Exercise & Movement Articles

Article / Updated 04-09-2025

Somatic exercise is a form of exercise that uses the mind-body connection to discover things about ourselves and release physical and emotional tension. I like to think of somatic exercise as a “work in” as opposed to a workout. Somatic exercise is movement for the sake of movement, not for an external result. With somatic exercise, you are not concerned with an outcome or a result. You are instead looking to connect with your body in a way that makes it safe to process things that may be stored inside. Soma refers to the living body, as indicated by Thomas Hannah, a pioneer in the somatic field. Somatic movement requires a certain kind of patience and focus. The goal is to be fully in touch with your body, mind, and breath as you practice somatic exercises. How to exercise the somatic way The concept behind somatic exercise isn’t too complex. As human beings, though, we are programmed to be “doing” as opposed to “being.” Because of this, learning to slow down and listen intently to our bodies can be challenging. There isn’t an external goal when it comes to somatic movement. Yes, you will notice the benefits. Maybe you’ll be stressed or you’ll lose a little weight, or reduce pain, or feel better. But you’re not doing somatic exercises for that reason. You’re moving your body in a way that feels good and helps you understand yourself better. Focusing on the mind-body connection is the ultimate goal of somatic movement. Through this process, you will experience some incredible breakthroughs and results. The first goal isn’t the result, but you will inevitably see changes as you put in the work to get to know yourself better. Somatic exercise is a body-based practice that involves noticing what you are sensing. As you start using your senses as you move, you’ll start to release tension. You’ll find ways of freeing up space. You’ll connect to your breath. The goal, if there is one, is to become at home in your body. You can practice somatic exercises on your own or with a trained somatic therapist. You can work on body awareness and connection using titration, pendulation, breathwork, and grounding exercises: Titration involves gradually and carefully exploring traumatic experiences by working with small pieces at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed. Pendulation involves moving between two sensations — safety and discomfort, or expansion and contraction — so that you can slowly release these in a balanced way. Breathwork combines conscious breathing techniques with body awareness. The goal is to enable physical, mental, and emotional well-being. You learn to use your breath as a powerful tool to release tension, promote self-awareness, and foster a deep connection with oneself. Grounding exercises root you in the present moment, helping to deregulate the central nervous system. When you focus on your body’s contact with the floor or with the Earth, you are able to be in the moment and calm yourself. What are the benefits of somatic exercise? By now you realize that somatic exercise can help you become more aware of your body and mind and the connection between the two. Somatic exercise can help you physically and mentally. It has myriad benefits, including these: Somatic movement relieves stress by helping you focus on how your thoughts affect you and what sensations are happening in your body. You can understand what you need and manage your response to stress so you become more responsive and less reactive. Somatic movement can help with pain relief through gentle movement and mindful awareness. Somatic movement can help improve posture and strengthen and realign muscles. Somatic movement can help you achieve better balance, mobility, and flexibility. Somatic movement can help you process stuck tension and memories and help you learn more efficient and effective ways of moving. You can also become more aware and in touch with your body, so you have a better sense of your emotions. Somatic movement can lead to pain reduction, increased mobility, and stress management and relief. You’ll find you have reduced stress and less anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues as you develop a better relationship with yourself and connect your mind and body. You can also work on healing deep-seated trauma by releasing muscular tension and issues you have stored in your body. Somatic movement helps you tune into your body’s wisdom. You’ll cultivate awareness of physical sensations and your emotional state. You’ll learn to listen and understand what your body is telling you. Somatic movement can help support personal growth and enhance your emotional well-being. As you discover what your body is telling you, you also recognize what it does for you. You can work with your body and mind to grow to new levels. Want to learn more about somatic exercise? Check out the cheat sheet or get the book!

Article / Updated 04-09-2025

Somatic exercises are for everyone. They invite you to listen to your body, tune into its sensations, and connect with your emotions. Despite the benefits, somatic movement is often misunderstood. This article busts the most common myths about somatic exercises. Are somatic exercises only for people with injuries or chronic pain? While somatic exercises are incredibly effective for easing pain and supporting recovery, the benefits of somatic exercise extend far beyond that. Everyone can benefit from somatic exercises. They can help you improve your posture, flexibility, overall movement quality, and quality of life. You can use somatic exercises to focus on subtle, intentional movements, which help you regulate your nervous system and release tension. You also become more aware of how your muscles contract and extend, helping you prevent injuries before they happen. It’s like a built-in body awareness system that strengthens you from the inside out. Somatic movement isn’t about limitations; it’s about possibilities. It meets you where you are and grows with you, helping you become stronger and more balanced, one movement at a time. Do you need to be flexible to do somatic exercises? Flexibility is one of the benefits you gain from somatic exercises, but you don’t need to be flexible to begin. I often have students come to me and say they can’t do yoga because they aren’t flexible. I think that’s like saying, “I can’t lift weights because I’m not strong.” You practice yoga and somatic movement to become flexible; you lift weights to become strong. The beauty of somatic movements is that they meet you where you’re at. You can tailor them to your level. You have to start somewhere, and flexibility is a practice like anything else. Some people may be naturally more flexible than others, but everyone can benefit from flexibility training. Whether you’re feeling stiff or already have a yoga-like range of motion, somatic exercises guide you gently toward greater mobility. The beauty of this practice lies in its adaptability. You work within your current range, gradually expanding it without pushing or forcing. Are somatic exercises just stretches? Somatic exercises aren’t just stretches. What sets them apart is their focus on breath and total body awareness. These are mindful movements that emphasize the internal experience of your body. Instead of concentrating on how your body looks, you tune into how it feels, moving with intention and listening to your inner guide. While somatic movements often involve stretching, they go deeper by addressing root issues and unlocking your potential. This approach creates long-lasting changes. I’ve worked with athletes who used to stretch for sports. When they started practicing yoga and connecting their breath to the muscles they were opening, it transformed their experience. One wrestler I taught recognized many of the moves from his pre-tournament stretches but had never used his breath to deepen them. That small change made all the difference. Somatic exercises are gentle, slow, and intentional. They focus on what feels good and relaxing, rather than pushing you past the point of pain or discomfort. Growing up as a dancer, I had teachers who encouraged us to stretch far beyond what was safe. In contrast, somatic movements combine stretching with breathwork, awareness, visualization, and insight. This intentional approach supports your health, well-being, and deeper connection to yourself. Somatic movement does so much more than traditional stretching. It relieves stress, regulates your nervous system, eases muscle tension, enhances mind-body awareness, and helps you process emotional issues. Is it true that somatic exercises don’t build strength or fitness? Somatic exercises don’t aim to build strength or fitness directly, but they focus on improving your mind-body connection — and this makes you stronger and fitter in everything you do. One of the biggest myths about yoga is that people don’t expect it to deliver such an incredible full-body workout. I still remember my very first yoga class. I was sweating buckets, and it wasn’t even in a heated room! Yoga challenges your entire body with poses that demand strength, stamina, and focus. Other somatic practices, like Pilates, also build strength, endurance, and fitness in unique ways. When you tune into how your body feels as you move, you strengthen your intuition and deepen your connection to yourself. This awareness carries over into everything else you do. When you lift weights or do any other type of workout, you release tension more easily and channel your energy more effectively. Somatic movement also builds mobility, balance, and coordination — key components of aerobic capacity and strength. You can even recover from common musculoskeletal issues while getting stronger. Practices like yoga, dance, Tai Chi, and Pilates reveal strength you might not even realize you have. I’ve never met a “weak” dancer. Their strength, balance, and body awareness always amaze me. Even adding a little somatic dance movement to your week can boost your strength, flexibility, and overall fitness. When you hold a plank, balance in Tree Pose, or engage your core during Pilates, you actively build strength. Somatic movement makes strength training more intentional. Do you need special equipment to do somatic exercises? You don’t need special equipment to practice somatic exercises! These gentle, mindful movements work anywhere — no fancy gear, specific clothing, or shoes required. For the most basic warm-ups, all you need is A comfortable place to sit or lie down. A yoga mat or large towel (optional but helpful). Your body, breath, and a willingness to move. That’s it! The simplest movements often deliver the most profound changes. Start with what you have and build from there. As you grow more familiar with your practice, you might choose to invest in small props, but every exercise works perfectly with just your body. You can explore a wide range of movements without any tools: Body scans and breathing exercises Bodyweight strength exercises like planks, pushups, and core movements Guided visualizations and progressive muscle relaxation A good pair of comfortable, supportive shoes is all you need for mindful walking Pilates and yoga Tai Chi and other martial arts Are somatic exercises too easy to be useful? Somatic movements may appear simple at first glance, but they require a tremendous amount of awareness. In a world filled with distractions, tuning into your body on such a deep level presents a unique challenge. While you may not be lifting the heaviest weights or running the fastest, somatic exercises teach you to: Align your body for proper form when lifting weights or performing other physical activities. Improve mobility and flexibility in your joints, which enhances balance and coordination and supports healthy backs, hips, and shoulders. Walk and run with good posture, naturally increasing your cardiovascular endurance while avoiding injuries. For me, somatic movement is tougher than anything else I’ve ever done. It often involves unlearning or repatterning lifelong habits, which can feel daunting. Listening to your body on such a deep level can make you feel vulnerable. It requires you to let your guard down and remove the walls you’ve built over time. Opening yourself up like this can be intimidating but also deeply transformative. Somatic movement challenges the outdated “no pain, no gain” mindset. You don’t need to push your body to its limits to see results. Instead, holistic movement nurtures your entire body, giving it the love and understanding it truly needs. This approach reduces the risk of overdoing it or ending up sidelined by injuries. Even professional athletes use somatic exercises to improve performance and manage stress. These practices: Increase body awareness, which allows for more efficient and effort[1]less movement. Reduce muscle tension, easing both physical strain and mental stress. Retrain reactions to stress, helping athletes perform better under pressure. Staying present is one of life’s hardest skills. Practicing somatic exercises helps you learn to return to the here and now whenever your mind starts to wander. Do you need a class or teacher to practice somatics? You don’t need a class or a teacher to practice somatic movements. The goal is to look inward and start paying attention to your body, and you can do that on your own. Once you learn some basic moves, you’re free to experiment, adjust, and discover what works best for you. Classes or teachers can enhance your experience if you want to explore deeper techniques or gain new insights, but they aren’t required. Somatic Exercises For Dummies offers step-by-step instructions and plenty of exercises to help you get started right away. Somatic movement is about trusting yourself and connecting with your body, and that’s something you can do anywhere, anytime, without anyone else. Is it true that somatic exercises aren’t scientifically proven? Somatic exercises have a long history. Yoga dates back 5,000 years, Tai Chi has been practiced for thousands of years, and Joseph Pilates introduced his method in the early 1900s. These practices wouldn’t have remained so popular if they didn’t work. Modern science supports aspects of somatic movement, especially meditation and mindfulness. Research shows that meditation improves mental health, enhances sleep, reduces pain, lowers blood pressure, sharpens focus and memory, and fosters emotional resilience. It also increases compassion and interoceptive awareness — your ability to sense what’s happening inside your body — and supports better decision-making. Somatic exercises incorporate these elements of mindfulness and meditation by combining movement with breath and focused awareness. Instead of avoiding sensations, you embrace and fully experience them. While not every somatic practice has conclusive scientific proof, evidence suggests that these exercises help relieve pain, reduce tension, and promote easier movement. They offer gentle, low-risk options for improving body awareness and emotional well-being. In a world filled with stress and distractions, it never hurts to get more in tune with your body and emotions. Are somatic exercises different from yoga? Yoga is one type of somatic movement, but if yoga doesn’t resonate with you, plenty of other options exist. Practices like Pilates, the Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, Tai Chi, and dance may share some similarities with yoga, but they are distinct in their methods and goals. When I first started teaching yoga in the 90s, I was often asked to substitute for Pilates classes. That curiosity led me to pursue a Pilates certification, and I discovered how different it is from yoga. Other forms of somatic movement, such as mindful walking, shaking-it-off exercises, body scans, and meditation are also unique from yoga. While yoga classes can be taught in a somatic way, some styles focus more on achieving specific poses (asanas) and breathing techniques. Somatic movement emphasizes reprogramming the brain-muscle connection, while yoga often prioritizes postures and breathwork to reach particular poses. Somatic practices tend to be slower and more deliberate. That said, yoga and somatic movement complement each other beautifully, and the experience largely depends on the teaching style. Is awareness enough when practicing somatics? Somatic awareness is an essential first step, but it’s not enough to create real transformation. Awareness gives you the insight to recognize your patterns, but change happens when you turn that insight into action. This is where many people mistakenly think somatic exercises are too easy or not challenging enough to produce real results. The combination of awareness and mindful movement is what drives lasting change. When you slow down and move with intention, you begin to understand how your body works and what it needs to function at its best. True growth lies on the other side of discomfort. This doesn’t mean pushing through pain — somatic exercises aim to release patterns that create pain — but it can feel uncomfortable to let go of old habits and embrace new ones. Somatic practices help you acknowledge what holds you back, both mentally and physically. By becoming more aware, you can take deliberate, mindful action, creating a ripple effect of positive change. Awareness leads to action, and action sparks motivation. As you integrate these steps into your life, you’ll feel inspired to keep evolving and uncovering your full potential.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-08-2025

Somatic exercise is about getting to know your body and what you can learn from it as you get to know it better. There are many different forms of somatic movements, ranging from breathwork to Pilates. This book covers many somatic exercises and gives you a brief overview on how somatic movement can benefit you on many levels. Some examples of somatic exercises include: Focusing on each inhalation and exhalation when you breathe Choosing to move your body in any way that feels good to you Noticing how it feels to tense and then release parts of the body Grounding by feeling the connection of your body to the ground or other surface Applying these fundamentals of somatic movement helps you grow a strong connection between your mind and body: Practice movement slowly and intentionally Be exploratory with your movement Focus on the internal experience and process of your movement Be present and aware of what is happening in the moment and during the movement

Cheat Sheet / Updated 12-01-2023

Calisthenics and bodyweight exercises are all you need to work out your entire body, whenever you want, wherever you want. Whether you’re an elite athlete or someone who hasn’t exercised in decades, calisthenics provide the quickest and most effective way to form your fitness foundation and build your peak physique. In fact, because most bodyweight exercises utilize your entire body, you can get a fantastic full body workout in just nine minutes! What’s different about calisthenics is that they don’t train you for a specific sport. They train you for life. Each workout helps prepare you for the muscular, joint, bone, and even mental stresses of life. That’s what real fitness does. Put simply, the more fit you are, the more you can move through life with ease.

Article / Updated 11-27-2023

Pilates (pronounced puh-lah-teez and not pie-lates) is similar to yoga but emphasizes your body’s core — the abdomen, obliques, lower back, inner and outer thigh, butt, and so on. For this reason, Pilates develops much of what exercisers need — strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, coordination, balance, and good posture — with a much lower chance of injury than with other forms of exercise. The discipline emphasizes correct form instead of going for the burn. With so many exercise variations and progressions, you may have a hard time getting bored with Pilates. Pilates moves require you to engage virtually your whole body. At times, you may try to strengthen one muscle while stretching another. The moves take lots of concentration; you can’t simply go through the motions like you can on gym equipment. And then, for every move you think you’ve mastered, Pilates has another version that’s a little different and a little harder. Consider a move called rolling like a ball: You balance on your rear end, roll backward, and then roll back up into the balanced position again. This move requires a good balance of abdominal and lower-back strength and is deceptively tough. Pilates teaches you to think about how you use your muscles during your workout so you use them better in daily life. For instance, because much of the focus is on good posture and body mechanics, you stand and sit taller and walk more gracefully. Here's a bit of trivia: Pilates is named after its inventor, Joseph Pilates, a former carpenter and gymnast who invented the exercise for injured dancers. Many of the moves were inspired by yoga or patterned after the movements of zoo animals such as swans, seals, and big cats.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-06-2023

Self-defense can be intimidating and overwhelming to someone who’s new to the topic, and many self-defense experts make it appear even more complicated by introducing complex techniques from martial arts, such as judo, aikido, and karate. To make the topic easier and more approachable, this Cheat Sheet serves as a crash course to bring you up to speed on the basics.

Video / Updated 09-27-2023

Relieve back pain by posing in the Cat and Cow asanas. Two of the ten core yoga poses, these positions stretch your back and increase flexibility. Exercise your body and relax your mind with yoga. Video transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] In yoga, lots of poses are named after animals and things in nature. This one happens to be Cat and Cow. And it's really good to stretch the lower back and open up after a long hard day at work. So all you need to do is place your knees shoulder-width apart, take your hands down to the floor, lining up your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. You take a nice big inhale in, exhale, and fully round the back up into a big cat backstretch, drawing up from your armpits, pressing your palms into the floor, pressing your knees into the floor, and release chin to chest. Pull your tummy and as tight as you can. Then draw back down, sending the hips up. Gaze is up and draw the shoulders down your back. As you're working through Cat and Cow, if you feel any pain or unusual symptoms, especially if you're pregnant, just stop right away and gently press back into Child's Pose and release. And that's Cat and Cow.

Article / Updated 09-18-2023

The Hip-Up position is both a position and a fundamental exercise in Pilates. Here, you see how to form the Hip-Up position, which is a basic movement in Pilates that is used in many different Pilates exercises. By lifting your hips, you strengthen your lower abdominal muscles (and your butt muscles as well, if you squeeze your butt on the way up). The Hip-Up can be very challenging for those with a weak tummy, a tight back, or a large lower body. If you have a neck injury, proceed with caution. Skip this position if it causes any strain on your neck. Follow these steps to form the Hip-Up position in Pilates: Lie on your back with your legs up, your knees bent and your feet crossed, and your arms down by your sides. Rock back and lift your hips up by using your low Abdominal Scoop. The Hip-Up position in Pilates.

Article / Updated 09-15-2023

Most of the Pilates mat exercises strengthen the muscles necessary to properly support the spine and bring an awareness about what proper posture actually is. It's not enough just to do Pilates mat exercises; if you want to improve your posture and heal your back pain, you must incorporate Pilates into your daily life. You must translate the Neutral Spine, the feeling of length, and the Abdominal Scoop into your desk job. If you can incorporate the deeper Pilates concepts into your daily life, you'll notice changes immediately — in your back pain, in your posture, and in your sense of well-being. Most back pain is due to faulty posture — the posture in which you probably spend most of your days. Do you sit at a desk and stare straight ahead? Unfortunately, most people do, and they find it very difficult to sit up with proper posture for eight hours at a time. It becomes a vicious cycle: First you sit for long periods of time in a way that doesn't properly support the spine (generally, in a slightly hunched-over position). Then you lose strength in your postural muscles by not using them day after day, and then you can't sit up properly even if you wanted to because you've lost strength! What to do? Well, guess what? Pilates! Understanding the common causes of lower back pain Again, most back pain is a result of bad posture when sitting, standing, or walking. The main things to remember to prevent bad posture are to sit and stand up tall, keep your belly pulled in, and keep your shoulder blades pulling down your back. When you find your correct posture, you should feel the ease it creates in your whole back. You may need to slowly work up to sitting properly for long periods of time. Even your postural muscles need to get in shape. But the more awareness you have, the better you will feel. If you stand a lot, think of keeping your knees soft; don't lock them. Try to keep even weight on both legs. Keep your belly pulled in. But bad posture isn't the only culprit. A sedentary lifestyle is also often to blame. Let's face it: People just weren't meant to sit at a computer monitor for eight hours a day — or to sit on a chair at all, for that matter. Sitting isn't easy on your back. If you think about it, when you sit in a chair, the back muscles have to work all the time to keep you upright. Your legs are not able to help out at all. Furthermore, staying in one position doesn't promote good circulation and muscle tone. Break up your work day by getting up regularly from your chair and stretching out, going for a walk, or doing a Pilates series, if you can. Avoiding loaded flexion Most construction workers have terrible backs by the time they're 40, because they spend much of their day bending over and lifting up heavy objects. Even if you maintain perfect alignment when lifting, you can't avoid loading the spine in flexion if you're installing a floor, say, or doing much of anything below the waist. Flexion is the rounding forward of the spine when standing or sitting, or what your spine does when rolling up in a sit up. Loaded means . . . well, loaded. An example of loading the spine in flexion is the Rolling Down the Wall exercise if you have free weights in your hands. As you roll forward, the weight of your head, body, and the free weights is dropping down. The muscles and ligaments of the back are supporting that weight. Another example of loaded flexion is the Hip-Up exercise. As you lift your hips, the weight of the butt and legs is now on your back. If you roll back too far, the weight of your whole body will be on your neck. The neck is especially vulnerable to having too much load because it is made up of small, fragile vertebrae that are not meant to hold up anything but your head when standing. When you get very strong in your core, your spine can support more weight without being traumatized. Flexion is the movement of the spine that most damages the structures of the spine; especially the intervertebral discs and the ligaments of the back. If you feel uncomfortable when doing flexion exercises; don't do them! Instead, do all the exercises that don't bother your back, and come back to the others when you have more strength. To avoid loaded flexion, use proper body mechanics when bending over and lifting: Keep a Neutral Spine. You can just think of keeping the spine straight. Don't round the back forward (flexion) Bend your knees; and if you're lifting something, use your leg muscles not your back! Keep your Abdominal Scoop by pulling your navel in toward your spine. Doing so helps support the back. Being your own guide A well-known doctor named Robin McKenzie wrote a book called Treat Your Own Back, which revolutionized the way the rehabilitation profession viewed back pain. Basically, the book describes a program where you experiment and find out what movements exacerbate your back pain, and what movements and positions alleviate your back pain. Then you do the things that make you feel better. It sounds so fabulously simple and it works. You can follow the same principles when doing Pilates. When trying a new exercise, see if the movement makes your back pain worse or better. Use this information to heal yourself. For instance, if you find that flexion (rounding the spine forward), like in Spine Stretch Forward, makes your back feel great, then you can proceed with all the flexion exercises with a fair bit of confidence. In that case, exercises that do the opposite movement, extension (arching the back), as in the Rising Swan, may make your back hurt. If this is so, avoid all exercises that extend the back. The act of twisting may be the source of the problem, or it could be twisting in just one direction. Take note of what hurts and apply this information to your workout. When you're in pain, you must be very mindful when trying out new exercises. Talk to your doctor first to make sure you don't have any serious injury, and then go to a trained Pilates instructor if you are worried about hurting yourself.

Video / Updated 08-15-2023

The standing calf raise exercise targets your calf muscles, particularly the larger, outermost muscle that is responsible for the shape and size of your calves. Performing the standing calf raise Follow these steps to perform this exercise: Stand on the edge of a step. Or, if you have a step-aerobics platform, place two sets of risers underneath the platform. Stand tall with your abdominals pulled in, the balls of your feet firmly planted on the step, and your heels hanging over the edge. Rest your hands against a wall or a sturdy object for balance. Raise your heels a few inches above the edge of the step so that you’re on your tiptoes. Hold the position for a moment, and then lower your heels below the platform, feeling a stretch in your calf muscles. Tips for doing the standing calf raise Keep these tips in mind as you perform this exercise: Lift as high as you can onto your toes and lower your heels down as much as your ankle flexibility allows. Push evenly through the entire width of your foot. Don’t push off from your big toe or the outside edge of your feet. Gym alternative: Toe press on the leg-press machine Perform a toe press on the leg-press machine at your gym as an alternative to using dumbbells for this exercise. Follow these steps to perform the toe press on the leg-press machine: Lie on the leg-press machine with your shoulders snugly underneath the pad. To lift the weight stack, straighten your legs completely, and carefully walk your feet down the foot platform until your heels hang off the end. Keeping your legs straight, rise up on your tiptoes as high as you can and then lower down until your heels are below the level of the foot plate. After you complete all the reps, carefully walk your feet back to the center of the foot plate before bending your knees and lowering the weights.