What’s the Difference Between Somatic Practices and Somatic Therapy?
- Laura Starky
- Sep 27
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
What We Mean by Somatics
Somatics is the study and practice of how we experience life through the body. It comes from the word soma meaning “living body” not just the physical structure, but our whole felt sense of being alive.
When we talk about somatic practices, we mean simple ways of turning toward direct experience. Instead of beginning in the head with analysis or story, we begin with sensation, emotion, breath and presence. The core question is: What is happening in me right now, and how does it feel in my body?
Somatic practices can be woven into daily life: pausing to feel the breath, noticing subtle shifts in sensation, or allowing emotions to move through instead of pushing them away. They are not about transcending or bypassing what’s happening, its about becoming more intimate with it.
The Aim of Somatic Practice
Somatic practices help us:
Feel safe enough to be present → being able to sit with a cup of tea without needing to check your phone.
Soften psychological and emotional struggle by sensing and allowing → noticing a wave of sadness in the chest and letting it move instead of pushing it away or jumping up and been busy to avoid it.
Experience less overwhelm and more regulation → facing a busy day and feeling grounded enough to move through it without shutting down.
Live with deeper connection to ourselves, others and the world → listening to someone and actually feeling there, rather than half-distracted.
These simple practices remind us that freedom isn’t found by leaving the body behind, it’s discovered within the body itself.
Where Somatic Therapy Goes Further
Somatic practice by itself can be transformative, but when we bring it into a therapeutic setting, another layer is added.
Somatic therapy isn’t just about awareness. It includes.....
Trauma-informed safety Practices are paced to your nervous system so you don’t retraumatise or overwhelm yourself.
Relational healing The presence of another who attunes, mirrors and helps regulate your system. This co-regulation repairs early patterns of disconnection.
Exploring survival styles Understanding how adaptations like people-pleasing, overworking or shutting down took root, and gently finding new options.
Integration of past and present Connecting how early experiences shape current patterns, while still working in the present moment.
Personalisation A therapist helps you track, pace and digest experiences in ways self-practice alone may not.
Somatic therapy brings the very human presence of another person into the room. This is powerful because trauma and disconnection usually happened in relationship, so they also need relationship to repair. The therapist becomes a steady presence who helps you meet what once felt unbearable and this co-regulation allows your system to rewrite old patterns of fear, shame or shutdown.
In other words: somatic practice = awareness. Somatic therapy = guided support, relationship and integration.
Why Relationship Matters
Somatic therapy isn’t a set of techniques alone. It’s the combination of methods, presence, intuition and attunement that creates a safe field for deeper healing. Practices like grounding, breath and nervous system regulation can be powerful on their own but in therapy, they are held within relationship.
Imagine trying to practise grounding when you’re already in the grip of panic. On your own, it can feel impossible. But with someone beside you who can slow their breath, speak gently and notice what’s happening, your system begins to borrow their calm. This is co-regulation where your body learns, through resonance, that it is safe enough to settle.
This relational field is where patterns of disconnection begin to shift, because someone is there with you, noticing, listening and helping your body find its own rhythm again.
In Summary
Somatic practice helps us slow down, feel, and reconnect with direct experience.
Somatic therapy adds relational depth, trauma-informed pacing, and integration of survival patterns.
Both are valuable. Practice keeps us resourced day to day. Therapy creates a safe space to work with the deeper roots of disconnection.
Somatic practice keeps you resourced in daily life. Somatic therapy offers a safe space to tend to the deeper roots of your patterns. Together, they create a path where you don’t just manage symptoms but rediscover what it feels like to live from connection, presence and ease.
About My Approach
As an integrative somatic therapist, I draw on a range of methods alongside my own presence and intuition. Together we explore grounding, breath and nervous system regulation, always at a pace that honours your capacity. In this way, the therapeutic relationship itself becomes part of the healing: a safe field where your body’s natural rhythm and wisdom can re-emerge.
If this resonates, you’re welcome to book a call with me to explore how this work might support you.
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