Are you looking for ways to release trauma and anxiety? We’ve gathered the 10 best somatic exercises to release trauma with techniques for relaxation, healing, and emotional release.
Do you ever feel trapped by unresolved trauma, anxiety, or emotional stress? Well, unfortunately, you are not alone.
Trauma comes in many forms and affects a large part of the population. And while it’s often thought of as something directly related to mental health, it also has an impact on our physical health. Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind, it’s also stored in the body in the form of tension, pain, or feelings of disconnection.
Somatic exercises to release trauma are a form of somatic therapy that uses gentle mindful movement to help you reconnect with your body and release built-up tension.
If you’re looking for ways you can reduce anxiety, manage emotional stress, or address physical ailments caused by past trauma, somatic stretching and somatic exercises are techniques for increasing mind-body connection and can be powerful tools on your journey toward healing.
Contents
- What Are Somatic Exercises?
- The Benefits of Somatic Exercises to Release Trauma
- How Trauma Affects the Body
- The 10 Best Somatic Exercises to Release Trauma
- The Risks of Somatic Exercises
- Final Thoughts
- FAQ
What Are Somatic Exercises?
If you’re a beginner to somatic therapy, it’s important to first understand what a somatic exercise is.
Somatic exercises are movements of the body designed to improve physical awareness and build mindfulness around the sensations we feel in our bodies. Although they share much in common with exercise forms like yoga and pilates, they emphasize gentle, mindful movement in order to release tension, improve your nervous system regulation, and increase mind-body connection.
Somatic exercises are different than yoga and tai chi because they are not focused on strength or flexibility. Rather, they are about gaining awareness of your body’s signals and releasing stored tension.
These movement patterns are rooted in a practice called somatic therapy which is a healing modality that addresses trauma and anxiety through working with the body.
Somatic therapy explores how the body expresses deeply painful experiences, applying mind-body healing to aid with trauma recovery.
HARVARD HEALTH PUBLISHING
The rise in popularity of somatic therapy is largely in part to the book “The Body Keeps The Score,” by Bessel van der Kolk. It covers how trauma literally reshapes both the body and brain and inhibits our abilities to experience pleasure, self-control, and trust among other things, and explores different modalities for recovery.
If you’re interested in learning more about trauma and somatic therapy, we highly recommend reading Your Body Keeps The Score. It’s filled with actionable insights into how to heal and reclaim a happy peaceful life.
The Benefits of Somatic Exercises to Release Trauma
Experts say that when somatic exercises are performed on a regular, consistent basis they offer a wide range of benefits both physically and emotionally.
- Release tension held in muscles and fascia and therefore release stored trauma.
- Help you feel calmer by regulating the nervous system.
- Promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.
- Increase self-awareness of the body and mind.
In addition to these benefits, research has shown that:
- Somatic exercises can help to relieve chronic pain.
- According to the Somatic Movement Center, these types of exercises can reduce muscle tension, relieve pain, and improve posture.
- Through strengthening weak muscle groups, they can also help improve mobility, balance, and coordination.
How Trauma Affects the Body
New research, such as that shared in Your Body Keeps The Score, indicated that trauma can be stored in the body as tension, tightness, pain, and even restricted movement patterns.
Some believe that the hips are particularly prone to holding stress. Leah Ehinger, a somatic therapist and yoga teacher, explains that the hips are integral to so many of the body’s functions from walking, to breathing, and digesting.
By incorporating somatic hip exercises to release trauma, you can help to release tension and potentially improve physical and emotional health.
The 10 Best Somatic Exercises to Release Trauma
We’ve compiled the 10 most effective somatic exercises for trauma including a range of physical, mental, and mindfulness practices to dissolve tension from the body and mind. So let’s get into it!
1. Body Scan Meditation
Body scanning is a form of meditation where you turn your focus toward your body and focus on each area starting from your feet and working up toward your head. For each body part, you take note of different sensations, tension, or mental resistance to help build body awareness.
HOW TO DO IT: Laying in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and start by focusing your attention on your feet. Notice the sensations there then slowly work your way to your ankles and do the same. Work your way up to your head going body part by body part. As you notice areas of tension, take note and consciously breathe into them to release the tension.
2. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is also referred to as belly breathing and is the practice of taking deep breaths, filling the lungs and belly. This technique calms the nervous system and relaxes the body which is particularly good for reducing anxiety.
HOW TO DO IT: Depending on what’s more comfortable for you, get into a relaxed seated position or lie down on your back. Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. Now with your attention on the hand on your belly, breathe deeply allowing your stomach and lungs to fully expand. Once you’ve reached your maximum, slowly exhale and repeat.
3. Somatic Shaking (TRE-Inspired)
Somatic shaking is a technique inspired by Trauma Release Exercises (TRE). It involves shaking the arms and legs to release built-up tension and is meant to mimic the body’s natural tremor response to stress.
HOW TO DO IT: Stand in a comfortable relaxed position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Gently shake your arms, legs, and body for a couple of minutes. Focus on the sensation of releasing tension from the body.
4. Pelvic Tilts
If you tend to feel tight in the hips, lower back, and pelvis, pelvic tilts might be a great somatic exercise to add to your routine. It’s a simple technique that helps to release tension from the pelvis improving mobility and body awareness.
HOW TO DO IT: Laying on your back on a soft surface like a rug or yoga mat, bend your knees, and place your feet on the floor. In a small motion, tilt your pelvis upwards toward your shoulders or ribcage and then release. It’s particularly important to keep a strong mind-body connection when doing this exercise.
5. Standing Forward Fold
You’re probably familiar with a standing forward fold as it’s a great way to stretch the hamstrings, back, and neck. It’s a great grounding exercise and has the added benefit of increasing blood flow to the head and brain.
HOW TO DO IT: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. With a gentle bend in your knees, slowly roll forward reaching your hands for your feet or the floor in front of you. Remember to relax your head and neck throughout.
6. Butterfly Hug
Have you heard of a grounding exercise? Often used in somatic therapy, grounding techniques stimulate the body’s natural calming response and help us tap into our parasympathetic nervous system. In essence, they are a way to tap into your sense to bring your mind into the present moment and create distance from distressing thoughts.
HOW TO DO IT: Sitting on the ground or in a comfortable chair, cross your arms over your chest and rest your palms on your shoulders. Lightly tap each shoulder in an alternating motion while taking slow deep breathes.
7. Neck Stretches
You might relate to the feeling of stress living in your neck and shoulders. It is a common response to stress to tighten the muscles around our head and neck and hold onto tension in those areas. Kind of similar to clenching our jaw. Doing gentle somatic stretches to release this tension can help us feel lighter and more relaxed.
HOW TO DO IT: Slowly tilt your head to one side until you find a spot of tension. Hold it there for a couple of slow deep breaths. Repeat going in a circle tilting your head from one side to another. You can use your arm or hand to gently deepen the stretch.
8. Somatic Walking
Slow mindful walking is a great way to improve your mind-body connection. The practice of somatic walking involves a slow and intentional walking movement and can performed at home or outside in a park, at a beach, or wherever brings you peace.
HOW TO DO IT: Choose a calming environment and go for a slow mindful walk noticing the sensation of each step on the bottom of your foot and throughout your body. Pay attention to your breathing, posture, and the rhythm of your body movements.
9. Child’s Pose with Hip Focus
You might be familiar with child’s pose as it’s a common restorative yoga pose. It also is a great somatic stretch for the hips, lower back, and shoulders — areas that commonly hold stress. As is evident in the name, the pose also mimics how we develop in our mother’s womb which promotes a sense of safety and relaxation.
HOW TO DO IT: Kneel on a soft surface such as a rug or yoga mat then sit back on your heals and reach your arms forward in front of your head. As you relax into the pose, focus on dropping your hips toward your heels and your forehead to the floor. You can also put your arms at your sides which is the more traditional variation.
10. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Breathwork
Have you heard of the vagus nerve? The vagal nerves run from your brain to your large intestine and carry signals from the brain to the heart and digestive system. They are responsible for your parasympathetic nervous system and play roles in mood, digestion, heart rate, and breathing.
This technique aims to stimulate the vagus nerve through mindful breathing.
HOW TO DO IT: Seated in a comfortable position, breath in to the count of 4, hold for 4 counts, then release slowly for 6 counts. By exhaling more slowly than you inhale, you can signal to the body to relax and calm down.
The Risks of Somatic Exercises
Somatic exercises are generally safe but it’s important to practice mindful and gentle movements. As with all other physical activities, the risk of injury is always present.
And when you are dealing with trauma, it’s especially important to move slowly and with intention and awareness. You may find that certain movements might cause unexpected emotional responses.
Part of somatic therapy is noticing these responses and moving through them to release trauma and anxiety.
However, if you find yourself struggling mentally or physically, it’s always best to consult a professional.
Final Thoughts
You likely arrived here because you have faced some kind of trauma or are experiencing persistent anxiety. While you are not alone, this can feel like a very isolating experience.
You’ve made an incredible step in taking care of your emotional and physical wellbeing by seeking out these somatic exercises to release trauma and we hope that they can bring you some of the relief you are looking for.
Trauma lives in the mind and body meaning that it’s also healed through physical and mental techniques. Somatic therapy explores many different ways of doing this and can be a great resource for those seeking different modalities for healing.
If you find yourself struggling, we highly recommend reaching out to your community or a trained expert for help.
With love,
A small note to my readers โ Over here at VLHhealth, we occasionally include affiliate links in our posts. This means that if you purchase using our links, we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
FAQ
While yoga is all about flow, flexibility, and strengthening, somatic exercises focus on creating a strong mind-body connection and releasing tension and stress in the body. Somatic exercises are typically slower and more subtle with attention turned toward noticing the different sensations in the body.
Tai chi is sometimes considered a form of somatic therapy because it incorporates mindful movement and awareness of one’s body. However, tai chi is actually a form of martial arts that has its own techniques and philosophies.
The somatic exercises to release trauma shared in this article are a great place to start. Start with the exercises that feel the most accessible and slowly work your way up from there. There are tons of online resources and even somatic exercises apps that can help you on your healing journey.
While somatic therapy is not a traditional healing modality, there is some newer research that indicates that somatic exercises can effectively relieve stress, and anxiety, and release trauma stored in the body. If you’re curious to learn more, we recommend Your Body Keeps the Score, a fantastic somatic exercises book.
While somatic exercises to release trauma are designed to be gentle, you might notice slight fatigue or muscle soreness. We recommend listening to your body and going at your own pace.
We’ve compiled the most effective exercises for trauma in this guide. These 10 techniques focus on mind-body connecting and releasing stored stress and tension from the body.
Sources
Harvard Health Publishing, What is somatic therapy?
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-somatic-therapy-202307072951
Your Body Keeps The Score, Bessel van der Kolk
https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score
National Library of Medicine, Moving With Pain: What Principles From Somatic Practices Can Offer to People Living With Chronic Pain
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7868595/
Harvard Health Publishing, Ease anxiety and stress: Take a (belly) breather
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ease-anxiety-and-stress-take-a-belly-breather-2019042616521
Healthline, 30 Grounding Techniques to Quiet Distressing Thoughts
https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques
Cleveland Clinic, Vagus Nerve
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22279-vagus-nerve
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