Exercise

6 simple somatic exercises to sneak into your day

Date: 2024-09-09

In our fast-paced world, finding time to get active can often feel challenging. But making movement a part of your daily routine doesn’t always mean going to the gym or doing intense workouts. Enter somatic exercises: gentle, mindful movements you can easily fit into your day, whether you’re at home, at work or on the go. Read on to learn more about these exercises, including their benefits and examples you can try yourself.

What is a somatic exercise?

A somatic exercise is a slow, intentional and mindful movement that involves focusing on your internal experience as you move to increase your inner awareness and enhance the mind-body connection. It’s movement for the sake of movement rather than for reaching specific fitness goals like increasing strength, for example.

Yoga, tai chi, meditation and qigong are all ancient somatic practices that involve focusing on how one’s body and its movements feel. Other examples include dance, Pilates and aikido. Technically, however, any physical exercise can be somatic if done gently and with intention and it focuses on the connection between mind and body.

A woman doing tai chi in front of a pond.

4 benefits of somatic exercises

1. Improved balance, flexibility, posture and range of motion

Unlike dynamic stretches (active movements where your muscles and joints experience a full range of motion) that people often do to help warm up before exercising, somatic stretching involves holding stretches, which can help improve mobility and flexibility. The somatic practices of tai chi and yoga have both been shown to help with balance, boosting flexibility and improving mobility. A study of older adults found that many participants experienced enhanced mobility after 12 Feldenkrais Method movement lessons. And according to another study , using somatic methods in dance practices can help improve movement for professional and student dancers.

A man standing on one leg in a yoga pose.

2. Chronic pain relief

A 2020 review suggests that somatic exercises could relieve chronic pain. For example, in one of the studies included in this review, researchers found that people with chronic pain that practiced somatic movement on a regular basis for a year experienced an 86% decrease in the number of days they felt pain.

3. Relaxation

Studies show that yoga – a type of somatic movement – helps people relax by helping them slow their breathing and lower their heart rate. Other research has shown that breathwork, which is often incorporated into somatic exercises, results in feelings of relaxation.

A person doing a yoga pose on the floor.

4. Reduced anxiety and boosted mood

Somatic exercises involve determining how your emotions make you feel physically. For example, if you begin to feel anxious, doing a somatic breathing exercise can help you identify where you’re feeling that anxiety in your body. It could be in the form of tension in your shoulders, a headache or knots in your stomach. Research shows that this kind of meditation and breathwork can help reduce anxiety and improve mood.

6 simple somatic exercises to try

1. Child’s pose

Kneel on the floor.
Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees so that they’re about as wide as your hips.
Lay your torso down between your thighs, bringing your forehead toward the floor.
Extend your arms in front of you, palms up or down, and release the front of your shoulders toward the floor.
Whenever you feel ready, slowly come out of the pose and identify any changes in how you’re feeling.

A man doing the child’s pose yoga exercise.

2. Slow ab curl

Lie on your back with your knees bent and both of your hands palm over palm behind your head for support.
Raise your head while breathing out, tucking your chin in slightly towards your neck, connecting to your core.
Lower your head while breathing in and arch for additional stretch.
Repeat five to 10 times or fewer.

3. Arch and flatten

Lie on your back with your knees bent.
Arch and flatten your lower back, breathing in as you go up and breathing out while you go down.
Repeat five to 10 times or fewer.

4. Seated twists

Seated twists. And animated person demonstrating the seated twists somatic exercise.

Sit toward the end of a chair with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Raise your arms up, keeping your elbows open and fingertips at your temples.
Contracting your abs, twist slowly from your torso to one side as far as is comfortable.
Pause to hold the position for a moment, then smoothly contract your abs and twist your torso back to the centre position.
Proceed to the opposite side.
Repeat three times or fewer on each side.

5. Side curl

Lie on your left side.
Rest your head on your left arm.
Bend 90 degrees at the knees.
Reach your right arm above the top of your head, placing your hand close to your left ear.
As you breathe in, slowly raise your right foot towards the ceiling while keeping your knees together.
Simultaneously, use your right arm to help raise your head.
As you breathe out, slowly lower your foot and head down.
Repeat this exercise three to five times (or fewer).
Turn yourself over and repeat on the opposite side.

6. Washcloth

Lie on your back with your knees bent.
Roll your arms in opposite directions on the ground, alternately dropping your knees each time to the side of your arm rolling down the floor.
Turn your head in the opposite direction of your knees to do a full spinal twist, being sure to move slowly.
Repeat this exercise three to 20 times or fewer.