What does 'Somatic' Mean?

COMING HOME TO THE BODY

There is a running joke in my family about how I describe the work that I do, and how I don’t have a one sentence, elevator-friendly answer that anyone would easily understand.

Whilst yoga has become ubiquitous in the exercise, health and wellness industry, most people have not heard of Rolfing or Compassionate Inquiry, and certainly not Somatic Experiencing. And then there is the even more elusive term: somatic therapy.

I was recently at a school event for my son, when one of his teachers asked what I did for work. To keep things simple, I described myself as a teacher and therapist. When I then mentioned yoga, the teacher’s eyes lit up with the enthusiasm and understanding. “Oh, I love yoga and Pilates!”, she exclaimed.  

I found myself smiling back, even as I felt a small resistance. Not because there is anything wrong with yoga (or Pilates, for that matter), but because it is so often taken to mean a bit of exercise, or a bit of stretching. There is so much more potential for yoga to change how we relate to our self and understand our physicality, just as there is more to the work that I do, and in the ways which I understand the body.

Yoga, Rolfing, Compassionate Inquiry and Somatic Experiencing are different practices, yet they all share an overlap in how we inhabit our bodies, how we respond to the world around us, how we regulate our nervous systems and find freedom within ourselves.

And, they all fall, in different ways, under the broad umbrella of somatic practices.

So, what does ‘somatic’ mean, anyway?

A quick Google search will tell you that it comes from the Greek word soma, meaning body, and in its simplest sense, somatic means relating to the body. But that definition leaves quite a lot of room for interpretation, and as my son would say, not a huge amount of explanation.

For me, the word begins to make more sense when we place it alongside words like yoga, movement or therapy. It is about learning to pay attention to the subtle signs and cues that the body offers us when we take the time to notice;  about slowing down to become aware of what is happening within us, rather than moving through life from the perspective of the mind alone. It is about coming into relationship with the body.

SOMATIC YOGA: LISTENING TO THE BODY AS IT MOVES

Somatic yoga, then, is less about moving the body like an exercise class, and more about listening to the body as it moves. This means slowing down considerably. It may mean using props to support the body, or inviting feedback from a wall, a blanket or the floor. It might even mean exploring a movement in several different ways, without needing to arrive at a particular shape or goal. Rather than forcing the body into a position, somatic yoga is about inviting the body into conversation.

What happens when I move this way? What do I notice when I slow down? Where is there ease? Where is there effort? Is there a part of me that is holding on, or a part that might be willing to let go?

The emphasis shifts from achieving a particular shape (something we ask to perform),  to developing a relationship with a living, moving body with which we listen and respond.

SOMATIC THERAPY: THE BODY HAS A VOICE

What, then, is somatic therapy?

For me, it begins with a simple understanding: the body has a voice.

We have a nervous system that is constantly receiving and responding to information about the world around us, including cues of safety, threat, connection and uncertainty. It is also continually informing us about our internal emotional state.

Initially, most of this communication happens beneath the level of consciousness, but with some practice in awareness, we may notice our breath becoming shallow, our stomach tightening, our shoulders rising, or an impulse to move away. We may feel ourselves softening in the presence of someone we trust or restlessness when something feels uncertain.

Sometimes we know we are uncomfortable before we know why. Sometimes we find ourselves reacting in a familiar way, even when our thinking mind is telling us that everything is fine.

Our body is speaking all the time; somatic therapy invites us to listen.

Not every sensation has a hidden meaning, and the body is not always right in what it believes is happening, but our bodily experience contains information worth noticing, so that we can develop a more conscious relationship with it.

Beyond the thinking mind

Talking therapy can be a valuable way of exploring our experiences. Finding words for what we have lived through, understanding our habit patterns and making sense of our stories can all be important parts of healing. Yet there is a difference between understanding something intellectually and experiencing a change in the body.

We might know, for example, that we are safe now, yet still find ourselves bracing, withdrawing or becoming overwhelmed in certain situations. We might understand that a childhood experience was not our fault, but continue to feel the same fear, shame or helplessness in our bodies. We might have told the same story many times, and yet we continue to carry it around, something in us remains unchanged.

Somatic therapy offers entrance point into the body, rather than staying on the surface of the mind, talking about our experience.

We invite questions, such as: What happens in my breathing when I talk about this? What do I notice in my chest, my belly or my throat? Do I feel myself moving towards something, or pulling away? Is there a sense of tension, warmth, numbness, movement or stillness? What happens when I take a moment to pause?

These questions help to bring the body into the conversation, because healing is not only about knowing something differently, it is also about having the opportunity to experience something differently.

When we become aware of the body's responses, we may discover possibilities that are difficult to reach through thought alone. A little more space may present itself. A sense of support. An impulse to move. A breath that arrives more freely. In these moments, there is choice. These moments may be small, but they hold meaning.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: A CONSTANT CONVERSATION

Our nervous system is constantly gathering information. It responds to what is happening around us, to what is happening within us, and to the memories and experiences that have shaped our lives. It is a complex, living system, continually adapting to our circumstances.

Sometimes we feel calm and connected. Sometimes we are alert, restless or anxious. Sometimes we become overwhelmed, shut down or feel disconnected from ourselves. These responses are not necessarily signs that something is wrong with us, but they are ways our bodies have learned to respond. Often these responses confuse, or even frustrate us, until we begin to understand the mechanism by which the response has helped us cope, somehow.

These responses are like road signs, pointing to the ways we have learned to protect ourselves, to belong, to manage difficulty or to navigate relationships. Some of these patterns may have served us very well at one point, but the response often continues long after the circumstances that gave rise to them have changed.

Somatic therapy offers a way to become curious about these patterns, and the nervous system a chance to release, without trying to change or fix anything.

Instead of the mind asking Why am I like this?

We make space for the body and ask What is happening here? What is my body trying to do? What does it need right now?

Somatic therapy is about creating the conditions in which we can begin to notice our experience without judgement, moving from a place of compassion and support.

ROLFING: A DIFFERENT WAY OF LISTENING

Even Rolfing Structural Integration, a form of bodywork that works with the fascia and our relationship with gravity, can take on the lens of somatic work.

In a Rolfing session, touch and movement are used to explore areas of tension, strain and restriction, to support greater ease and fluidity, but this work is not only about structure and alignment. When things are slowed down, and the client and practitioner are in a relational container inviting the body to sense and respond, the experience becomes a conversation; one where the Rolfer offers touch, attention and information, while client has the opportunity to participate, and notice how their body responds.

Sometimes a small change in the way we stand, breathe or move can alter our experience of ourselves. A little more space. A different relationship with the floor. A sense of being supported by gravity rather than having to hold ourselves up against it. The body is not a machine to be corrected, it is a living, sensing, adapting organism, and sometimes it needs time to catch up with the changes we are inviting.

THE BODY AS A PLACE OF EXPERIENCE

My work is based on a curiosity of how the body holds experiences, and how awareness, touch and movement support us in releasing, re-orienting or reorganising towards ease and possibility.

We are not separate from our bodies, we experience the world through them.

We feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, the tightening of our stomach when something feels uncertain, the softening that comes with a familiar voice, or the sudden alertness that arises when we sense danger.

Our bodies are continually responding to the world around us, and our unique histories are part of that experience.

In somatic work, we can begin to meet our patterns with curiosity rather than judgement, not because we need to uncover every memory or explain every sensation, but because we can learn to see, and hear ourselves more fully.

SO, WHAT IS SOMATIC WORK?

Perhaps the simplest way I can describe it is this:

It's a way of working that includes the body in our understanding of ourselves, our experiences and our possibilities for change.

Life will continue to bring uncertainty, grief, joy, disruption and change, but in slowing down and learning to listen, perhaps we can become a little more resourced in meeting it. Maybe it is simply getting a little more connected to the ground beneath us, or a little less caught in the belief that we must always know what to do.

For me, somatic work is not about learning to inhabit a body that is separate from who we are, but about remembering that we have never been separate. Whatever we each have been through, the body has been with us all along. It has been through the experiences that shaped us, through the ways we learned to protect ourselves, and through the moments of joy, sorrow, fear, connection and wonder. It has continued to breathe, adapt, respond and carry us.

Sometimes, the work is simply about creating enough space to notice.

Perhaps this is what I am trying to describe when someone asks me what I do.

I teach yoga, yes. I practise Rolfing. I work with Compassionate Inquiry and Somatic Experiencing.

Underneath all these different practices is a common interest:

To step into a more compassionate, curious and connected relationship with ourselves — to remember who we are, from the inside.