The originator of Somatic therapy is Wilhelm Reich.
He was the first to teach that emotions are stored in the body (in the muscular system) and emphasized how important life in the womb is for the for subsequent mental development of the individual.
The physical body has an innate wisdom which is the result of billions of years of evolutionary history. The conscious mind can imagine it but cannot understand it - e.g. the mystery of Love does not have a scientific explanation. There can be no correlation between the heart as a pump that delivers blood throughout the body and the heart as an organ Love, which is a feeling.
One of the biggest illusions is that the mind and body are equivalent. We don't live according to our will. The will is unable to coordinate the complex biochemical processes in the body. Our self is not an image in our minds, but is a real, living and vibrant organism. To be able to know ourselves, it is a prerequisite to feel our body. The loss of sensation in any part of the body is loss of part of the self.
In this day and age, most people who are under the influence of stress get disconnected from parts of their body, e.g. some people don't feel their backs, or their legs.
Also the repression of feelings is manifested by pain in corresponding organs of the body. E.g. people who suppress their anger manifest liver problems, fear is stored in the kidneys etc.
Emotional states affect breathing.
When a person is very angry, breathing becomes faster to help them mobilize more power for aggressive behavior.
Fear has the opposite effect: the persons who are afraid hold their breath because the action "freezes"
while the state of fear prevails. If the fear becomes panic, breathing becomes rapid and shallow.
In terror breathing becomes very difficult, because terror has a paralyzing effect on the body.
In a state of pleasure breathing is slow and deep.
Somatic therapy helps a person to feel the tensions in their body and to realize how they are associated with psychological problems. By means of special physical exercises the body can regain its vitality, energy can flow freely in the body, health is restored and the person can feel happy and cheerful again.