Returning back home & connecting with your body - the power of the Somatic Mind Body Connection.
Somatic Movement, Somatic Pilates and Somatic Breathwork is an incredibly powerful way of working with your body. Discover a deeper connection with your body, reduced tension and strain and promote and establish holistic wellbeing in the body and mind, your relationship with yourself and others.
Modern life, modern stress, modern distress…
In our fast paced world it is so easy to get lost in the demands of everyday life, its speed, and the speed of our technologies leads us to become very dominant in our thinking brain as we run through endless to do lists, tasks, responsibilities and worries or concerns. As a result we very quickly lose our anchor from our felt sense and living in the present moment, and we lose connection with our bodies. Over time this disconnection can lead to many physical and emotional challenges, from general stress, anxiety, fatigue and some forms of pain and discomfort in our bodies.
What if we could reconnect with our bodies?
If we tune into our body and listen to its inherent wisdom and intelligence, the signals that our body sends back into our brain, we can cultivate what is know as a deeper mind body connection. This is where somatic movement and breathwork come in - both are very powerful tools to help us re- establish connection with our bodies, which in turn improves our wellbeing, and sense of balance in our body. We reach that balanced state of homeostasis, balance in our mind, we can think clearly and calmly and make decisions that are the right ones for us, and also with our spirit - we can feel integrated and a sense of wholeness, authenticity with ourselves and our interactions with others.
What is Somatic Movement?
The word comes from the word ‘soma’ which means of the living body, of your living body. Somatic movement is incredably powerful because it is lead from the feeling and connection of the sensation of the body in movement and in breath - it is a huge distance away from traditional exercise forms that focus on an external result (although somatic movement often can be used by those modalities to improve!). Somatic movement is not competitive, is interested in the here and now, and not an end state goal (although it is incredibly effective in getting to that goal for professional movers, athletes and dancers alike). It is interested in your internal experience, what movement feels like, how it may make you feel and the way your body responds to this gentle, yet powerful form of movement.
Somatic Movement & Embodiment - What does this mean?
Somatic movement is about listening and understanding your body. It is mindful, intentional movement, with a deeper awareness and presence than many movement forms. All forms of somatic movement aim to produce the state of emobodiment and do this is various ways. My form of somatics work with the reality of our living body, its biomechanics, physiology, anatomy, in movement and breath, and in the case of Franklin Method®, use a codified system of imagery that is deigned to improve how you move. Embodiment is something that is achieved with practice, and from embodiment we gain insights not only into our unique body, but also with ourselves. Very often we have what myself and my clients describe as ‘ah ha’ moments or times when, for us personally on a multitude of levels the movement and feeling suddenly makes sense. When we practice somatic movement and breathwork we are in an open dialogue with our bodies, deepening our connection to ourselves, and in doing so we are able to restore a sense of balance to our physical and emotional state - and as I often say move from a state of being a human doing to being a human being!
Why is Connecting to Your Body so Important?
Many of us live in a state of disembodiment to some degree. This means at times we are disconnected from our body and its physical sensations, or we totally ignore its messages or signals. Have you ever had a gut feeling and ignored it only to discover later that you wished you had followed your gut? Well that is a way of describing one form of disembodiment - instead of living through the truth and harmony of our body for whatever reason, we made a conscious decision to make a split between the mind and the body. Sometimes this disconnection is not consciously deliberate and can be the result of trauma, injury, or illness that can remove us from our bodies and their wisdom.
How can disconnection manifest itself?
Here are some possible ways we can disconnect, although I would stress with anything physical please don’t diagnose - go and seek medical advice, but, in addition consider life holistically as the following can be true for some people:
We can enter a state of Chronic Pain. By continually neglecting our body or overusing it we can develop poor posture, imbalance, excess tension, which can lead to pain and discomfort in our bodies - especially in sites such as the lower back or shoulder which can also be coming from the mind or deeper rooted stressors.
Emotional stress. The body is our container of wisdom and stores emotion on a multitude of levels, some we do not have words to, only feelings. We can feel heartbreak, we can have strange feelings about things, we can feel that our body changes when we become very stressed - our muscles may also respond according to our emotions. Lack of awareness and connection to our bodes can lead to these feelings banking up over time, unprocessed, until we are eventually forced to listen either physically or emotionally.
Fatigue, Stress, Burnout. In today’s society we have a culture of over pushing to get things done, working too many hours, prioritising doing more over getting rest, and this is especially true of women who, handling demands of family and career, and an every chasing body can really send themselves beyond the limit. The same is true of those who overuse their body. Sadly I have worked with far too many movers who have overtrained and ignored the pain and discomfort their body told them on lower levels, or who pushed their body hard without enough rest or with poor nutrition. If we do not tend and nurture ourselves, then we can feel under resourced and drained.
Disconnection from who we truly are. Without a strong mind body connection it is easy to become disconnected from who we are at the heart of us, we can over push, overachieve and feel empty, or we can become overly worried and anxious as our thinking brains run away with ruminations and we start losing our ground or our centre.
Reconnecting with who we are and our physical reality in any given moment through somatic practices helps us become much more grounded in the now, in tune with who we are and culture a sense of wellbeing in a holistic way. We are able to listen to our bodies and connect to their wisdom and ultimately what they and we need. In doing so we support our wellbeing in our bodies by working with them in harmony as well as our minds, developing self confidence and resilience.
By reconnecting to our bodies through somatic practices, we can better manage stress, heal from physical discomfort, and cultivate a sense of emotional well-being. This deepened mind-body connection allows us to tune in to what our bodies truly need, which in turn supports both our physical health and emotional resilience emotionally.
Reconnecting into your body with somatic movement & breathwork can help in the following ways…
Improve your awareness of your physical body.
If you are not aware of your body you are not aware of what you are doing. By tuning into the sensation of your body and how it should feel in movement as well as how your body actually moves you will discover that you can move without tension, stress or strain. You can move powerfully but with softness and create less wear and tear on your body. Your heightened awareness helps you move in more efficient ways, which in tun helps you feel more calm and energised as you are not fighting yourself. As a result, your overall health, wellbeing and confidence improves.
Reducing stress in the body and the mind, and, leading your body and mind into greater paths of healing.
Our bodies are containers that store emotional stress that needs to be processed through breathing, movement and connection with ourselves and within community. The mindful nature of somatic movement and often its slow speed gives us a chance to reconnect with ourselves and in the case of somatic movement education make self discovery about what works for us. When we work with somatic movement therapy the teacher will help us re pattern or change our movement and the way our mind processes movement and breath. Somatic therapy, the deepest work of all is the work done with a therapist that helps us move emotion through the body that is more problematic, and create greater resilience. All three methods have a common thread - we are linking the mind and the body back together to create states of ease and clam and reducing tension out of our body and mind in the process.
Pain relief and Prevention of Injury
Somatic movement therapy and somatic movement education are incredible tools to address issues of movement within the body, be that chronic pain or recovering from an injury. During both the mind body connection is disrupted and so becoming incredibly precise with movement inside your body and feeling what you do you are more likely to be successful at moving without force, gripping or tension, or overloading the body in a harmful way. Through the codified use of imagery of the Franklin Method® you can re pattern your movement to help your body move the way it was originally designed to move. This can be done either in a somatic domain alone or a Pilates environment that combines somatic work - once you are clear in your mind how and what you are moving in your body so much more is possible, and you also learn about your unique body - helping remove many worries and anxieties you had about your body away. So many of my clients find this work transformative as injury and pain can also result in the loss of confidence in our body as well as in us - so by rekindling this fundamental connection it is very very common for us to regain confidence in what we do and in ourselves once more.
More flexibility and mobility
Somatic movement wants you to work with ease, from a base of a calm and supported nervous system. When our body is safe it will naturally open up and through slow gentle movement new connections (we call these synaptic connections ) within the mind and body will be formed. That means that the brain is able to learn new routes or highways of movement and can take us through a movement with greater degrees of comfort rather than us pushing or forcing our body. Pushing and forcing creates heat in the body, wear and tear. This repeated wear and tear is over time a way to really upset the body’s balance and without recovery we can push ourselves into injury - taking away stability from joints by overstretching ligaments or by repeatedly pulling muscles into imbalance. Somatic movement instead allows you to learn how your body was designed to move - once you know this and are able to slowly find this in your body ranges of motion can appear at speed. Tension in the mind or the body or in both creates tension in the whole body. Somatic movement teacher you how to reduce that tension and find your ease.
Emotional Awareness, Confidence and Resilience
Connecting with ourselves leads us into deeper and deeper levels of alignment which goes beyond the physical body. When we are in tune with our bodies we start to learn more about ourselves and our emotions. The practice of Somatics leads into deeper states of what we call self-regulation - we learn in the felt way how to regulate ourselves and our nervous system into a state of balance where we feel grounded and connected to ourselves, as well as connected to others. Somatic communities are also places of co-regulation - where a supportive and non competitive community acts as an anchor within a busy week for the community to come together. In Somatic Therapy the Therapist can co-regulate the client and their nervous system to help them work with very difficult emotions, enabling the client to eventually widen their tolerance to their issues and self regulate. That’s very special work!
Deeper embodiment & the mind body connection
Being totally present is an end state goal and a practice, but as we move into deeper presence with ourselves and with others we become more aligned, more embodied, and very in tune with our bodies and our minds. Somatic practices help us cultivate this deeper embodiment, sense of peace, balance and harmony in every way, and everything in life and living becomes so much easier.
Somatic movement is holistic in its approach and it allows us to strengthen our mind body connection by focusing upon process not perfect, by deepening awareness and the sensations and inherent wisdom of our bodies. Pure somatic processes and embodiment such as Franklin Method® or a dual modality approach of Somatic Pilates tech us how to really move with intention, and awareness not only of our body but our mind as well.
The benefits of practicing somatic movement are that we learn to listen to our body and its needs in a much deeper way than before…
We can release tension and learn through somatic movement education about things that are hindering our wellbeing.
We can develop a much more thoughtful or mindful approach to movement, to our breath and in turn this has huge impact upon our health and wellbeing, reducing tension and stress.
We can deepen our self embodiment - by being connected to ourselves we can connect more deeply in our relations with others, and the wider world around us.
In returning home to our body we not only feel our body, but understand it. When we have awareness and understanding we can change in positive ways…
Reclaiming you, your body and your felt sense - a holistic practice
There is no getting away from the stress of everyday life - it is something we all have to navigate in some way. The biggest act of self care you can give yourself is the ability to be connected with yourself and your body. Somatic practices take us on a journey of self discovery and help us create a life that is more enriching, through movement that nourishes not punishes, through movement that pulls tension out of our bodies and can reduce stresses strains and pains. The by product of this is a feeling of calmness and peace, deeper connection and more self confidence. We were not built to do but to be and to have a way to really look after ourselves instead of beat ourselves up, and to be connected with out needing to compete or be better than ourselves or others brings us into peace, alignment and holistic wellbeing.
If you’re ready to deepen your connection to your body and develop deeper levels of embodiment, somatic movement is a powerful tool to help you do just that. Whether through my Retreats, Somatic Movement or Breathwork masterclasses or Somatic Pilates, you can begin to cultivate a more connected, and healthier way of living.
Start your journey today by incorporating somatic practices into your life. Your body is waiting for you to listen to its inherent wisdom and you will discover that it can respond at great speed and in positive ways once we work with our bodies and minds in unison. Let’s return to and enjoy the conversation with our bodies once more - have a look what is on offer through my events or classes, experience Somatic Pilates or work with me 1:1 for a much deeper journey.
In wellness,
Sarah
Who am I? I am a Registered Somatic Movement Educator and Somatic Movement Therapist with ISMETA. My principle practice is Franklin Method® and I am a Somatic Therapist in training currently in Clinical training. You can find more out about me by using the menu above. I am a trauma informed practitioner which means that I have had training in and am sensitive to trauma related issues. I am also within my practice very boundaried. If you are working through or dealing with current trauma you are advised to seek help from a trauma specialist who is qualified and can help you specifically and safely with your issues. Somatic Movement work is not the environment suitable for those dealing with acute trauma although in the future may be useful once your therapist has agreed it can be supportive to you.
© Sarah Pritchard, 2025, All rights reserved.
Content Disclaimer - With pain, acute injury and any pathology you should always seek professional medical guidance and diagnosis. Somatic work does not replace medical diagnosis or care. Please refer to my Terms of Website use for further information.
DISCLAIMER: as I do not know your individual circumstances, none of my blogs, my videos, my guidance in the Facebook group or any other materials available to you where I have not taken you on as a one to one client shall be construed as advice and I shall have no liability to you in any circumstances should you choose to rely on any of the materials I publish.