Introduction: Why the Body Holds the Story
You can’t think your way out of trauma — because trauma lives in the body.
When something overwhelming happens, the nervous system often doesn’t get to complete its natural stress response. That unfinished energy becomes tension, numbness, or chronic anxiety — the “body’s memory” of what happened.
Somatic therapy helps complete that unfinished process. It brings awareness to sensations, breath, and movement so the body can finally do what it couldn’t before: release and return to safety.
In this post, you’ll learn 10 simple somatic exercises for trauma healing that support grounding, regulation, and gentle reconnection — all therapist-approved and client-safe.
1. Ground Through the Feet
Goal: Re-establish connection to the present moment.
How:
- Stand tall and feel your feet pressing into the floor.
- Shift your weight slowly from heel to toe.
- Notice the firmness, temperature, and texture beneath you.
Therapist Tip: Ask clients, “What does safety feel like in your feet right now?”
2. Orient to the Room
Goal: Signal to the nervous system that it’s safe here and now.
How:
- Gently turn your head and look around the space.
- Let your eyes rest on something neutral or pleasant.
- Take a slow exhale as you notice the details — colors, light, sound.
This calms the vagus nerve and engages the prefrontal cortex, bringing awareness out of the past.
3. The Containment Hold
Goal: Provide physical reassurance and self-soothing.
How:
- Cross your arms over your chest and place each hand under the opposite armpit or shoulder.
- Apply gentle pressure, breathe slowly, and feel your heartbeat.
This creates proprioceptive input — a reminder that your body is contained and whole.
📄 Try the “Containment Exercise Worksheet” from the EMDR Preparation Pack for guided reflection.
4. Pendulation
Goal: Teach the body to move between activation and calm.
How:
- Notice an area of tension (tightness in chest, stomach flutter).
- Then notice a neutral or pleasant area (hands, feet, breath).
- Gently alternate focus between the two.
This helps the body practice self-regulation — instead of being stuck in extremes.
🧠 Think: “I can visit discomfort without getting lost in it.”
5. The Voo Sound
Goal: Activate the vagus nerve and promote calm through vibration.
How:
- Inhale deeply.
- Exhale slowly while saying “Vooooo…” from deep in your chest.
- Feel the vibration travel through your torso.
Repeat 3–5 times to downshift from hyperarousal to calm alertness.
🎵 This exercise is used in Somatic Experiencing® to engage the parasympathetic system.
6. Body Scanning
Goal: Build interoception (awareness of bodily sensations).
How:
- Starting at your feet, mentally scan each body part.
- Notice sensations — heat, tingling, pressure, or absence of feeling.
- Name them without judgment.
📄 Use the Body Scan Meditation Scripts
7. Shaking to Release Tension
Goal: Discharge stuck energy from the body.
How:
- Stand and let your arms, legs, or whole body shake gently.
- Let any natural movements emerge — yawns, sighs, stretches.
- Pause, breathe, and notice sensations afterward.
🐾 Inspired by animals who “shake off” survival energy after danger.
8. Temperature Shift Regulation
Goal: Use sensory contrast to bring the body back online.
How:
- Place a cool cloth on the face or neck.
- Hold a warm cup of tea in your hands.
Alternate warm and cool to re-engage sensation.
💡 Excellent for clients who tend to dissociate or go numb.
9. Boundaries Through Movement
Goal: Reclaim a sense of agency and safety in the body.
How:
- Gently push your hands forward as if creating space.
- Feel the strength in your arms.
- Say internally, “This is my space.”
🧩 Variation: Use resistance bands or wall pushes for physical feedback.
10. Completion Movement
Goal: Let the body finish an instinctual action that was once interrupted.
How:
- Ask: “If your body could complete what it wanted to do back then, what movement would it make now?”
- Allow any micro-movement — reaching, pushing, curling, shaking.
- Stay with the sensation until a natural sigh or release occurs.
This is deep somatic repair — turning frozen responses into completed cycles.
Bonus: Integration Journal
After practicing, always end with gentle grounding and reflection:
- “What did I notice?”
- “What felt easier or harder?”
- “What sensations tell me I’m back in my window of tolerance?”
📄 Use a notebook for integration tracking.
Conclusion: The Body’s Way Home
Somatic therapy reminds us that healing doesn’t happen by thinking harder — it happens by feeling safely.
Each time you reconnect with your body, you widen your Window of Tolerance (worksheets here) and retrain your nervous system to trust:
“I can feel this and still be okay.”
Small steps, practiced consistently, create long-term regulation.
✅ Next Step:
Download the Somatic Exercise Cards — includes:
- 44 somatic exercises
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