Somatic Exercises for Anxiety
Have you ever noticed how some days leave you feeling anxious or unsettled - tense, restless, or completely drained?
Research shows, this isn’t in your head. Anxiety responses actually have to do with the activation of energy that occurs in your body, often in response to events that trigger reminds of past stressors. This can be anything from catastrophic experiences and abuse, to smaller fears or experiences that overwhelmed you at one point. Remember, even a storm can be terrifying to a child left alone.
Your body normally has ways to digest that energy. However, when the cycle gets interrupted (by busy schedules or emotional suppression) the stress energy can remain frozen in your body, causing all kinds of problems and symptoms throughout your life, even years later.
Your nervous system needs to finish its natural cycle, or it’ll be reactivated by seemingly small day-to-day things. Things that usually don’t register. Instead, we question why we have anxiety or panic.
This is where somatic therapy comes in.
Somatics is the practice of experiencing the body from the inside, noticing sensations like tightness, warmth, tingling, or heaviness. These sensations are the building blocks of emotion. Instead of endlessly (and fruitlessly) fighting your own thoughts, somatic techniques prioritizes what your sensations so you can complete your stress cycle and begin to feel more connected to life.
Here are a few small daily practices to try at home:
1. Movement to Release Stress
When your body activates a stress response, it prepares you to move. If that movement never happens, the energy stays stuck.
Simple movements can help release that activation:
Shake out your hands and feet for 30–60 seconds
Stretch your shoulders or roll your neck slowly
Take a short walk and notice your surroundings
You don’t need an intense workout. Even gentle movement signals to the nervous system that the stress response can complete.
2. Breath to Reset the Nervous System
Breathing is one of the fastest ways to influence your nervous system.
Two simple techniques include:
Physiological sigh:
Take a deep inhale through your nose, then take a quick second sip of air before slowly exhaling through your mouth.
Box breathing:
Inhale for 4 seconds → hold for 4 → exhale for 4 → hold for 4.
These breathing patterns help shift the body from a stress response into a calmer, restorative state.
3. Somatic Tracking
Somatic tracking means gently noticing sensations in the body without trying to fix them.
For 2–3 minutes, pause and ask yourself:
Where do I feel tension or pressure?
Is there warmth, tingling, or heaviness anywhere?
Does the sensation shift when I bring attention to it?
Often, simply witnessing a sensation allows it to soften or move.
4. Regulate Through Connection
Our nervous systems regulate through relationships. Humans are wired for co-regulation.
You might try:
Calling a trusted friend
Making eye contact and sharing a genuine smile
Spending time with a pet
Sitting quietly in nature
Your body responds to cues of safety from others.
5. Creative Expression
Stress responses can also release through expression.
This might look like:
Writing in a journal
Drawing or painting
Singing, humming, or sighing
These actions allow the body to move stored emotional energy in safe ways.
A Gentle Daily Reset
A simple practice might look like this:
Shake out your arms and legs for a minute
Take three slow physiological sighs
Notice sensations in your shoulders or chest
Write one sentence about how you feel
End with a calming activity like humming or quiet breathing
The key is consistency and gentleness. Your nervous system doesn’t need perfection—it just needs moments of completion and care.
Over time, these small somatic practices can help your body release stored stress and return to a greater sense of calm and balance.
If you’re in Reno or California, we can work together to help your nervous system complete unfinished stress cycles and build a deeper sense of safety and regulation in your body. If this resonates with you, I invite you to reach out.