Somatics is a field of approaches that explore the body as you experience it from within: sensing, moving, learning and responding, rather than only being observed from outside.
Not just a body to correct. A person having an experience.
You can look relaxed and be working very hard at it.
The shoulders appear still. The voice sounds pleasant. Inside, you may be bracing, holding breath or carefully keeping a response out of view.
Somatic attention includes that inward detail. It asks what you can notice and learn through participation, not only what someone else can see.
I AWAKE brings bodily experience together with writing, audio, image and reflection. A body map may record where a question is felt. A guided practice may let you notice the difference between an automatic response and one you have time to choose.
Somatics includes distinct traditions and methods. The label alone doesn’t establish what a particular practice does or qualifies someone to teach.
Soma explains the first-person body in Thomas Hanna’s vocabulary. Somatic practice brings the idea into an activity you can take part in.
Thomas Hanna’s Clinical Somatic Education introduces his account of soma and somatics in his own words.
The International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association’s About the Profession describes the professional field and its scope, offering another useful reference beyond a broad label.