Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 10 Dec 2024
Feeling Pain, Trauma and Stress? Try Doing Somatic Yoga That Empowers Your Mind and Body
Somatic yoga combines the core principles of breathing exercises and meditation, along with yoga poses
The practice of yoga, which combines asanas with somatics—a kind of movement therapy to retrain your brain and move to move your muscles—helps you know your body better. Somatic yoga not only helps you become flexible but also reduces stress and pain and can relieve trauma.
It combines the core principles of breathing exercises—known as pranayama and meditation—along with yoga poses—in mostly sitting and supine positions to create a connection between your mind and body.
According to those who practice this yoga, it benefits by making you learn to pay attention to your bodily sensations as you move—helping you build self-awareness and allowing you to feel restored and empowered in your mind and body.
How does somatic yoga benefit you?
According to experts, engaging in somatic yoga offers various wellness benefits—both for your body and mind. Apart from improving balance, somatics helps you increase mind-body awareness, reduce pain, and improve mental health.
Reduces pain
According to research, there is a potential link between chronic pain and emotions. Somatic yoga helps you process your emotions and reduce physical pain. Studies say increasing your mind’s awareness through somatic movement helps you manage chronic pain.It also may help lower your perception of pain.
Increases flexibility and mobility
A major reason why somatic movement helps you deal with pain is because it makes you more flexible and balanced—especially with stretches.
Boost awareness of your body and mind.
Somatic yoga improves your ability to recognise your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations like your heart rate and breathing. It also helps you manage your breathing and heart rate.
Calms down anxiety
Somatic yoga helps you identify your emotions by calming down anxiety, reducing tension, and improving your mood.
Relaxes you
Somatic yoga gives you a feeling of calmness and relaxation, taking your body out of the fight-or-flight mode. Breathwork, often integrated into somatic exercises, slows your heart rate and leads to feelings of relaxation.
How to begin somatic yoga?
Somatic yoga does not take a very long time and is super easy on clothing as well.
According to experts, as a beginner to yoga, there may be some minor risks of injury, especially if you do not perform the movements correctly or push your body too far. The most common yoga injuries include repetitive injuries, muscle strains, sprains, and torn ligaments.
Before you take the plunge in somatic yoga, you must:
- Ask your doctor for advice if somatic yoga is right for you
- Start slow and work with a certified yoga instructor to make sure you are performing the movements correctly
- Know your body's limits, and do not push it beyond what you can handle.
Poses in somatic yoga
Tree pose yoga or vrikshasana
Taught to beginners, tree pose or vrikshasana helps you focus on remaining stable, builds your balance and coordination, and improves strength.
Mountain pose or tadasana
Tadasana or mountain pose is extremely important for your posture. Pay attention to each part of your body and the role that it plays in keeping your spine long.
Easy pose or sukhasana
The easy pose helps you open your hips, stretches the knees and ankles, and strengthens your back. Commonly used for meditation and practicing breathing exercises, this pose is both popular and calming.
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