Somatic Exercises for Women : Empower Your Body and Mind: Somatic Exercises for Women's Health and Well-being (2024)

FAQs

Is there a free app for somatic exercises? ›

SomaShare is a free app that brings practical, easy-to-follow tools and a communal space to support people in deep healing and transformation.

Not only can somatic exercise help you strengthen muscles correctly, but it can improve mobility, balance, and coordination. But no matter the reasoning, it never hurts to tune into your body for the sake of healing—whether that's physically or mentally.

Choosing to move your body in any way that feels good to you, focusing on the inflow and outflow of the breath, noticing how it feels to tense and relax parts of the body, and grounding by feeling the connection of the body to the ground and/or chair are some examples of somatic exercises,” she says.

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

Applied to fitness, 'somatic exercise' refers to a type of movement that is slow, mindful and body-oriented, focusing on the mind-body connection and aiming to increase body awareness.

You can do somatic sessions as much as every day or as little as one day per week, according to the Somatic Systems Institute. However, the more often you do it, the faster you'll be able to reap the performance and flexibility benefits.

It is completely normal to feel a release of emotions as you do the exercises, because we hold our emotions and stress as muscle tension in our bodies.

Kristin says that exercises rooted in somatic movement can take many forms including breathwork, yoga, and dance. “Any mind-body movement with an emphasis on turning inward [is a form of somatic movement],” she says.

From mindful walking to diaphragmatic breathing, these somatic exercises can relieve stress quickly and boost wellbeing. Welcome to Start TODAY.

What is a somatic exercise? ›

A somatic movement is made with focus on the internal movement instead of on the external movement. You may already realize, internal movement is very different from most physical or exercise training. And, because this internal way of moving builds your interoception (self sensing) it helps you feel good.

Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala. This activates the body whenever a situation reminds the person of the traumatic event(s).

There are many different ways to release trauma from the body. Therapeutic approaches such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) or somatic experiencing can help with releasing trauma from the body. In addition, mind-body practices such as yoga or breathwork can be beneficial as well.

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.

Nike Training Club is a free fitness app with a robust workout library that includes one-off workouts as well as periodized programs led by certified instructors. Unlike most apps on this list, Nike Training Club doesn't have a free and premium version; it's just free.

Sessions with a fully certified practitioner can cost between between $100 and $200 per hour.