"The human body is not an instrument to be used, but a realm of one's being to be experienced, explored, enriched and, thereby, educated."
— Thomas Hanna
Hey lovely,
I was at a bit of a loss as to what to write about, so it's been a few weeks since I last popped into your inbox and then I realised that with the change in temperature and season plus the departure of Steph from our regular timetable and the arrival of Kat, our newest team member, a little note about somatics might be just the thing :)
So, here goes...
Your body is talking to you. Right now. It probably has been for a while. That little tug of tension behind your eyes. The shallow breath you didn’t realise you were holding. The way your shoulders live somewhere near your ears by about 2pm. The vague sense of unease that doesn’t quite have a name. (Hate that one!)
These aren’t random inconveniences. They’re messages. Your body, in its infinite wisdom, is constantly communicating, not in words, but in sensations, tightness, heaviness, tingling, warmth, contraction, ease. The question is: are we listening?
Most of us, if we’re honest, are not. We’re very, very good at overriding the signals. Pushing through. Numbing out. Staying busy enough that we don’t have to feel the thing that’s sitting quietly underneath all the doing. And look, no judgment here, it’s basically what modern life trains us to do. But there’s a cost. And over time, that cost compounds.
SO WHAT IS SOMATIC AWARENESS, EXACTLY?
The word somatic comes from the Greek soma, meaning body. Somatic awareness is simply the practice of paying attention to what’s happening inside your body, your internal physical sensations, in real time. It’s the art of noticing.
It sounds almost embarrassingly simple. But in a world where most of our attention lives from the neck up, in our thoughts, our screens, our to-do lists (guilty 🙋♀️), dropping into genuine bodily awareness is actually a radical and surprisingly challenging act.
A little science: This inner sense of the body is called interoception, your ability to feel what’s happening inside you. Research shows that people with stronger interoceptive awareness tend to have better emotional regulation, lower anxiety, and a greater sense of overall wellbeing. Your body isn’t just a vehicle for your brain. It’s an intelligence all of its own.
Yogic philosophy has known this for thousands of years. The body is not separate from the mind or the spirit but a doorway to them. When we learn to listen to the body, we start to understand ourselves in a whole new way.
THE SIGNALS WE TALK OURSELVES OUT OF
Here’s where it gets interesting and a little confronting. Most of us are very practised at dismissing what our bodies tell us. We rationalise. We minimise. We tell ourselves we’re fine when we’re not, because feeling the thing feels scarier than ignoring it.
Sound familiar?
Remember that old saying, " If you ignore it, it will go away"...it doesn't work!
The body signals we tend to override:
— Fatigue we call laziness and push through anyway
— Tension we notice but “don’t have time” to address
— Gut feelings we override with logic
— Hunger and fullness cues we ignore in favour of habit
— Emotions that land in the body first
— Tightness in the chest, a lump in the throat that we quickly redirect to our heads
— The deep tiredness that isn’t about sleep but about needing to stop
The beautiful, slightly humbling truth is that your body almost always knew first. That relationship that felt off. That job that wasn’t right. That moment you were about to say yes to something that was actually a no. Your body registered it before your mind caught up. We’ve just been taught not to trust it.
HOW YOGA BUILDS THE BRIDGE
This is one of the things I love most about a consistent yoga practice. It’s not just about flexibility or fitness or even stress relief, though it’s all of those things too. At its heart, yoga is a practice of coming home to the body.
Every time you step onto your mat and follow your breath, you’re practising interoception. You’re building the neural pathways that help you notice, tolerate, and respond to sensation rather than react to it or run from it. You’re developing what researchers call body literacy: the ability to read your own physical experience with clarity and compassion.
And that skill? It doesn’t stay on the mat. It follows you into your day. Into your relationships. Into the moments when your body is quietly trying to get your attention.
A SIMPLE PRACTICE TO TRY THIS WEEK
You don’t need an hour. You don’t need perfect conditions. You just need two minutes and a willingness to get curious.
THE BODY CHECK-IN — 2 minutes, anytime
- PAUSE AND CLOSE YOUR EYES. Or soften your gaze if closing feels uncomfortable. Just stop moving for a moment.
- TAKE THREE SLOW BREATHS. Not performative deep breaths - just natural, easy, a little slower than usual.
- SCAN FROM HEAD TO TOE. Not looking for problems - just noticing. Warmth, coolness, tension, ease, heaviness, tingling. No judgment. Just curiosity.
- ASK ONE GENTLE QUESTION: “What do I need right now?” Then wait. The answer often surprises you.
- HONOUR WHATEVER COMES UP. Even if you can’t act on it immediately, just acknowledging the signal is enough to start building trust with your body.
This is the beginning of somatic awareness. Small, quiet, and genuinely transformative over time. The more you practice tuning in, the clearer the signals become, and the more naturally you’ll begin to respond to them with kindness rather than override them with willpower.
Your body has been trying to tell you things for years. It’s patient. It’ll keep trying. All it’s ever really asking for is a little of your attention. 🫶
What's Happening In The Pantry 🧘♀️
EXCITING NEWS FROM THE YOGA PANTRY 🌿
Speaking of listening to the body, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Kat Purvis to The Yoga Pantry whanau. Kat is a gifted somatic practitioner, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her bringing her wisdom, warmth, and expertise to our community. She’s a beautiful addition to our little team and we have a feeling you’re going to love her as much as we do. ✨
While it's sad to see Step go, she's not gone completely; she's still on our sub list, so you may get to see her again covering classes here and there.
Beginner Yoga, our beginner yoga courses are chugging along nicely. If you know someone who's looking to get into yoga and doesn't know how or where to start, then this is just the perfect place to start. Our beginner Yoga course has been running for nearly 12 years and is the best and most well-rounded around (If I do say so myself). With a good mix of philosophy, breathwork, and of course, physical postures, but what really sets us apart is the emphasis on finding ways to let the poses fit you rather than the other way around.
It's also a great course to brush up on your basics and get back into the swing of things if you've been away from your yoga practice for a while.
The next course starts in June.
For more information and to secure a coveted spot in this fantastic course, check out our website.
Beginner Plus
Our super-rare but absolutely fantastic Beginner Plus course is also coming up in June.
For those who have been through the Beginner Course or have been doing classes for a while and wish to advance their practice, knowledge and skill base, this is the next step you need to take to advance to the next phase of your yoga journey.
We only run these sessions once or twice a year and the next one starts on the 8th of June!
Head on over to our website, check it out and then get yourself registered 😉
Mother's Day is just a few days away, and we have a SPECIAL Restorative Yoga Session
Join Tash on Sunday, May 10th, at 5 pm for a well-deserved rest!
What better way to celebrate yourself, your mum or partner by giving the gift of rest and relaxation on this special day :)
You don't have to be a Mum to attend; anyone who is in need of a bit of pampering and deep restorative action is invited to attend.
Book your spot in the session and bring your friends to share the delights!
Head here to book all your regular yoga classes and maybe even try some new ones!
Remember, you can join us online from anywhere in the world, live or at a time that suits you, with our instant 14-day on-demand Zoom recording!
Don't forget you can also join us for a FREE meditation session every Saturday morning, and even if you can't, you can book in via Zoom and do the meditation later in the day, or every day, until the next session :)
Your YouTube Class Of The Week
Today's session is a little different and a great one for that somatic awareness. We are going to give ourselves a little massage with a tennis ball 🎉♥️
Feel free to share these vids far and wide and help get my channel views up :D
Until next time, keep listening, your body is wiser than you know. 🌿
Love Tash & The Yoga Pantry team.
See you on the mat. ♥️
P.S If you wish to receive these amazing Yogi Notes straight to your inbox, sign up HERE
You can also catch up on previous Yogi Notes right HERE
P.P.S Don’t forget to share your Yoga insights on social media with the hashtag #TheYogaPantryLife #Yogaislife #theyogapantrywithtash
Let’s spread the yoga love far and wide!
I see you, and I appreciate you. You are awesome...and don't you forget it ;) x
