Somatic Yoga Poses For Every Body And Mind

As a yogi I’m sure that you know that movement therapy and mindful movement patterns are incredibly beneficial to your overall health and wellbeing. One of my favorite ways to nurture my mind body connection, and something I’ve been leaning into a lot lately, is somatic yoga exercises. I’m so passionate about this mindful movement practice!!

Never heard of somatic yoga? Wondering how you add somatic exercises to your practice or teaching?

I’d be happy to give you a breakdown of some somatic yoga postures to get you started.

What Is Somatic Yoga?

Somatic Yoga is a therapeutic yoga practice that focuses on slow, mindful movements and sensory awareness to enhance the mind body connection, release physical tension, chronic pain and emotional tension. It emphasizes gentle, conscious movements to further internal body awareness, re-educate the nervous system and improve overall body function.

In a nutshell, it’s using the traditional yoga poses you know and love but adding a somatic awareness.

By combining somatic experiencing with yoga you create a transformative approach to yoga that goes beyond physical exercise. It empowers you by increasing your awareness of your internal body sensations. Incorporating somatic exercise promotes relaxation, and fosters a deeper connection between the body and mind. This amazing practice not only encourages mindful movement and self-awareness, but somatic yoga also helps release habitual patterns of tension and stress.

In my Uplifted community some of our biggest values are inclusivity and accessibility. Somatic exercises are suitable for all ages and fitness levels, making it a versatile practice that can be adapted to meet the unique physical aspects and needs of each person. I love this gentle approach to yoga because it encourages a compassionate, non-judgmental attitude towards the body. It guides you towards trust, self-acceptance and holistic healing.

Benefits of Somatic Yoga

There are many benefits to somatic yoga and somatic exercises. This method of increased body awareness can help with things like sensory motor amnesia, poor posture, and an overall heightened awareness of how the body feels. I could go on about the benefits of somatic yoga, but I’ll list just a couple here for you:

Increased internal awareness – meaning you are more in tune with the physical sensations of your body and the emotional/physical reactions you have to the world around you. This alone makes somatic yoga a yoga practice worth trying.

Greater postural awareness – yep, somatic exercises definitely help with your posture because they bring awareness to the space you hold when you stand and release tension in the areas that often contribute to poor posture.

Lower stress and anxiety – the gentle movements of somatic yoga bring you into the present moment, fostering a deeper sense of calm. The intentional movements and breath awareness trigger the body’s relaxation response bringing you a sense of ease.

Personalization – Somatic yoga exercises are your bridge to full intuitive movement. This means that you take the traditional yoga postures and personalize them to what feels most nourishing for your body.

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Top Somatic Yoga Poses

Somatic Yoga is just one of many somatic release techniques. There are various poses that can be tailored to specific needs: i.e. beginners or trauma release. The goal with these somatic exercises is to focus on gentle, mindful movements to enhance body awareness. To invite in the movements you’d find in nature(rocking, spiraling, undulation, etc.) and promote healing. Let’s look at some common movement categories and which somatic yoga exercises work with them:

Somatic Yoga Poses for Beginners

If you are new to somatic yoga, welcome!! There are so many ways to take somatic principles and make the traditional yoga poses you know and love more somatic. If you are just starting your journey into somatic movement here are some somatic yoga for beginners postures I think you’ll love:

Pelvic Tilt

A pelvic tilt is a great, gentle somatic movement for beginners. Lie on your back with your knees bent and soles of the feet on the floor. Slowly rock your pelvis back and forth, gently pressing your lower back into the floor and then arching it away. Incorporating somatic exercises like this into your practice helps increase awareness of the lower back and hips, easing tension and improving mobility.

Fluid Pyramid

Take the right leg forward, point your toes to the front of the mat, and the left leg back. Left foot turned slightly out, square your hips. Inhale lengthen the spine, exhale as you pull the belly in fold over your front leg. Make this yoga pose more somatic by placing two blocks under your hand and adding in some fluid movement. Maybe a nice gentle sway side to side, maybe undulate the upper body, deeply bend the knees and then straighten. See what feels good in your physical body.

Goddess

From standing, take your feet out wider than your shoulders, toes pointing outward. Inhale, get tall, exhale, and bend the knees deeply. You can cactus the arms or place the hands on the thighs for support. Make this a mindful movement by adding a gentle rock side to side. Or you can dip one shoulder for a twist toward the opposite knee and then switch sides, moving with your breath. 

Take my feminine energy quiz to get a recommended practice for balancing YOUR feminine energy 👇

Somatic Yoga Poses for Trauma Release

By engaging in your body’s innate healing wisdom with somatic movement you create a gentle and effective form of trauma release. You can use more gentle somatic movements for trauma release as well as more active ones. You have to trust your own experience and do what feels right for you. Here are a couple somatic yoga for trauma moves for you to try:

Leg Shakes & Kicks

This can be done standing or lying down. If standing, start by shaking one leg and then the other. Stomp the feet and kick the legs. Let loose whatever stagnant energy might be lingering in your lower body. If lying down you can lift the legs and shake both at the same time. Kick the legs back and forth or even kick your bum. This is a great emotional release and helps close the stress cycle initiated by the flight response. 

Child’s Pose

From kneeling, sit on your heels. If it makes you more comfortable you can place a cushion between your legs. Breathe as you start exploring touch in various parts of your body. Touch your legs, rub your palms from hip to knee. Move with your breath as you explore what feels good, start playing with different types of touch, light or deep, a massage or a tickle. When you’re ready, rest your head back down and take a few breaths here before sitting back up.

Somatic Shaking

Similar to the leg shaking there is the Trauma Release Shake. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and gently start to shake your entire body, starting from your feet and moving upwards. Allow your knees to soften and your body to move freely. This rhythmic, spontaneous shaking motion helps release stored tension and trauma from the muscles and nervous system, promoting a sense of relaxation and relief throughout physical body.

I have quite a few somatic practices you can try on YouTube but give this somatic practice a try and see how you like it: SOMATIC YOGA FOR REPRESSED EMOTIONS | Somatic Exercises for Anger Release & Trauma Healing w/ Music

Somatic Yoga Poses for Back Pain Relief

Back pain is a common complaint in our modern world. With the sedentary lifestyle most of us lead it makes sense. Somatic exercises can offer relief from chronic pain by increasing blood flow, hydrating your fascia, and getting you more in tune with your body’s cues. Some of my favorite movements when my back is feeling tender include:

Cat/Cow

Come to tabletop position, on hands and knees. Inhale as you drop your belly and arch your back (cow pose). Exhale as you pull your belly in and round your spine (cat pose). Make this a slow intentional movement, focusing on the sensations in your spine. Make this more somatic by playing with the position of your hands and knees. Lead with the chin and add some neck rolls. Cat cow helps improve spinal flexibility, restore balance, increase the mind body connection and relieve back pain. It’s also one of the simplest postures to incorporate into a somatic yoga practice.

Fluid Forward Fold

You know the logistics of doing a traditional standing forward fold but you can make it more somatic exercise by making slow deliberate movements. This can look like gently swaying the upper body back and forth or even the hips. Or adding in undulations, slowly rolling yourself up one vertebrae at a time and then opening your chest to roll back down. This fluid wavelike motion is very soothing to the nervous system.

Sufi Grind

This gentle somatic yoga move is wonderful for your back. It releases tension and loosens up the muscles of the back and increases range of motion. From a comfortable seat, place your hands on your knees or shins. As you inhale, circle your torso forward. You can go at your own pace and in whichever direction you’d like. As you exhale your torso circles around and back. Do this for several rounds moving with your breath, switching directions if you feel called to.

Somatic Yoga Poses for Stress Reduction

Somatic movement is incredibly soothing for the nervous system, making this mindfulness practice a game changer when it comes to stress relief. It can quickly move you from your stress response(sympathetic nervous system) to your body’s relaxation response(parasympathetic nervous system). Some of my favorite methods to do this are:

Diaphragmatic Breathing

As a yogi you’re probably quite familiar with this deep breathing exercise. Come to a comfortable seat and place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest. Take a deep breath in through your nose bringing your awareness to your belly. Feel it relax and expand. Exhale slowly as you feel the belly pull back in towards your spine. Try not to move the chest too much. Notice how your perspective shifts and you become much more at ease after only a few rounds of this breath. This is a great starting point, but there are plenty other somatic breathing exercises you can try too!

Constructive Rest

Come to lie down on your back and get as comfortable as possible. That could be with a bolster under the knees or with the soles of feet to the mat and knees falling in toward each other. Breathe deeply and let your body relax into the ground. From here you can check in with different parts of your body, noticing where there’s tension, where there’s space and relaxation. Maybe even add in a yoga nidra here. Constructive rest triggers your relaxation response quite quickly, connects you to your body and helps to regulate hormones.

Legs Up The Wall

Lie down on your back, facing a wall. Bring your feet up on the wall and scooch your bottom closer to the wall. Then you can extend the legs up the wall. Let them fall open or use a strap to keep them together. You can place a cushion under your seat if it makes you more comfortable. Come out of this slowly and take a few breaths in rest before coming back to a comfortable seat. 

NOTE: These mindfulness practices are great to do at home but you can always practice somatic therapy with a licensed somatic therapist. They can provide you personalized guidance on how to meet your goals.

Closing Thoughts

The biggest thing to remember when you practice somatic yoga is to trust your own body and listen to it. It’s mainly about doing what feels pleasurable to you. I know you’re going to fall in love with the practice the same way I have. If you’re a yoga teacher and want to take it a step further, learn more about somatic coaching. I have an amazing somatic training program so you can share the amazing benefits of this practice with your students.