Excercises
Somatic Exercises
Somatic" comes from the Greek word "soma," meaning "body," so somatic exercises work to release stored tension or trauma in the body and promote overall well-being.
Somatic exercises are not so much about the sport itself, although it is sport to a certain degree, but much more about releasing tensions and the emotions behind those tensions. Every tension in your body wants to tell you something. So what somatic exercises do is to go to these tensions physically and in your mind and release those tensions actively. While doing these exercises it is important to feel into the tensions you are stretching and to let the emotions come up that sit behind those tensions. Tears can be released and with those tears the tensions will also become less.
Yoga
What Yoga does similar to somatic exercises is to increase awareness of your own body and make peace with your body. Yoga brings you close to your body, with breathing, with awareness and with a mindfulness which to me is the best thing in the world. Yoga brought healing to me in many senses, physical and emotional.
Yoga and somatic exercises share many similarities in that both are body-based practices that aim to increase awareness, release tension, and promote emotional and physical healing. While they come from different traditions and have distinct approaches, their core principles are aligned in helping individuals connect with their bodies, reduce stress, and foster holistic well-being.
My love for yoga is huge, it is almost hard to describe it in words. Find your own love for your body, whatever it is that helps you, it can be yoga, it can be somatic exercises, but it can also be kick-boxing or pilates or anything that makes you happy. It is only about you. You finding your love for your body. I know I found my love for my body through yoga.