When we think about yoga, most of us picture calm poses, deep breathing, and peaceful stretching. But what if your body needs something more, something that speaks directly to the trauma stored deep inside your muscles and nervous system? This is where somatic yoga enters the picture, offering a fresh approach to healing that goes beyond traditional practice.
We have seen many students at Himalayan Yoga Association relieved by the various forms of yoga. Today, we are going to discuss the comparison between somatic yoga and traditional Hatha yoga, in particular, in the context of trauma healing. In case you have ever been emotionally stuck or even felt that your body is tense and that nothing can release it except stretching, then this article is addressed to you.
An overview of Traditional Hatha Yoga
Most of the yoga practices in the contemporary world are based on traditional Hatha yoga. Hatha is the combination of Ha (sun) and Tha (moon) that represents the state of balance of opposing forces in our body and mind. The practice of Hatha yoga focuses on:
- Staying in certain positions, holding breath.
- Developing muscles and strength.
- Enhancing body awareness and balance.
- Relaxing the mind by concentration.
- Adhering to a system of poses.
Hatha yoga is good for physical wellness. It makes muscles stronger, enhances posture, and makes it more flexible. The meditative factor assists in decreasing daily stress and it brings sanity to the mind. To most practitioners, Hatha yoga is a source of tranquility and calmness.
Nevertheless, the traditional Hatha yoga practice is more of an outside-in approach. You actively position your body into positions, putting your mind into a particular focus. Although this method has numerous advantages, it does not necessarily go down to the deeper levels where trauma resides.
What is Somatic Yoga?
Somatic yoga follows a different course. The term somatic is based on the Greek word “soma” which means the body as it is perceived internally. It is an internal practice as opposed to an external form.
In contrast to the old-fashioned yoga when a teacher instructs you on how to place your body, somatic yoga encourages you to. Follow the instinctive impulses of your body.
- Move in small and gentle movements depending on what is right.
- Permit involuntary movements such as shaking, trembling or rocking.
- Be in the physical world and not judgmental.
- Dispel stress with natural body knowledge.
Trauma works with your nervous system through somatic exercises. You do not impose on your body the shapes that it is supposed to take, but rather you allow your body to make a space to tell you what it is holding inside. This may seem unclean or strange to the normal or conventional yoga but that is the thing.
The Science of the Somatic Release
To understand why somatic yoga is so effective in the treatment of trauma by Johns Hopkins University, we need to see how our bodies store difficult experiences.
When something happens that scares or overwhelms you, your nervous system starts your survival mechanism fight and flight or freeze. This survival energy is naturally released by the animals in the wild when a threat has been gone by. You may have noticed a deer tremble with fright when they were off a predator, they are so much better after releasing the tension and stress hormones out of their system.
This is the biological process of human beings which we usually suppress. The culture of holding it together, staying cool and not making a scene is what social conditioning teaches us. We just hold on to the trauma energy within our bodies instead of letting it go. This repressed tension may manifest itself years later as tension in the muscle, anxiety attacks and panic attacks and sleeplessness.
It is here that the benefits of somatic shaking are useful. When you let your body shake, tremble, or move of its own, as part of somatic practice, you are following up on those interrupted survival responses. You are letting this nervous system do what it began to do, letting the energy that was trapped back six weeks or years ago go.
It has been found out that storing trauma and discharging it in somatic practices can reset your nervous system. Your body literally gets to know that the danger is over and it can relax again.
How Somatic Yoga Heals Trauma Differently
Although both Hatha and somatic yoga are healing, they affect trauma in completely different manners.
The Hatha Approach: Traditional Hatha yoga is beneficial indirectly to trauma. The breathing exercises relax your nervous system. The physical poses relax the surface tension. Meditation establishes space of the mind. All these are real and useful but it will take a long time to go to deep-rooted trauma since you are dealing with conscious control.
The Somatic Approach: The advantages of Somatic yoga are that you get direct access to the trauma stored in your body. Mental resistance can be avoided by letting your nervous system release itself and acting in the natural ways of doing so. Your body is more than the wiser, and somatic practice just provides the safe space in which that wisdom can develop.
Imagine in this way: classical yoga is the sorting out of your wardrobe on the outside. Somatic yoga is opening the closet door and letting everything spill out to get a glimpse of what is actually inside.
The Power of Shaking: Why Movement Matters
Shaking and trembling are one of the most peculiar aspects of somatic practice. This may not be the most comfortable thing to do, particularly when you are accustomed to standing still in yoga postures.
The effects of somatic shaking are not limited to relaxation of the muscles:
Nervous System Reset:
Shaking: Shaking triggers off your parasympathetic nervous system to get the message that you are safe to release the tension.
Emotional Release: Shakings of the physical nature will help release emotions involved in the stored trauma and you will be able to work with them and release them.
Energy Discharge: Shaky literally causes energy to pass and out of your body, through stuck energy.
Greater Awareness: You can feel where you have been holding tension without realising it as you shake.
It is not just random movement, it is an innate intelligence of your body trying to heal itself. It is the instinct of animals and can be our own with the permission of ourselves.
Beginning Your Somatic Journey
In case you are wondering what the benefits of somatic yoga are, begin mildly. This discipline requests you to rely on the wisdom of your body which can initially be felt to be fragile. Determine a trained teacher who is informed on the topic of trauma-informed practices. Create a safe atmosphere where you are not afraid of doing anything.
Remember, It’s up to you to practise somatic yoga, traditional Hatha, or both but the main point is that you are getting your body to need to get rid of things and have a rest.
These stories have been stored in your body, this tension has been there waiting to be given permission to release. Somatic yoga provides that permission- the invitation to shake, to tremble, to move in ways that eventually finish what was not finished. And there is freedom in that completion.
