04/06/2026
I first discovered Peter Appel ( ) during the Covid years. I’d heard about him through my teacher, Donna Farhi, & was curious.
From the first class, I was in.
Peter brings together developmental movement, somatics, & experiential anatomy in such a delightful way. His teaching feels fresh, playful, & inspiring. I’ve learned so much from him over the years.
This year I joined his Somatic Strength programme, & it blew me away. It offered a way of working with strength that felt intelligent, embodied, & deeply connected. I’m now taking some time to explore how I can bring some of these principles into my own teaching.
Slowly gathering my hours with the International Somatic Movement Education & Therapy Association (), I’m becoming even more convinced that somatics is what the world needs.
It unites rather than divides. It reminds us that we are whole, alive, capable & empowered.
Somatic movement is the practice of learning to feel yourself from the inside.
It’s slow, attentive, & exploratory. It invites you to notice sensation, effort, breath, & patterns of holding that you might otherwise move through on autopilot. Rather than striving to achieve a shape or outcome, it’s about developing a clearer relationship with how movement is organised in your body, moment by moment.
Strength training, meanwhile, builds the capacity of your muscles, joints, & connective tissues to meet load & challenge. At its best, it’s not simply about force. It’s about coordination, control, adaptability, & resilience.
Both are essential.
Strength without awareness can become bracing, strain, & disconnection.
Awareness without strength can lack support
& integration.
One gives you capacity. The other gives you clarity. Together, they create a more intelligent way of moving through life.
When somatic movement & strength training come together, exercise becomes a conversation rather than a command.
You build strength while staying connected to sensation. You learn when to engage, when to soften, & when to pause. The result is strength that is not only physical, but regulated, efficient, & embodied.
