This somatic yoga practice is a gentle invitation to come home to yourself, just as you are.
If you’ve ever felt weighed down by body shame, judgment, or the constant pressure to “fix” yourself, this practice is here to remind you: you don’t need fixing. You need a space where you can feel, move, breathe, and reconnect without expectation or criticism (from yourself or others).
Somatic Body Image Healing Practice
In this 15 somatic yoga for body positivity, we’ll use soft, intuitive movements and grounding breath to help you release the tension and emotions stored in your hips, low belly, and heart. You’ll be invited to listen inward, to shake off the shame you’re ready to leave behind, and to step into a little more self-acceptance and confidence.
Reclined Butterfly
Lie down on your back and bring the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to fall wide into reclined butterfly. Use props under your outer knees or thighs if you’d like extra support.
Place your hands gently on your low belly to tap into your sacral chakra and notice if any discomfort or resistance arises as you simply rest your hands here. Feel the rise and fall of your breath, letting each inhale and exhale soften you. This is your safe space to explore, to come home to your body, and to begin leaving judgment behind.
Windshield Wipers and Gentle Self-Touch
Guide your knees back to center, heel-toe your feet wide, and begin to gently sway your knees side to side like windshield wipers. As your legs move, start gliding your hands up and down the length of your torso, pausing anywhere that feels like it needs a little more love or attention.
This is not about fixing, just exploring and getting familiar with your body through simple, healing touch.
Full Body Stretch and Shake
Take a big stretch, reaching your fingertips and toes away from each other. Then let the limbs stay long and begin creating small shakes through the arms and legs. Wiggle, jiggle, and let anything that wants to move, move.
Imagine you are shaking off shame and judgment. Take a deep breath, keep shaking, and then completely soften.
Sufi Grinds and Butterfly Hug
Roll over onto your right side and gently push yourself up to a comfortable seat. Begin making circles with your torso, leaning left, forward, right, and back, moving into Sufi grinds.
As you switch directions, bring your arms into a butterfly hug, gently squeezing your arms as a reminder that you’re here and doing the work.
Seated Straddle Side Bends
Extend your legs wide into a straddle (as wide or narrow as feels good today). Walk your right hand down the inside of your right leg and reach your left arm up and over, creating a big rainbow shape with the left side of your body.
Come back upright, land your left hand behind you, and sweep your right arm back for a gentle counter-stretch.
Repeat on the other side, reaching your right arm up and over the left leg, then sweeping your left arm back in the counter-stretch.
Wide Legged Cat-Cow
Place both hands in front of you. As you inhale, stick out your bum and arch your back slightly. As you exhale, round into the spine, drawing your heart inward.
Allow yourself to notice any vulnerability here without judgment. You’re just moving through emotions rather than holding onto them.
Hugged Ball Rock
Bring your legs back together and hug yourself into a little ball. Let your forehead rest toward your knees. You can gently rock side to side or rock forward and back, soothing yourself like a mother would a child.
Cat-Cow and Downdog Freestyle
Come forward into tabletop and flow through some traditional cat-cow movements or start making things more playful. Let your hips draw figure eights or circles, letting your spine and shoulders follow along.
Explore what feels fun and freeing, moving beyond the shapes you think you “should” take. Ditch all ideas of what traditional yoga looks like!
Curl your toes under and press back into downward facing dog. Step your feet wider to about mat width. Take whatever movement feels good here like shifting hips side to side, rolling through the spine, or wagging your tailbone toward the sky.
Yogi Squat or Reclined Variation
Walk your hands back toward your feet and pivot your toes out, lowering into malasana, yogi squat. You have the option to sit on a block or come all the way down onto your back, hugging your knees wide to frame your torso.
Wherever you are, stretch your tailbone and the top of your head away from each other, opening the entire spine. Let yourself feel proud and tall, even as this pose may feel vulnerable.
Full-Body Shake
Place your hands on the ground and lift your hips up into a forward fold. Then roll slowly all the way to standing, reaching your arms to the sky. Start to shake everything. Shake your limbs, your face, even blow out through your lips. Let whatever jiggles, jiggle.
Shake, shake, shake away the shame and judgment. Take two more full breaths, shaking everything off.
Gentle Swaying
Draw your arms out wide into a T-shape and begin to gently sway side to side, simply existing, simply being. Let your arms float back down by your sides and pause in mountain pose, feeling the energy you’ve created.
What’s Next?
- Keep up your somatic yoga practice by subscribing on YouTube!
- Take the next step and get personalized somatic yoga & coaching that will shift you from body shame to body freedom. Book a complimentary Body Breakthrough call.