Why Somatics Belongs in the Weight Room

I think folks are generally confused when I tell them I am a Clinical Somatic Movement Educator and Strength Trainer.

It’s a lot of words, isn’t it? I haven’t really come up with a more succinct title that captures everything I offer inside of movement and fitness.

So I wanted to take a moment to break it all down…

I think the confusion starts with the word “somatic.” It’s actually a pretty generic term meant to describe noticing the sensations and feelings of the body while you do something. Using that definition, you can do anything somatically. Washing dishes? Close your eyes and notice the shape you take over the sink, how your feet touch the floor, where your breath moves in your body, the temperature of the water on your hands, the tension in your face, what else the posture reminds you of…and on and on.

It’s a very simple concept, but not always easy in practice, especially in a world that is constantly pulling us away from orienting inward. Doomscrolling, anyone?

So now that we’re over the barrier of understanding what somatic even means, the next misunderstanding is about how Somatic Movement is—or is not—like exercise, Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, and other movement practices.

The type of movement education I teach is derived from Hanna Somatics, in which I help people find subconsciously held tension in their bodies and release it.

We are all holding tension in our bodies all the time. This tension comes from a whole lot of things. We’ll just call it “living” for brevity’s sake. The practice I teach softens people’s protective patterns, allowing them to relax. From there, we move incredibly slowly – enough to find very subtle tension and learn how to let it go.

Yes…it does feel as good as you’re imagining.

This may have clarified things for some of you, but I could also understand why it might be confusing for me to also be a Strength Coach. I teach one practice that is about slowing down and letting go, and another that is about creating stress and contracting.

They’re two sides of the same coin.

Admittedly, I haven’t had many opportunities to combine these two modalities outside of a one-on-one setting. Until now…

I’ve created something new – and somewhat experimental – by using my background in Functional Fitness, Somatics, and Pilates in my new class: Somatic Strength at We, the Collective in Oak Park!

Can Somatics make you stronger? In short—yes.

To be precise, I’d say it can help you feel stronger and sometimes lift more weight in a single session, even before weeks of dedicated practice (which I also recommend!). It works that way because when you can sense unnecessary tension in your movement and get it out of the way, movement becomes easier.

How I do that in the context of a fitness class is I slow things down and help students drop into the sensations of their bodies as they exercise and move. Most of it is in the cueing: using channels of sensory awareness, like imagination, posture, and sensation to help people feel what should be engaging and what could be letting go.

If you’d like to give it a try, you can find me at We, the Collective on Ridgeland on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Register at wethecollectivefitness.com and feel yourself work in a whole different way.