The workout trend that encourages you to cry and be loud
Anyone who has taken a HIIT class comes with certain expectations: loud music, burpees, and some sore muscles afterward.
What people may not anticipate is being encouraged to make as much noise as possible while doing squats or being told it’s okay to cry. But these are just a few of the things someone might be invited to try in a somatic exercise class, where each exercise is designed to help you look inside yourself and release repressed emotions. (And yes, your thighs will still burn afterward.)
Haven’t you heard of somatic movement? According to some of Australia’s most popular fitness influencers and entrepreneurs, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.
What is somatic movement?
“Somatic movement in its broadest sense is movement that brings your attention and awareness to the internal landscape,” says Imogen Sist, physiotherapist and lead instructor at KICStudio, the first brick-and-mortar space for Australian wellness brand KIC.
Sist uses running as an example to explain the difference between the internal and external results of exercise. “Running can be very external if you’re only looking at your speed or distance,” he says. “Or if we are running as a bodily experience, we ask how we feel while running, what sensations arise in our body, physically and emotionally.”
By this definition, Sist says, all exercises can involve somatic movements.
Actions like rubbing your temples during rest moments, paying attention to tension in your face, and asking yourself how you feel while doing typical exercise moves like star bounces and leg kicks make Sist’s classes unique, she believes.
“You might disengage in a general Pilates class and think, ‘Oh, get over it,’ but that’s [somatic exercise] “It focuses a lot on how you feel as you make each movement,” he says.
How is it different from somatic therapy?
Byron Bay-based psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner and somatic therapist Jennifer Lalor says the term “somatic” comes from the ancient Greek word soma, which roughly translates to “the living body and its integrity.”
According to Lalor, somatic therapy differs from traditional talk therapies because it requires a body-and-mind approach to healing.
“Whether it’s somatic exercise or somatic therapy, we’re trying to help people bring their attention to the life of their body in a way that can self-heal and self-educate,” Lalor says, citing the theoretical example of someone who has been in a car accident and retains the trauma in both their mind and body.
Although somatic therapy is often associated with healing from trauma, where a mind-body approach can provide unique healing, Lalor says it can also be very effective for high-performance people, such as executives and athletes, who need to show up mentally and physically in high-stress environments.
Although somatic movement should not be confused with somatic therapy, Sist says some elements of mental health practices are sprinkled into the classes he and other instructors lead. “We learn from such practices.”
The next big fitness trend
Few exercise classes have a celebrity like The Class, a “music-driven somatic exercise method” that combines bodyweight movements with cardiovascular training, founded by Taryn Toomey in New York in 2011.
One 2020 interview with Toomey goopGwyneth Paltrow called the workout “pretty incredible and pretty unique” and admitted she was embarrassed because she made so much noise the first time she did it. Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Alicia Keys are also among the fans.
While not the first studio in Australia to offer physical movement classes, the April 18 opening of KICStudio in Melbourne’s Cremorne signals the trend is moving towards the mainstream.
KIC co-founders Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw are known for their holistic and inclusive approach to fitness, and these values will be reflected in the studio’s offering of four class types, including HIIT, strength, yoga and breathwork, all based on somatic movement.
According to Henshaw, the opening is the beginning of a national promotional program for KICStudio.
try it yourself
For KICStudio visitors, classes may include using vocals during exercises (talking out loud is encouraged in the mirrorless studio to eliminate any sense of self-consciousness), self-touching, breathwork, and rocking (a movement that Sist likens to birds resetting their feathers).
Once someone becomes familiar with this practice, Sist says, it’s easy to incorporate these additions into their regular exercise routine, whether weight lifting at home or going for a walk.
“As women, we are always told that we are too loud and take up too much space, so we wanted to create a space where people can come and take up as much space as they want, be as loud as they want,” Henshaw says. “It’s exciting to find an app that allows you to unlock what’s inside you.”
The author traveled to Melbourne as a guest of KIC.
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Gyan Yankovich is lifestyle editor at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X.
