‘Soma’ is the ancient Greek word for the ‘living body’ (as distinct from simply ‘body’).  We can think of the Soma as the body infused with consciousness or awareness.  Thomas Hanna (founder of the movement system, Somatics) defined it as ‘the body as perceived from within’.  

Somatics and Somatic Yoga is movement (and stillness) experienced from the inside.  Although Yoga is an inherently somatic practice, many forms of physical yoga practiced in the West today have come to focus on external form - in how a pose looks from the outside, rather than how it feels from the inside.  In a Somatic yoga or movement class, the teacher guides you, often through a series of questions, to sense and feel your direct, moment-to-moment first person internal experience.  It is a practice based on curiosity and playfulness rather than striving to achieve something.

With practice, we develop sensitivity to ever more subtle experiences, ranging from physical to emotional and psychological.  We start to appreciate that the body has a wisdom and a language of its own, which is often drowned out by the thinking, analytical mind. These practices hone our ability to truly listen to the language of the body, with compassion and open-mindedness.