Somatic exercises release the stress your body has been holding onto. Here's what they are, how they heal the trauma stored in your body, and how to start.
Somatic exercises are tiny, gentle movements that release stress from the body.
After trauma or long-term stress, your nervous system can get stuck in survival mode, and your muscles hold onto that tension.
Somatic exercises bring your nervous system out of survival mode so your body can let that stress go.
What does somatic mean?
Soma is the Greek word for the body. Somatic means relating to the body as you feel it from the inside: your muscles, your heartbeat, and the tension you carry without noticing.
Somatic exercise works with the connection between your body and your nervous system. That connection is where stress and trauma get held, and it's where they can be released.
How trauma and stress get stored in the body
During a threat, your nervous system shifts you into fight, flight, or freeze to keep you safe. When the threat passes, your body is supposed to come back down. After trauma or years of stress, your body stays in that protective state. It shows up in three places:
Your body has been protecting you. Somatic exercise shows it that it's safe to let go.
Learn more about where trauma and stress are stored in the body.
Signs your body is holding stress
all of these are signs of a nervous system stuck in survival mode, and that is exactly what somatic exercise works on
How somatic exercise heals trauma
Trauma lives in your nervous system and your body as well as in your memory. Somatic exercise works directly with the body.
Each movement is small, slow, and gentle. As you move, you pay attention to what you feel in your body. That combination signals safety to your nervous system, and your body starts letting go of the tension it built to protect you.
Most students reach a big release moment around 3 weeks in: a warm feeling through the whole body and an emotional release, followed by feeling lighter with less pain.
The research
In a 2017 randomized controlled trial, 63 people with PTSD were split into two groups. The group that received 15 weekly sessions of somatic experiencing, a body-focused trauma therapy, had significant improvement in both PTSD symptoms and depression compared to a waitlist group.
The findings support what our students experience: when you work with the body, your nervous system can recover from trauma.
Source: Brom D, et al. "Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study." Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30(3), 304 to 312, 2017. Read the study.
What a somatic exercise practice looks like
You need no equipment, flexibility, or fitness experience. Somatic exercises work for all levels, including people with pain or limited mobility.
10 minutes a day, done in bed or on the floor. Short video classes walk you through every movement, so there's nothing to figure out on your own.
Most students feel a difference in the first 3 days. The full-body tension release takes about 6 weeks, and nervous system regulation takes 6 to 8 weeks.
Heal your nervous system in 60 days
The Heal Your Nervous System bundle takes you from fight-flight-freeze to regulated with three courses, sequenced over 60 days:
- Release Stress & Stored Trauma (30 days): release the stress and trauma stored in your body
- Free Your Shoulders & Neck (15 days): let go of the tension in your upper body
- Release Your Jaw (15 days): release jaw tension and clenching
- BONUS vagus nerve exercises: support your nervous system in moving out of freeze
Instant access. Yours forever. Money-back guarantee.
Your body has been surviving. It's time to start healing.
60 days. 10 minutes a day. No equipment. Just your body finally releasing what it's been holding onto, and a nervous system that's no longer stuck in fight-flight-freeze.
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Questions about somatic exercise and trauma
What are somatic exercises?
Somatic exercises are tiny, gentle movements that release stress from the body. They work with your nervous system to let go of the tension and stress your body has been holding, including stress left behind by trauma. They need no equipment and take about 10 minutes a day, done in bed or on the floor.
Can somatic exercise heal trauma?
Somatic exercise releases the physical stress and tension that trauma leaves behind and brings your nervous system out of survival mode. A 2017 randomized controlled trial of somatic experiencing, a body-focused trauma therapy, found significant improvement in PTSD symptoms and depression. Somatic exercise also works well alongside therapy.
How long does it take for somatic exercises to work?
It varies from person to person. Most students feel a difference in the first 3 days and release stored trauma in about 3 weeks. The full-body tension release takes about 6 weeks, and nervous system regulation takes 6 to 8 weeks.
Do I need equipment or experience to do somatic exercises?
No. Somatic exercises need no equipment, flexibility, or fitness experience. They work for all levels, and the Heal Your Nervous System bundle includes modifications for people with pain or limited mobility.
Can I do somatic exercises alongside therapy?
Yes. Somatic exercise works with your body and nervous system, so it pairs well with talk therapy. You can do both at the same time.
Are somatic exercises safe during pregnancy and postpartum?
Yes. The Heal Your Nervous System bundle includes prenatal modifications and a bonus prenatal module. Postpartum, the exercises rebuild your pelvic floor and regulate your nervous system.
What courses are in the Heal Your Nervous System bundle?
The bundle includes Release Stress & Stored Trauma (30 days), Free Your Shoulders & Neck (15 days), and Release Your Jaw (15 days), sequenced over 60 days, plus bonus vagus nerve exercises. You get instant access, lifetime access, and a money-back guarantee.
Liz Tenuto, The Workout Witch
Liz is a somatic exercise instructor with 15+ years of teaching experience and a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara. She is certified in Pilates and Reiki and spent six years being mentored in teaching the Feldenkrais Method. After decades in survival mode from childhood trauma, somatic exercise gave her relief from insomnia and chronic pain. She has since guided 250,000+ students out of survival mode with somatic exercise, the tiny, gentle movements that release stress from the body.