What is somatics? 

Somatics is a broad term which comes from the word soma, meaning inside the body. Somatic practices are focused on how the body is perceived from within, so it’s about how you feel not how it looks or feels to anyone else. 

 

The term somatics was introduced by American philosopher and neuroscientist Thomas Hanna in the 1970s, and it’s now used to describe various movement practices. “There are lots of different modalities – like somatic experiencing or somatic therapy – the experience and results will be different, but they are connected by a focus on what’s happening inside the body,” says Francesca. 

 

Hanna was a student of Moshé Feldenkrais and Frederick Matthias Alexander, each the founders of their own movement practices; The Feldenkrais Method and The Alexander Technique. Hanna built on these, developing his own system - Hanna Somatic Education. “A key element is sensory motor amnesia, where muscles have forgotten how to switch off,” Francesca, who specialises in Hanna Somatics explains. “Hanna’s method uses something called pandiculation – where muscles are contracted with tension and then released slowly to relax muscles and help the brain relearn what this feels like.”

​