SomaChi Yoga

Where traditional meets contemporary
The SomaChi Yoga Style
Somachi teachers and the Somachi community are interested in Buddhism, Taoism, and shamanistic practices. We are devoted to lineage as we are deeply concerned with yoga and its dharmic benefits. Whilst we maintain traditional values, they are contemporary in nature. This means we don’t shy away from scientific research nor are we devoid of artistic and spiritual values. The aim is to hold all without devaluing one in favour of the other.
Somachi is about maintaining dignity and respect for the practice. By doing this, we have the ability to build an alive, explorative society; a society which is willing to playfully expand its experience in the practice of body, mind and energy. We believe that this willingness to play will not only allow us the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what yoga is, but will also enhance our basic goodness.
Our hatha practices are driven by the Krishnamacharya tradition, and the transitions between postures are strongly influenced by tai chi and Ashtanga. We also use somatic therapy to tickle the edges of habits. Why? Many people come to yoga to de-stress and release feelings of dis-ease. To lift this veil of discomfort we must have the courage to recognise we play a huge part in doing so and not rely on a quick fix, but rather take time to be with ourselves. Of course you will not be alone in this; with the support from a SomaChi teacher, you will be guided through an exploration into sensations both internal and external. A good teacher will make sure you don’t get carried away and caught by either of these, but will help you create more expression and experience greater sensations, and ease, with the body’s internal/external relationships.
To really get an idea of SomaChi you should attend 10 or more classes. You need to dedicate and really give yourself the chance to experience you in this practice.
A typical class for your body:
We are well-known in our community for our thorough warm-ups which fully prepare the body for a dynamic class.
Throughout the class, we use circular and rolling motions to assist in releasing unidirectional tension. As well as this, these motions tend to bring more presence to our movements and transitions which means we can greater connect to and experience more of who we are in movement.
Energy techniques are included for sensory and kinaesthetic awareness of our bodies and the space around us.
Visualisations and mudras may be used in conjunction with philosophy. These are grounded in tradition, and have been tried and tested to implement mind practices for well-being.
We adopt typical Ashtanga vinyasa yogic techniques for strength, including down dog, chaturanga, and up dog transitions. This helps to build strength in the legs, trunk of the body and arms.
A typical class for your mind:
As with the body, where we use Yogic postures in conjunction with rolling motions to find freer type moves, we use shamatha vipashyana (mindfulness techniques), mantra and visualisations to help with constricted patterns of distress.
A typical class for your spiritual practice:
We incorporate mindfulness practices which stem from Buddhism. We also examine what ‘spiritual’ is. We courageously look at devotional practices and the science behind these. For example, did you know that feng shui is a devotional practice? It is setting up your whole house in relationship to its environment. In SomaChi, we consider spiritual practices to be an art form and science. Did you know incense in its truest form is a herbal medicine? We use the
best incense direct from its handmade tradition. The point we are making is that we hope we can educate and expand the meaning of spirituality and that you can enjoy this wholesome journey.
Contemporary methods can be found in the weaving of sequences using traditional influences of deity practice. Again the approach is artistic and scientific as we consider all is a projection of mind. Our shamanistic approach can be partly found in our music. We use music to enhance emotions to touch what may lie dormant. You could even say this is a Jungian approach to unveil the shadow.