Gentle Somatic Yoga: Heal Chronic Pain, Release Trauma, and Reclaim Your Bod

So here’s the thing, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, we all have trauma. Whether you’ve had major traumatic events in your life or have a constant stream of stress coming at you at all times, it’s there. And it’s likely caused habitual bracing patterns, which then lead to muscle pain and stiffness.

And you might be thinking you have to live with this pain, whether it be emotional or physical forever. Well, you don’t.

You can eliminate muscle stiffness and cramping, boost health, dissolve persistent pain conditions and improve wellness with gentle somatic yoga.

Why Practice Gentle Somatic Yoga?

Practicing gentle somatic yoga takes your connection to your body one step further than traditional yoga or other movement practices. It uses methods like titration – working with small bits at a time – and oscillation – moving back and forth over a point of equilibrium in order to feel safe in the body again. To unlock holding patterns of stress and release them from your body. Getting to the root cause of pain and trauma in your body and reprogramming what’s being held on to, closing the stress cycle and finally allowing yourself to heal. 

Because, without safety no healing can occur.

Your animal body needs to feel safe in order to release. Think about the mouse playing dead for the cat. The cat tosses the mouse, swats at it, and it remains still as death. Until the cat grows tired or bored and moves on. The mouse waits until it knows it is safe, shakes and releases the tension from its body and then moves on. 

Right now, you are the mouse, and society is the cat. Our current social atmosphere keeps us in a constant state of alert. Not only that but, living in the “information age” keeps you in your head all day, leaving your body and its pesky urges/sensations behind. So even if you do have a moment of “safety” or “freedom” you’re so disconnected from your body you can’t let go of all the things that came before. 

This leads to physical issues and chronic pain. 

But the first step to fixing any problem is awareness, somatic awareness to be exact. Somatic yoga brings your awareness back down into the body. You notice all of the small sensations and patterns that either feel good, or don’t. You learn to lean into the sensations of the body, yes even the uncomfortable ones, to release trauma or stuck energy and complete the stress cycle. So if you’re ready to relieve or dissolve persistent muscle pain and lean into a whole body approach of self healing, gentle somatic yoga is the route for you.

How To Practice Gentle Somatic Movement

Practicing gentle somatic movement is as simple as feeling and experiencing what is happening specifically in YOUR body during movement. It’s about having presence, the ability to sense what is happening in and outside the body. 

For some of us, this is easier said than done. For others, they may be able to drop right into this awareness. This is why I like to guide my students through what works best for them using practices based on core somatic principles like:

💎 Exteroceptive practices: Push your awareness to the perimeter of your body. These are nice for people with high Vata or a victim mentality/archetype. This could look like a mirror practice, or working with the wall/a ball to get feedback from the external body. I personally enjoy the five point holding practice. Experience it in this free home practice video: SOMATIC MORNING WORKOUT FOR BEGINNERS ☀️ | Yoga to Find Your Confidence 🕶️

💎 Interoceptive practices: Pull your awareness inside the body. These practices are good for people with high tapas, are proficient in yoga, and/or living with a martyr mindset. Practices for interoception include deep meditation and kundalini kriyas. This gentle practice is also a nice one to try: SOMATIC YOGA PRACTICE WITH MUSIC – Gentle Nervous System Reset 🎶Yummy Stretches + Lymphatic Drainage

💎 Alchemical Containers: Release the stress cycle and expand healing by leveraging your emotions. Alchemical containers work well for people who are deep in their healing journey and ready to play their edge. This could include conscious grieving practices or chakra embodiment. Both of which you’ll find in my 75-Hour Somatic Training Certification or Embodied Yoga Life Coaching. 

My methodology of embodied yoga works to blend interoceptive and exteroceptive practices through REST:

The beauty of the REST methodology is that each of these methods –  rock, emote, spiral, touch – can be incorporated into your yoga practice and infused with the poses you already know and love!

Somatic Healing Masterclass: Rewire Trauma, Reclaim Your Intuition (usually $67) FREE👇

Top Yoga Poses For Gentle Somatic Yoga

Below are my top gentle somatic yoga poses. But, if you want to follow along with me, you can find most of these poses in this 10 minute free home practice: 10 Min Somatic Yoga Flow For Emotional Release | GENTLE FULL BODY STRETCH

1. Somatic Child’s Pose

Sit on your heels, take the knees as wide as the mat or as is comfortable. Bring your arms forward, rest the forehead to the mat. Breathe deeply as you gently rock and sway back and forth. Gently leaning into one side and then the other, perhaps rolling the forehead from side to side on the mat. Come to stillness when you feel complete.

Variations: Place a bolster under your chest for support or under your seat if it doesn’t meet the heels. Arms can rest by your sides and you can take the knees wide or together. 

Benefits: Calming, creates safety in the nervous system, and promotes health vitality and wellbeing. Stretches the low back and stimulates the digestive system.

Pro Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Make this more active by adding undulations between sitting and child’s pose.
• Make it more soothing by having students take their hands by their feet and massage the feet and calves. 

2. Somatic Cat/Cow

From tabletop(hands and knees) inhale, drop your belly, lift your head, gaze forward, shoulders down the back to gently arch(Cow Pose). Exhale, pull the belly in to round your spine, chin comes to chest(Cat Pose). Move with your breath for several rounds, adding circular motions or leaning into one side then the other(rocking motion).

Variations: This can be done seated in a chair or cushion. Circle the hips and shoulders. Stagger the hands and feet.

Benefits: Improves flexibility and encourages release along the back side of the body. A great introductory pose to more embodied and pleasurable movement.

Pro Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Give students “permission” to play and explore. Shifting their weight forward, back, side to side. Crawling back and forth, etc. 
• Offer your class different ways to move, but make sure to leave space for them to have their own experience as well.

3. Forward Fold w/ Undulations

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lead with the chin as you hinge forward from the hips to fold over your legs. Bend the knees deeply, place your hands on your thighs to support yourself, as you slowly roll back up one vertebrae at a time. Head being the last thing to come up. Repeat for several rounds moving with the breath.

Variations: Make the undulation as big or small as feels good. You can also do this in a seated forward fold.

Benefits: Undulations soothe and calm the mind. This also encourages release in the low back and back of the legs.

Pro Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Encourage students to move super slow, emphasizing each small movement as they roll down and then back up.
• Have students pause before rolling back up and add a little soothing rock and sway.

4. Sundials

From a forward fold, deeply bend the knees and clasp opposite elbows. Take the left elbow to the outside of the left knee as you come up through a side bend. Come up to stand and circle back down to connect the right elbow on the outside of the right knee. As if moving through two panes of glass. Switch directions if you want. Come to stand when complete.

Variations: This can be done standing or on the knees. Make the circles as large or as small as feels comfortable for you. Take a small backbend at the top. 

Benefits: Strengthens the back and core muscles and opens up the side body. Spiral motions soothe the nervous system bringing you back to equilibrium.

Pro Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Deepen the stretch by cueing students to take their elbows back in space. 
• End this sequence by having students finish in a forward fold, elbows still clasped, and rock back and forth like a pendulum.

5. Constructive Rest w/ Body Scan

Lie supine on your mat. Take the feet as wide as the mat and the knees fall towards each other. Breathe, bring your awareness to your feet. Slowly check in with each part of your body, working from the feet to the crown of head. No judgment, just notice how you feel. Focus on your breathing and rest. 

Variations: Have the legs rest out log with a bolster under the knees. Add a weighted eye mask or sandbags for a deeper sense of relaxation.
Benefits:  Regulates hormones and improves circulation. Triggers the parasympathetic nervous system bringing deep relaxation.
Pro Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Open your class with constructive rest rather than closing with it to get students feeling safe in their body before moving.
• Guide students through a visualization here before bringing them to final rest. 

Closing Thoughts

Whenever I teach a gentle somatic yoga class I wind up with happy clients, students, teachers, and colleagues. I want that for you and your students too. Whether you teach group classes, workshops, retreats, or you just want to deepen your own practice with gentle somatic yoga check out my 75-hour online gentle somatic course. The healing power of gentle somatic yoga is nothing to sleep on, so get started today!