4 Somatic Therapy Exercises to Try on Your Own
Takeaway: Somatic therapy can help you connect with your body to release stored tension, process trauma, and feel more grounded in the present moment. These therapist-recommended exercises give you practical, safe ways to start exploring somatic healing on your own.
While we constantly live inside our bodies, it can be challenging to intentionally bring awareness to them! Whether it's paying attention to body sensations or physical signs, noticing yourself in relation to your surroundings, or recognizing emotions as they arise, it's so easy to get caught up in everyday stress and chaos of life that takes our awareness out of our bodies and into the outside world. In cases of post traumatic stress disorder and trauma recovery, somatic therapy exercises and somatic experiencing can be incredibly therapeutic to regain trust in your body, release residual trauma being stored in your body, and strengthen your mind body connection (1,2).
I'm Brianna Halasa, a holistic trauma therapist based in Cleveland, Ohio. I see clients in-person at my office in Ohio City, as well as virtually in the states of Ohio and New York. I received my graduate degree in counseling psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and I've received additional trainings in EMDR, IFS, and somatic experiencing.
In this article, we'll discuss various somatic therapy exercises to try at home, specifically geared towards increasing body awareness, grounding in your environment, and releasing stored trauma.
4 somatic healing exercises to try at home today
Below are several somatic therapy exercises to try on your own. These exercises are sorted into different categories tailored to your mental health needs.
Somatic grounding exercises
1. Progressive muscle tension and relaxation
This body scan exercise involves creating physical tension in specific muscle groups in your body and then relaxing those muscles, promoting nervous system relaxation and and stress relief.
How to do it:
Start by sitting in a comfortable seat, with your feet on the floor. You can either close your eyes or stare at a fixed point that's not moving in front of you.
Start with some deep breathing. Inhale by allowing your stomach to expand, then contract your stomach on the exhale as you sigh out through your mouth.
Allow your breath to return to its steady rhythm.
Bring your attention to your lower body, specifically your feet and toes. Breathe in deeply through your nose, and as you do, gradually curl your toes down and tense the muscles in the soles of your feet. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then release the muscles in your feet as you breathe out. Feel the tension in your feet evaporate as you exhale. Notice the physical sensations and difference in your feet when tensed versus relaxed.
Now bring your mind's eye to your calf muscles. As you take in a deep breath, stand on your tip toes and feel your calf muscles. Hold for just a moment, and then bring your feet back on the floor as you feel those muscles relax on the exhale.
Draw your focus to your thigh muscles. On the inhale, tense these muscles by pushing your heels down into the floor. Hold for a moment, and then release everything. The blood flow to your muscles increases with tension, and you may notice a warm sensation. Allow yourself to notice bodily sensations of soothing relaxation in your thighs.
Now bring your awareness to your abdominal muscles. Suck in a breath and then tense these muscles, imagining bringing your belly button closer to your spine. Now release your breath and let your muscles relax, allowing the tension to dissipate.
Give your attention to your shoulder muscles. As you slowly inhale, float your shoulders up towards your ears and squeeze these muscles. Then exhale out completely, and allow your contracted muscles to go limp.
Bring your focus to the muscles in your hands. Breathe in and tightly bunch your fists. When you have finished breathing in, hold for a moment, and then release. Notice sensations arise.
Tighten the muscles in your face by squeezing your eyes shut and clenching your lips together while breathing in fully. Hold it for a few counts, then breathe out and relax all your facial muscles.
Notice all bodily sensations after completing this exercise. Allow a wave of relaxation to wash over you as you've released all muscle tension.
How it helps: Progressive muscle relaxation breaks the cycle of tension in your body that can contribute to chronic stress, chronic pain, and anxiety.
If we were in session… I'd invite you to do this exercise without exerting or straining yourself in any way. All you need to do is contract each muscle firmly but gently, and let yourself notice how your body feels after you release tension. Hopefully there's a sensation of relief!
Somatic exercises to release trauma
2. Light stream exercise
This is an imagery body scan exercise that's designed to separate you from your pain and reduce it.
How to do it:
Scan your entire body and notice where you feel any tension, tightness, pain, pressure or numbness.
If you feel more than one area, notice which one feels most painful or most in need of attention and support, then focus on that area.
If that area had a shape, what shape would it be?
If that area had a color, what color would it be?
Does that area have a texture or temperature?
Then choose your favorite color of light you associate with healing and warmth.
As you breathe slowly and deeply, allow a column of that [insert favorite color of light] colored light to come gently down through the top of your head and direct itself at the place in your body where you feel that tension, tightness, pain, pressure or blockage. Allow the light to go directly to that area, completely cover it, soften it, dissolving as much as possible without forcing it as more and more light flows in. Allow the light to flow throughout your body softening and warming as it flows down through your head, face, neck, across both shoulders and down your arms flowing gently out the tips of your fingers. Allow the light to flow down through the trunk of your body. Down through your chest, back, stomach, abdomen, pelvis and hips. Allow the light to flow down through your legs and down and out the soles of your feet. And when you’re ready, when you feel comfortable enough, breathe in deeply and tell yourself the words you most need to hear, slowly count to three, and gently open your eyes.
How it helps: This exercise can promote a deeper understanding of your body and how trauma might be manifesting physically. It can address emotional blockages in your body and allow for an emotional release.
If we were in session… This exercise is designed to separate you from your pain and reduce it, so you can experience a bit of relief.
3. The container exercise
The container exercise is a mental exercise where you visualize a strong, secure container (like a vault or treasure chest) to temporarily hold difficult emotions, thoughts, or images. Note: this exercise is designed to be supportive between trauma therapy (ie: talk therapy, EMDR, or somatic therapy) sessions so that the content discussed in sessions isn't derailing your entire week and creating more distress. You can put those traumatic memories in a container, then reopen the vessel with your trained therapist.
How to do it:
Get into a comfortable position and breathe in deeply through your nose, then sigh out all the air through your mouth. Do this for a few rounds, then allow your breath to return to normal.
Close your eyes or find a soft gaze. Visualize your container, noticing its shape, color, size, and texture.
Open the container and send distressing energy (thoughts, emotions, images) into the container, allowing it to hold this energy. Feel the energy radiate from your body into the container.
When the container seems full, close it securely. Put the container away somewhere it won't bother you (on a shelf, underground, locked behind a door). Move away from the container.
How it helps: This somatic exercise allows you to gain reprieve from all the intense trauma work you're doing with a therapist.
If we were in session… This exercise is meant to create more emotion regulation in between therapy sessions. This exercise is not designed to suppress distressing memories, but to manage stress and address PTSD symptoms during an appropriate time.
Somatic mindfulness exercises
4. Safe-enough place exercise
This exercise is a grounding technique to have as a resource when experiencing distressing physical sensations or use for emotional regulation.
How to do it:
Ask yourself: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where you would feel safe enough or calm enough? Are you there by yourself or with others?
If it's challenging for you to think of any place in the present, you can think of a time in the past when you felt safe enough. If you can’t think of any present or past places or experiences, what would you need to feel safe enough (ie: presence of an admired or protective figure, etc.)?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in this safe-enough place. Take as much time as you need to ground in the space. Now make the image more vivid: What can you see around you? Do you hear anything? Can you smell any comforting scents in your safe-enough space?
As you exist in this space you created, notice what thoughts, feelings, and body sensations are coming up for you.
How it helps: This mind body technique is designed to ground the nervous system and promote parasympathetic nervous system regulation through imagery.
If we were in session… I always do this exercise in EMDR therapy, and I encourage clients to use it when feeling particularly activated to regulate their emotions.
Tips for practicing somatic exercises at home
Below are some tips to help you practice somatic exercises while in the comfort of your own space:
Find a comfortable seated physical posture: you don't need to sit up pin straight! Let yourself be at ease, whether that's sitting on your sofa, propped up with pillows on your bed, etc.
Show some self compassion! There's no right or wrong way to do these somatic exercises, the goal is to help you release physical tension, allow for emotional healing, increase body awareness, and strengthen the mind body connection.
When to consider working with a somatic therapist
It's important to note that these exercises aren’t a replacement for therapy but are simply ways to incorporate healthy coping skills into your routine to supplement your work with a mental health professional. Below are some signs that you could benefit from therapy:
If you've been feeling down or are losing interest in activities that once enjoyed
If you're overwhelmed with symptoms of anxiety, such as racing thoughts, increased heart rate, consistent worry, or have challenges relaxing
If you notice thoughts relating to low self worth or confidence
If you've been through traumatic events, such as physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and are experience trauma related symptoms. These could include:
Distressing memories, flashbacks, or nightmares
Avoiding people, places, or situations that remind you of the traumatic event
Suppressing thoughts or feelings related to the event
Physical symptoms such as persistent headaches, stomach aches, or chest pain that cannot be explained by a medical diagnosis
If you notice that your quality of life is being negatively impacted by mental health symptoms, it could be time to reach out to a trained therapist- you don't have to go through this alone!
Final thoughts
These somatic exercises can help draw your awareness to bodily sensations, calm the nervous system into its parasympathetic state, create sensory awareness to your environment, and potentially improve mental health. It's different than traditional talk therapy and aids in trauma processing to create deeper healing. You have the power to heal yourself, but a trained somatic therapist can help guide and facilitate your healing journey. If you're curious about how somatic interventions could help, please feel free to reach out for a free 20-minute clarity call.
Citations
Brom D, Stokar Y, Lawi C, Nuriel-Porat V, Ziv Y, Lerner K, Ross G. Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study. J Trauma Stress. 2017 Jun;30(3):304-312. doi: 10.1002/jts.22189. Epub 2017 Jun 6. PMID: 28585761; PMCID: PMC5518443.
Payne P, Levine PA and Crane-Godreau MA (2015) Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Front. Psychol. 6:93. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093
