You may be most familiar with exercises that involve repeating the same movements over and over, like lifting the best adjustable dumbbells for multiple reps and sets to build strength and muscle, or taking stride after stride to perfect your running form and get faster.
However, amidst your usual workouts, how often do you slow down and truly connect with what your body is doing and how it feels? This is exactly what somatic exercise is all about, and it offers some impressive benefits.
Somatic practice focuses on developing full-body awareness, encompassing both physical and mental wellbeing. It involves moving your body in a way that prioritizes how it feels rather than how it looks or achieving a specific fitness goal.
This also means it is a super accessible form of movement for people to try out and probably something we could all do with incorporating into our fitness routine, similar to taking a slower, more purposeful mindful walk.
With that in mind, we spoke to a professional somatic movement coach Francesca Melluzzi, to understand more about somatic movement, the benefits of practicing it and how to try it out for yourself right now.