{"id":578649,"date":"2026-04-01T13:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578649\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T13:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:55:24","slug":"the-workout-trend-that-encourages-you-to-cry-and-be-loud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578649\/","title":{"rendered":"The workout trend that encourages you to cry and be loud"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gyan<\/p>\n

March 31, 2026 \u2014 4:00pm<\/p>\n

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Anyone who has ever done a HIIT class walks in with a certain set of expectations: loud music, burpees and muscles that will hurt a little afterwards.<\/p>\n

What people might not anticipate is being encouraged to make as much noise as they can while doing sets of squats or told it\u2019s OK to cry. But these are just a couple of things someone may be invited to try during a somatic exercise class, in which each workout is designed to help you look inward and release any pent-up emotions. (And yes, your thighs will still burn afterwards.)<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t heard of somatic movement? According to some of Australia\u2019s most popular fitness influencers and entrepreneurs, you\u2019re about to start seeing it everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"LauraLaura Henshaw, co-founder of KIC, an Australian wellness brand opening its first fitness studio in Cremorne.Eddie JimWhat is somatic movement?<\/p>\n

\u201cSomative movement, in its broadest term, is movement that brings your attention and awareness towards the internal landscape,\u201d says Imogen Sist, physiotherapist and head trainer at KICStudio, the first bricks and mortar space from Australian wellness brand KIC.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Steph<\/a><\/p>\n

To explain the difference between internal and external outcomes in exercise, Sist uses running as an example. \u201cRunning can be very external, if you\u2019re only looking at your pace or distance,\u201d she says. \u201cOr if we run as a somatic experience, we ask how it feels while we\u2019re running, what sensations come up in our body, physical and emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

By this definition, Sist says all exercise can incorporate somatic movement.<\/p>\n

Actions such as rubbing your temples during moments of rest, paying attention to tension in your face and asking yourself how you feel while doing typical exercise moves, like star jumps and leg pulses, are what Sist believes make her classes unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a general Pilates class, you might disassociate and think, \u2018Oh just get through this\u2019, but this [somatic exercise] is very focused on how you feel while you\u2019re doing each movement,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

How it differs to somatic therapy<\/p>\n

The term \u201csomatic\u201d comes from the ancient Greek word soma, which roughly translates to \u201cthe living body and its wholeness\u201d, says Jennifer Lalor, Byron Bay-based psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner and somatic therapist.<\/p>\n

According to Lalor, somatic therapy differs from traditional talk therapies because it takes a body and mind approach to healing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s somatic exercise or somatic therapy, we\u2019re trying to help people bring their attention to the life of their body in a way that can be self-healing and self-educating,\u201d says Lalor, citing a theoretical example of someone who has been in a car accident and is now holding trauma in their mind but also in their body.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Dr.<\/a><\/p>\n

While somatic therapy is often associated with trauma recovery, in which a mind-body approach can be uniquely healing, Lalor says it can also be very effective for high-performance people, such as executives and athletes, who need to show up mentally and physically in high-stress environments.<\/p>\n

And though somatic movement is not to be confused with somatic therapy, Sist says elements of the mental health practice are sprinkled into the classes she and other trainers lead. \u201cWe take learnings from those kinds of practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next big fitness trend<\/p>\n

Few workout classes have a celebrity following quite like The Class, a \u201cmusic-driven somatic exercise method\u201d combining body weight movements with cardiovascular training founded in New York by Taryn Toomey in 2011.<\/p>\n

In a 2020 interview with Toomey for Goop<\/a>, Gwyneth Paltrow referred to the workout as \u201cpretty incredible and pretty unique\u201d, admitting she felt embarrassed the first time she did it, making so much noise. Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Alicia Keys are also fans.<\/p>\n

\"KICKIC head trainer Imogen Sist outside KICStudio, which will open its doors on April 18.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

While not the first studio to offer somatic movement classes in Australia, the April 18 opening of KICStudio in Melbourne\u2019s Cremorne signals the trend\u2019s move into the mainstream.<\/p>\n

KIC co-founders Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw are known for their holistic and inclusive approach to fitness, and this ethos will be reflected in the studio\u2019s offering of four class types \u2013 all grounded in somatic movement \u2013 including HIIT, strength, yoga and breathwork.<\/p>\n

According to Henshaw, the opening is the start of a national rollout program for KICStudio.<\/p>\n

Trying it yourself<\/p>\n

For visitors to KICStudio, classes may include using vocals during exercises (being loud is encouraged in the studio, which is mirror-free to help remove any feelings of self-consciousness), self-touch, breathwork and shaking \u2013 a movement Sist compares to birds resetting their feathers.<\/p>\n

Once someone is familiar with the practice, Sist says, it\u2019s easy for people to introduce these additions into their regular exercise routine, whether it\u2019s while doing weights at home or on a walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always told as women we\u2019re too loud and take up too much space, so we wanted to create a space where people can come and take up as much space as they want, be as loud as they want,\u201d says Henshaw. \u201cTo find a practice that enables you to unlock that within yourself is electric.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writer travelled to Melbourne as a guest of KIC.<\/p>\n

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox<\/a> every Monday.<\/p>\n

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\"GyanGyan Yankovich<\/a> is lifestyle editor at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 31, 2026 \u2014 4:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,137],"class_list":["post-578649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}