News — somatic exercise

Feeling like menopause and perimenopause have turned life into an emotional roller coaster? You’re not imagining things! These phases of life bring a range of symptoms that often overlap with those caused by high cortisol levels (that’s your stress hormone in action).  So if you're experiencing fatigue, mood swings, sleep issues, weight gain, anxiety — it can feel like a never-ending cycle where stress from one makes the other worse. When estrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate or decline, your body’s ability to regulate cortisol takes a hit, making even minor stress feel overwhelming. The result is a loop of...

A dysregulated nervous system underlies multiple common health problems, including mental health issues, autoimmune disorders, and thyroid conditions. Additionally, a dysregulated nervous system exacerbates the symptoms of many illnesses — this list ranges from ADHD and depression to hashimoto's and graves' disease. Your nervous system is designed to react to threats and stressors in short bursts. But when you're exposed to ongoing stress, they become chronically activated. And this chronic activation will result in dysregulation, where your body's stress response systems fail to properly go from 'on' to 'off'.  Typically, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are meant to be released and then quickly...

Past trauma isn't just an emotional burden — it manifests physically too. And the health and wellness industry is only just beginning to unravel the profound connection between the psychological experiences and the physiological responses of trauma. And how that connection impacts multiple aspects of your life. Unresolved trauma triggers the release of continuous stress hormones (like cortisol) into your body — which keeps your nervous system in constant preparation for a threat. And unfortunately, that leads to increased fat storage, especially around the midsection. Your Body's Stress Response There's a biological response that happens in your body when you undergo something...

If you've noticed a hump forming at the base of your neck between the shoulder blades, you're not alone! This accumulation of fat is known as a neck hump, and it causes discomfort as well as self-consciousness for anyone affected by it. It's important to know though, that having a neck hump is not your fault. While there are multiple causes of why you would form a neck hump, one often overlooked cause is due to elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol, the hormone produced in your body in response to stress, can lead to fat accumulation in multiple areas of the body — including...

If you've ever experienced stress, anxiety, or trauma in your life, you may have turned to traditional methods of healing like taking certain prescribed medication or going to talk therapy to alleviate your symptoms. But have you ever tried somatic exercises? What are somatic exercises? Somatic exercise is a form of body-centered therapy involving gentle movements that target the body's central nervous system. This kind of somatic therapy focuses on unlocking sensations and releasing repressed emotions and physical experiences by encouraging and utilizing the innate connection between the mind and body. Essentially, somatic exercises are repetitions of simple movements that can provide...