Healing can be a whole-person process, involving the mind, body, and more profound existential questions that shape our lives. Combining somatic therapy exercises with third-wave cognitive-behavioral therapies (such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and mindfulness-based strategies) and the existential tradition allows for a more integrated and robust path to change. Somatic awareness can provide a helpful and effective boost to many of these other types of therapy. A subtype specifically for trauma is called somatic experiencing, which is covered toward the end of this post.
Many clients come to therapy feeling disconnected—not just from others but also from their values, or sense of purpose. Somatic therapy exercises help ground them in the present moment through body awareness and nervous system regulation. Third-wave therapies help them relate differently to thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without becoming entangled. Existential therapy provides a space to explore meaning, responsibility, freedom, and identity in life’s inherent uncertainties. I braid all of it into an effective, lasting approach.
Healing occurs not just through insight, but through embodied experience, authentic connection, and the freedom to live in alignment with one’s values—even in the face of pain. So, what is somatic therapy, and how might it help you or a loved one? I hope this post helps answer those questions.
What Is Somatic Therapy? 
Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that integrates traditional talk therapy with physical techniques to help individuals process trauma, stress, and emotional pain. The word “somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, meaning “body.” This therapy is based on the idea that emotions and traumatic experiences are stored not only in the mind but also in the body.
Unlike traditional psychotherapy, which focuses mostly on thoughts and emotions, this therapy incorporates awareness of bodily sensations, movements, and patterns (“somatic awareness”) to help people heal. It combines principles from psychology, neuroscience, and physical practices like yoga, dance, and breathing techniques.
What Is Somatic Therapy Used For?
Somatic therapy exercises are particularly effective for people who have experienced:
- Trauma or PTSD (including complex or developmental trauma)
- Chronic stress or anxiety
- Depression
- Grief and loss
- Dissociation or feeling “numb” or disconnected from the body
- Physical symptoms without clear medical causes (e.g., chronic pain, fatigue)
- Addiction or substance use
- Eating disorders
Somatic awareness can be helpful for both individuals and groups, and is increasingly used with veterans, survivors of abuse, first responders, and others dealing with long-term stress or trauma.
Somatic Therapy Exercises
Common techniques used include:
- Body Awareness: Noticing physical sensations (tightness, warmth, tingling) as they arise in the body.
- Grounding: Techniques like feeling your feet on the floor or connecting to the present through the five senses.
- Breath Work: Controlled breathing to regulate the nervous system.
- Touch Therapy: In some modalities, gentle physical touch may help clients reconnect with areas of the body holding tension or trauma.
- Movement Exercises: This might include stretching, shaking, or guided movement to release held stress or emotion.
- Visualization: Imagining a safe space or using imagery to support bodily regulation.
- Pendulation and Titration (from Somatic Experiencing): Gradually moving between sensations of discomfort and comfort to build resilience and reduce overwhelm.
How Somatic Therapy Exercises Help
Somatic therapy exercises help by:
- Releasing stored trauma from the body: Traumatic experiences often get “stuck” in the nervous system, leading to chronic tension or emotional dysregulation. Somatic therapy exercises allow the body to complete the fight/flight/freeze response.
- Regulating the nervous system: Through breath work and movement, clients learn to calm hyperarousal and increase their window of tolerance.
- Reconnecting mind and body: Many people become disconnected from their bodily sensations due to trauma. Somatic therapy helps restore a sense of embodiment and presence.
- Improving emotional resilience: Clients become better able to feel and tolerate emotions without becoming overwhelmed.
- Enhancing self-awareness and self-regulation: Somatic awareness involves learning how physical sensations relate to emotions, which helps clients better manage triggers.
Here’s a deeper look at how somatic therapy exercises help, especially in terms of healing trauma, regulating emotions, and improving overall well-being:
1. Somatic Therapy Exercises Rewire the Nervous System
Somatic therapy directly engages the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which governs our fight/flight/freeze responses. Trauma can cause the nervous system to become “stuck” in survival states—hypervigilance, numbness, or panic.
Somatic awareness techniques help by:
- Teaching the body how to come back to safety after a threat.
- Supporting neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself.
- Helping the client shift from survival modes to calm (rest and digest).
Example: A person with PTSD might experience constant anxiety; through breath work and body awareness, they begin to feel moments of calm that grow with practice.
2. Bridges the Gap Between Body and Mind
Many people with trauma or anxiety experience disconnection—feeling out of touch with their bodies, or not knowing how they feel physically or emotionally.
Somatic therapy exercises help by:
- Reestablishing a mind-body connection.
- Teaching clients to identify emotions through physical cues (e.g., “I notice my chest tightens when I’m anxious”).
- Promoting embodiment—feeling present and whole within one’s body.
Example: Someone might realize they clench their jaw when suppressing anger—this awareness can lead to emotional insight and healing.
3. Supports Emotional Regulation
Emotions are not just mental—they appear physically (e.g., racing heart, clenched fists). This therapy helps people feel emotions safely and release them without becoming overwhelmed.
Somatic therapy exercises promote:
- Emotional processing instead of repression.
- Increased capacity to tolerate strong feelings without shutdown.
- A larger “window of tolerance” (the ability to stay regulated in the face of stress).
Example: Instead of numbing out during conflict, clients learn grounding tools to stay calm and express themselves effectively.
4. Releases Chronic Tension and Pain
Trauma often lodges in the body as chronic muscular tension, pain, or fatigue, especially if fight or flight energy was never discharged.
Somatic therapy can help by:
- Releasing that stored tension through movement or breath.
- Reducing psychosomatic symptoms like headaches, gut issues, or fibromyalgia.
- Increasing physical vitality and ease in the body.
Example: A survivor of childhood trauma might find that their posture improves and pain decreases after regularly practicing somatic movement and body awareness.
5. Builds Resilience and Empowerment
Healing is not just about feeling better but reclaiming control and confidence in one’s body and life.
Through developing somatic awareness, clients often report:
- A greater sense of agency (“I can calm myself down”).
- Trust in their body’s signals.
- More energy and motivation to engage in life.
Example: Someone who used to shut down during stress may learn to stay present and grounded using somatic awareness tools like breath or grounding.
Summary:
What is somatic therapy? It’s a form of treatment that doesn’t just talk about what happened—it helps people feel and release the effects of what happened in a safe, body-centered way. Somatic awareness brings emotional relief, physical ease, and a renewed sense of self.
Case example: Somatic Therapy for Sports Anxiety
Client Background:
- Name: Alex (15 years old)
- Issue: Intense performance anxiety during soccer games
- Symptoms: Racing heart, sweaty palms, stomachaches before games, negative self-talk (“I’m going to mess up”), freezing or zoning out under pressure
- History: No major trauma, but high expectations from a coach and perfectionistic tendencies. He had one incident where he missed a key goal and felt humiliated.
Somatic Therapy Goals:
- Help Alex become aware of how anxiety shows up in his body (somatic awareness building).
- Teach regulation tools to manage stress in the moment.
- Build confidence and trust in their body’s responses (somatic awareness responses).
- Unpack and release any stuck stress or shame from past experiences.
Therapy Process:
Session 1: Building Somatic Awareness
- Establish safety and rapport.
- Explore how Alex experiences anxiety physically (“Where do you feel it when you’re nervous?”)
- Introduce somatic therapy exercises, such as body scans, to notice tension without judgment.
Session 2: Grounding and Regulation
- Teach grounding techniques (e.g., feet on the floor, naming five things they see).
- Practice calming breathwork (like box breathing).
- Role-play a game day scenario using grounding tools during the session.
Session 3: Movement and Release
- Explore simple movement-based techniques (e.g., shaking out limbs to discharge tension).
- Alex notices he clenches his fists before games, and practices loosening and stretching them.
- Introduce “pendulation”: moving between comfort and anxiety in small, manageable ways.
Session 4: Working with a Stuck Memory
- Gently revisit the somatic awareness memory of missing the goal.
- Use tracking (noticing how it feels in the body when thinking about the moment).
- Invite a physical shift: “What movement or posture would help you feel more powerful right now?”
Session 5: Rehearsal and Resilience
- Use visualization to mentally rehearse staying grounded during a stressful moment on the field.
- Combine imagery with breathing and posture cues (e.g., chest open, eyes focused).
- Build a “regulation toolkit” that Alex can use before and during games.
Session 6: Reflection and Integration
- Review progress and what tools feel most effective.
- Celebrate moments when Alex used skills (e.g., took deep breaths before the last game and felt calmer).
- Discuss applying these tools outside sports (e.g., tests, social pressure).
Outcomes:
- Alex reports fewer physical symptoms before games.
- Uses breathwork and grounding regularly.
- Feels more in control of his response to pressure.
- Regains enjoyment in playing soccer instead of fearing failure.
We then moved into more traditional sports psychology treatment, with refreshers on the mind-body connection mixed in.
Case Example: Somatic Awareness and Fear of Flying
Here’s a case example of how somatic therapy might help an adult with a fear of flying:
Client Background:
- Name: Maria (38 years old)
- Issue: Severe anxiety about flying
- Symptoms: Nausea, racing heart, muscle tension, sweating, intrusive thoughts of crashing
- Behavior: Avoids travel altogether or experiences panic during flights (grips armrests, can’t eat or sleep, sometimes cries)
- History: No plane-related trauma, but experienced a panic attack on a turbulent flight 5 years ago and has been afraid to fly since.
Somatic Therapy Goals:
- Help Maria track and regulate the physical sensations tied to her fear.
- Teach tools to manage anxiety before and during flights.
- Reprocess the stored traumatic memory of the panic attack.
- Build a new association between flying and a sense of safety or control.
Somatic Therapy Exercises Used for Flight Anxiety:
Session 1: Using Somatic Awareness to Map the Fear Response
- Establish trust and safety in the therapeutic relationship.
- Begin tracking sensations: “What happens in your body when you think about flying?”
- Maria notices her chest tighten and shoulders rise—introduce body scanning and naming sensations.
Session 2: Somatic Awareness for Grounding and Body Regulation
- Introduce grounding techniques (e.g., pressing feet into the floor, orienting by looking around the room).
- Practice slow, diaphragmatic breathing to reduce heart rate.
- Work on resourcing: developing a calming mental image (e.g., being on the beach or being hugged by a loved one) to which she can return.
Session 3: Processing the Panic Memory
- Invite Maria to recall the moment of panic on the plane—but only to the degree she can tolerate (titration).
- Use tracking: “Notice what’s happening in your body as you recall that moment.”
- Begin pendulation: shift between recalling the anxiety and returning to grounding/safety to build nervous system resilience.
Session 4: Reclaiming Agency Through Movement
- Maria notices she freezes and grips the armrests during flights—explore how her body wants to respond differently.
- Introduce subtle movements (e.g., stretching arms, uncurling fists) to simulate empowerment.
- Practice a mock flight sequence in session (e.g., imagining boarding the plane and taking off) while using grounding tools.
Session 5: Future Planning and Practice
- Co-create a “flight toolkit”: breathwork, grounding, calming playlist, comfort object.
- Role-play using these tools in imagined flight scenarios.
- Maria begins to feel more capable, even excited, about an upcoming short flight.
Outcomes:
- Maria successfully boards a flight with reduced anxiety, using breathwork and visualization.
- No panic attack occurs—she reports being nervous, but in control.
- She expresses hope about traveling more and feels “reconnected” to the part of herself that loved travel.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy
Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SE) is a body-oriented therapeutic approach specifically developed to help individuals heal from trauma and chronic stress. It was created by Dr. Peter Levine, who based it on the observation that wild animals, though constantly exposed to life-threatening situations, rarely develop trauma like humans do. He theorized that trauma is not caused solely by the event itself, but by the incomplete processing of the body’s natural survival responses (fight, flight, freeze).
Core Principles of Somatic Experiencing (SE):
- Trauma is stored in the body, not just the mind.
Somatic experiencing focuses on helping the body complete the natural defense response interrupted or frozen during a traumatic event. - The nervous system can heal with gentle support.
Somatic experiencing supports regulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), guiding clients toward safety and balance (away from hyperarousal or shutdown). - Slow is fast.
Somatic experiencing works slowly and mindfully to avoid retraumatization. It often involves “titration”—touching a little bit of distress at a time, then returning to safety. - The body holds the key to resolution.
Somatic experiencing practitioners help clients notice internal sensations (“interoception”) to discharge stored survival energy and return to equilibrium.
Key Techniques in Somatic Experiencing:
- Sensation Tracking (Interoception): Paying attention to body sensations (e.g., tightness, heat, tingling) as a way to access and release trauma.
- Titration: Introducing small pieces of traumatic material very gradually to avoid overwhelm and allow integration.
- Pendulation: Moving back and forth between distressing sensations and feelings of safety or neutrality in the body.
- Discharge: Supporting the body in releasing stuck survival energy through trembling, sighing, crying, or subtle movement.
- Resourcing: Identifying internal and external sources of comfort or stability (e.g., safe people, calming imagery, a supportive memory).
- Boundary Repair: Helping individuals restore a sense of physical and emotional boundaries that may have been violated during trauma.
Who Is SE Therapy For?
Somatic Experiencing is effective for individuals who have experienced:
- PTSD and complex trauma
- Shock trauma (car accidents, medical procedures, natural disasters)
- Childhood abuse or neglect
- Sexual assault or violence
- Chronic stress or anxiety
- Dissociation or emotional numbness
- Somatic symptoms (like chronic pain, migraines, IBS)
Somatic experiencing is used with children, adults, veterans, survivors of violence, and others who struggle with nervous system dysregulation.
How It Helps:
Somatic Experiencing helps by:
- Restoring a sense of safety in the body
- Supporting emotional regulation
- Reducing hypervigilance, dissociation, or shutdown
- Releasing the stored tension and energy of unprocessed trauma
- Increasing a person’s resilience, presence, and sense of agency
Example:
A person who was in a car accident might have no major physical injuries but still avoids driving, feels panicked when hearing brakes screech, and has trouble sleeping. In somatic experiencing, they may track sensations that arise when recalling the accident, work slowly with pendulation, and eventually experience a discharge (e.g., a tremor or sigh). This helps their body “complete” the fight/flight response that was frozen in place, leading to lasting relief.
Conclusion and My Work
By blending approaches, I aim to help clients reduce suffering and build meaningful, embodied, and true lives. Therapy becomes a space not just for managing symptoms but for deep listening—both to the wisdom of the body and emotional experiences. This is the core answer to “What is somatic therapy?”
Blending Somatic Therapy Exercises
Somatic therapy can be blended with many other therapeutic approaches to create a more holistic and personalized experience for clients. Below are several types of therapy it can integrate with, along with how they can be combined:
-
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- How it blends:
While CBT focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, somatic therapy exercises add a body-based layer by helping clients recognize how those thoughts appear physically (e.g., muscle tension, heart rate). - Example:
A client identifies a negative thought like “I’m a failure,” and notices it causes tightness in their chest. Tools like breathwork or movement soften that reaction, while CBT addresses the thought pattern.
-
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- How it blends:
ACT emphasizes psychological flexibility and values-based action. Somatic therapy supports the ACT principle of “being present” by anchoring awareness in bodily sensations, which deepens mindfulness. - Example:
A client practicing ACT might learn to “sit with discomfort” using grounding, which can help them manage difficult emotions while choosing valued actions.
-
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- How it blends:
DBT teaches skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness. Somatic therapy exercises enhance these skills by helping clients feel emotions in the body and use regulation techniques like breath and posture to stay grounded. - Example:
During a distressing moment, a client uses DBT’s “TIP” skill and pairs it with physical tracking (e.g., “I feel a knot in my stomach—I’ll focus on breathing there”).
-
Mindfulness-Based Therapies (MBCT, MBSR)
- How it blends:
Both mindfulness and somatic therapy emphasize present-moment awareness. Somatic therapy brings mindfulness into the felt experience of the body, not just the breath or thoughts. - Example:
Instead of simply noticing thoughts, a client might be guided to feel the physical sensations those thoughts evoke, leading to deeper insight and regulation.
-
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- How it blends:
IFS involves working with internal “parts” (e.g., anxious part, inner critic). Somatic therapy complements this by noticing where parts are felt in the body (e.g., tension in the throat, pressure in the chest). - Example:
A client talks to a fearful part while placing a hand on their stomach, helping to soothe and connect somatically to that part.
-
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- How it blends:
Both EMDR and somatic experiencing help clients process trauma. Somatic tools can be used before, during, or after EMDR sessions to regulate arousal or enhance grounding. - Example:
If clients become overwhelmed during EMDR, I may guide them to notice their feet on the floor or slow their breath to return to safety.
- How it blends:
Existential therapy explores meaning, death, freedom, and identity. Somatic therapy helps clients stay present with the discomfort these questions can evoke. - Example:
When a client explores fear of death, the therapist might invite them to feel where that fear lives in the body and use movement or breath to stay connected rather than dissociate.
-
Psychoanalytic or Psychodynamic Therapy
- How it blends:
Traditional talk therapy explores the unconscious and past. Somatic therapy can access nonverbal trauma or emotional memory stored in the body, which might not be accessible through words alone. - Example:
A client may uncover early attachment wounds not through a story, but through chronic shoulder tension or collapsing posture that reflects an internalized sense of shame.
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Trauma-Informed Yoga or Movement Therapy
- How it blends:
Somatic therapy shares many goals with trauma-sensitive yoga: reconnecting with the body, creating choice, and moving out of freeze states. - Example:
I might integrate gentle movement, breath, or stretching to release trauma energy stored in the muscles. This is often paired with even deeper somatic experiencing.
-
Art or Expressive Therapies
- How it blends:
While expressive therapies allow for nonverbal expression through art or music, somatic therapy helps ground that expression in bodily experience. - Example:
A client painting a chaotic image of their anxiety might be guided to notice what sensations arise, and then use grounding techniques to process those feelings.
Why Use an Integrative Practice
The example explored here combines somatic awareness with many other techniques and approaches I use. It helps point out the reasons for using an integrative practice like mine. In addition:
- It respects the complexity of human experience—mental, emotional, physical, and existential.
- Clients often benefit from multiple access points: some heal through insight, others through movement, presence, or values alignment.
- Multiple approaches foster regulation and resilience by meeting clients where they are—whether in crisis, chronic stress, or deep reflection.
Conclusion
Many people cultivate resilience, self-compassion, and a greater sense of agency by learning to stay present and build somatic awareness when stress arises including physical tension, intrusive thoughts, or existential doubt. From this place, growth becomes more than possible; it becomes personal, purposeful, and lasting. If you still want to understand somatic therapy or somatic experiencing or learn more about the somatic therapy exercises that might benefit you, please contact me or schedule a consultation anytime.
