Somatic classes in Maui
Movement felt from the inside out.
Somatic movement is slow, exploratory movement guided by how it feels from the inside rather than how it looks. Classes draw on methods such as Feldenkrais, Hanna Somatics, Body-Mind Centering and somatic dance. You move gently, often on the floor, and pay close attention to sensation.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Somatic does for you
You slow down enough to notice how you actually move: where you grip, where you hold your breath, where you could let go. The movements are small and easy, and many people are surprised how different their body feels afterward, lighter or more even from side to side. There is no target shape to hit, so you can stop trying to get it right. It often feels more like learning than exercise.
It suits you if
- you want to move without performing
- you feel stuck in the same habits and postures
- you are curious about how your body organizes movement
- you dance, play an instrument or sit a lot
- intense classes feel like too much right now
Read the full guide to SomaticWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes usually last 60 to 90 minutes, and much of that time is spent lying on the floor, sometimes sitting or standing. The facilitator talks you through small, repeated movements, like rolling your head, sliding a heel or rocking your pelvis, and asks you to notice differences rather than push. Pauses to rest and sense are part of the practice. Some classes, especially dance-based ones, open into improvised movement, sounding or partner work. Expect quiet, little or no sweat, and plenty of lying still between movements.
Your first time
- Wear soft, comfortable clothes you can lie on the floor in, plus warm socks and an extra layer, since you cool down when moving slowly.
- Bring a small towel or cushion for your head if you like support.
- Tell the facilitator about any injuries; movements can be scaled down to almost nothing.
- Use less effort than you think: the smaller the movement, the more you tend to notice.
Good to know
- Some somatic classes are mostly lying still and noticing, which can feel strange if you expect exercise.
- Paying close attention to the body can bring up emotions; you can always open your eyes, pause or sit up.
- Some formats include partner or hands-on work; you can always say you would prefer to work on your own.
Where it comes from
The word comes from the Greek soma, the body. The American philosopher Thomas Hanna popularized "somatics" in the 1970s to mean the body as experienced from within, gathering a family of related methods under one name and calling his own approach Hanna Somatic Education.
The practices he grouped together were older. Elsa Gindler, born in Berlin in 1885, developed a method of attentive self-observation in the early 20th century that she called Arbeit am Menschen (work on the human being), exploring simple acts like sitting, standing and breathing; during the Nazi years she quietly used her classes to help people persecuted by the regime. Her student Charlotte Selver carried the work to the United States as Sensory Awareness, where it shaped much of what followed.
Moshé Feldenkrais, born in 1904 in what is now Ukraine, trained as an engineer and physicist in Paris, held a black belt in judo and built his method partly to work around a serious knee injury. He taught it in two forms: group classes called Awareness Through Movement and one-on-one, hands-on lessons called Functional Integration. In the United States, the occupational therapist and dancer Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen founded the School for Body-Mind Centering in 1973, building a practice around anatomy, developmental movement and the felt experience of the body's systems.
Today somatic practice runs through dance training, bodywork and yoga, often mixed together. Berlin is a good city for it: Gindler's work began here, and the city's contemporary dance scene keeps somatic methods, contact improvisation and Feldenkrais classes close at hand.
Words you will hear
- Soma
- Greek for body; in somatics, the body as you feel it from the inside.
- Awareness Through Movement
- Feldenkrais group lessons, where spoken guidance leads you through small, gentle movements.
- Proprioception
- Your sense of where your body is and how it moves without looking.
- Pandiculation
- A slow, deliberate contract-and-release, like a stretching yawn, central to Hanna Somatics.
- Body scan
- Noticing your body part by part, often done before and after a movement to compare.