Somatic movement is having a bit of a heyday in pop culture. With teachers, coaches and classes popping up all over the place. Just a few years ago, had I called some of my somatic movement practices just that, clients would have looked for an explanation.
I have used the concepts within somatic movement since becoming an occupational therapist nearly 20 years ago. At its core somatic movement is intentional, focused-within movement. Think eyes closed, feeling what you feel and leaving “right” out the door. It’s a beautiful, exploratory movement practice that can be incredibly healing, nurturing and help individuals connect to their physical being on a deeper level.
I regularly guide clients through somatic movement experiences when they are having difficulty connecting to a specific area of their body. When done, almost always they are feeling more aware of the body part or area we focused on and, in turn, they are better able to move during certain therapeutic exercises that they previously struggled with. So in a sense I use it as a tool to improve my clients physical goal outcome. For example, a mom wants to get rid of her “pancake butt” but she has trouble connecting to her glute contraction… somatic movement practice is where I will begin!
Here are reasons why I think ALL moms should use somatic movement…
- Being pregnant mixes up your muscle awareness and somatics can re-connect your awareness to your not pregnant body
- They are super gentle, hard if not impossible to do wrong and can be done from the earliest days postpartum
- They activate your understanding of where you are in space, aka proprioception! An essential sense for an effective postpartum exercise routine
- On days when your not up for much movement or low energy they are a great alternative and still get you moving
- For mom’s whose brains just won’t turn off, they can be a great form of meditation and focus that doesn’t involve sitting still and saying “ommm”
What more do you want to know about somatic movement? Drop a comment below OR even better…
Register for RISE within Motherhood and I will guide you through a somatic movement practice! Tomorrow Thursday July 25 at 9am HST. Register to catch the recording if you can’t make it live.
In Health,
Hilary
