Название: Somatic Exercises For Dummies
Автор: Kristin McGee
Издательство: For Dummies
Год: 2025
Страниц: 384
Язык: английский
Формат: epub (true)
Размер: 21.16 MB

Reduce stress, relieve pain, and improve your overall health with somatic exercise.

Are you ready to relax, feel, and move better? Do you want to reduce anxiety, eliminate stress, and release tension in a healthy and natural way? Then grab a copy of Somatic Exercise For Dummies and start healing yourself from within!

In the book, renowned yoga, meditation and Pilates teacher Kristin McGee explains how you can use somatic exercise to strengthen the mind-body connection through movement. In simple, straightforward terms, the author explains exactly what somatic exercise is, how to do it, and what it can help you achieve. Learn to use breathwork, yoga, dance, Qigong, assisted movement, and more to help you with everything from your posture to flexibility and inner calm.

Somatic exercise is a form of exercise that uses the mind-body connection to discover things about ourselves and release physical and emotional tension. I like to think of somatic exercise as a “work in” as opposed to a workout. Somatic exercise is movement for the sake of movement, not for an external result. With somatic exercise, you are not concerned with an outcome or a result. You are instead looking to connect with your body in a way that makes it safe to process things that may be stored inside.

Our bodies and minds are connected. When something happens to us mentally or emotionally, it’s often stored physically. We may not even realize it at the time and then may create movement patterns based around the trauma. Have you ever been thinking about something and notice that your shoulders are up to your ears? Or have you ever been moving your body and the next thing you know you’ve completely spaced out? So often in life we are thinking or moving, but not in the moment. I see people at the gym on the treadmill, watching television or listening to music; or some are on a stationary bike reading a book or magazine. It’s impossible to be fully connected to what your body is doing when you are multitasking. Somatic movement is the opposite of multitasking. Instead, you connect your mind and your body and pay attention to how the two are united in the same task.

Many somatic practices draw from Eastern healing practices such as Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, and breathwork. These ancient techniques were used as teachers developed practices that used a body-based approach to learning. Ancient yogis were always using their bodies as tools to explore and refine their minds. They used breathwork and postures to gain a deeper understanding of and access to their consciousness. The yoga philosophy views the mind and body as interconnected, not separate. Yoga asanas (postures) and breathwork are used to cultivate awareness of sensations that can help quiet the mind and focus attention inward.

Somatic yoga has become increasingly popular. Somatic yoga differs from regular yoga in that it focuses on the internal experience of the body and less on external alignment. Somatic yoga takes a more intuitive approach; it helps you move with the flow of energy in your body. Somatic yoga has no end result or peak pose to achieve. It can help you connect with your emotions and release trauma. People turn more to somatic yoga because of its deeper benefits.

Somatic exercises will continue to gain popularity because they are effective tools for holistic well-being. It isn’t expensive to start and you only need your mind and body and a willingness to get to know yourself better. You can choose from many styles of yoga and Pilates, go to a Feldenkrais practitioner, try the Alexander Technique, practice Tai Chi, or start with a book like this one!

You'll:
• Discover focused exercises for overcoming trauma, finding joy, and increasing your wellbeing
• Fight chronic pain and enhance physical wellness with safe, natural methods
• Find step-by-step instructions—with photos—to help you perform each movement correctly

Life is complicated. Wellness doesn't have to be! Get Somatic Exercise For Dummies to get started with one of the simplest, most effective, and fun ways to feel physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually better.

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