Somatics

This article is about sensation-based movement practices. For the matter-bound beings in Gnosticism, see Gnosticism § Other concepts. For other uses, see Somatic.

Somatic educator Moshe Feldenkrais in 1978, teaching how to rise from a chair

Somatics describes a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and personal embodied experience. The term, coined in 1967 by Thomas Hanna, a philosophy professor and movement theorist, is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or "the body as perceived from within", including Skinner Releasing Technique, The Trager Approach, Alexander technique, the Feldenkrais method, Eutony, Rolfing Structural Integration, among others. In dance, the term refers to techniques based on the dancer's internal sensation, in contrast with "performative techniques", such as ballet or modern dance, which emphasize the external observation of movement by an audience. Somatic techniques may be used in bodywork, psychotherapy, dance, or spiritual practices.