Is Somatic Movement? (Hear an excerpt from my book!)
Have you heard of Somatic Movement and wondered “what exactly is that?” In this episode of the podcast, I’m sharing a brief excerpt from my work-in-progress book, where I give an overview of the field of Somatics and describe how I use these movement practices.
Episode Details:
The working title of my book is Teaching Mindful Movement, and here you’ll be hearing a brief section I’ve written about Somatics. This is part of a longer chapter that covers a few different movement modalities I like to include in my practice and teaching.
Somatic Movement seems to be kind of a buzzword lately, and I’ve had a few people reach out to ask what “somatic” actually means. While some may just be using the term for marketing purposes, Somatics actually refers to a whole field of body-based practices that emphasize the awareness of internal sensations.
This broad term can refer to styles of movement (like Feldenkrais and Hanna Somatics), somatic psychotherapies, somatic approaches to dance, and hand-on bodywork methods (like Rolfing and Craniosacral Therapy) that grew out of the Somatics movement.
In this excerpt I will offer a succinct background on the field of Somatics, where and when it originated, and who the major figures are. You’ll hear a few tidbits about how the Somatics field was developing amidst the mid-twentieth century’s cultural shifts, including the introduction of Eastern practices like Yoga and Buddhism to the West. I also note that there is an effort nowadays to decolonize Somatic practices and investigate where Euro-Centric biases may have been imbedded in their development.
Using Somatic Movement in Practice:
After this history and background, I also share how and why I use Somatics as part of my Mindful Movement teaching and practice. I also draw from Yoga and Qigong, because each of these modalities has something important to offer a path of movement-based mindfulness. But, somatic movement plays a particular role in:
- Increasing embodiment and awareness of subtle sensations
- Refining “building-block” movements, leading to greater ease in complex movement patterns
- Releasing deeply-held tension and down-regulating the nervous system
- Gently engaging the body when there’s pain, through these gradual and non-threatening movements.
I hope you will enjoy this preview of my forthcoming book! As of this podcast, I am still actively writing, so the book’s release date is TBA. If you have feedback to share after hearing this section of the book, please contact me. I would love to know what you find intriguing or confusing, or if you think of something related to Somatics that I should consider including in this section of the book.
And, if you’d like to be notified when my book Teaching Mindful Movement is ready, sign up for updates here!
Resources and Links from this episode:
If you liked this topic, check out Episode 14: Somatics and Self-Kindness with Erica Webb or Episode 22: Rest, Joy, and Somatic Restorative Yoga with Melissa Smith-Wilkinson.
And…if you’re intrigued to some some deeper research and learn more about Somatic Movement, these are some of the sources I have found helpful.
- Bone, Breath, and Gesture: Practices of Embodiment, edited by Don Hanlon Johnson (for history, profiles of some of the Somatic founders mentioned in the podcast)
- Dancing in the Dharma: The Life and Teachings of Ruth Denison by Sandy Boucher (Content Warning: This biography of Ruth Denison’s life includes descriptions of traumas she experienced, i.e. violence and sexual assault. It also offers some fascinating glimpses into the process of Buddhism entering the West, as well as some of the key players in the spiritual circles of the 1960’s onward. And of course, it offers a portrait of Ruth Denison’s own unique style of teaching Vipassana.)
- Move Without Pain by Martha Peterson (for Hanna Somatics exercises and basic theory)
- “What’s in a Name? Somatics and the Historical Revisionism of Thomas Hanna” by Lindsey Drury in Dance Research Journal, April 2022
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
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