Importance of Somatic Exercises in Stress Relief

The benefits of somatic exercises for anxiety extend beyond physical relaxation and aid in mental clarity. Taking a long break from work can eliminate the immense fatigue brought on by a hectic routine. This is where exercise comes into the picture, offering breathing techniques, yoga, and mindfulness for mental relaxation. Some somatic versions of yoga poses, pelvic displays, body scanning, and even pandiculation, a stretching technique.

These movements are carried out slowly and with intent, allowing one to reconnect with oneself. They allow the user to reduce anxiety and regulate their nervous system simultaneously. Deep breathing and awareness of sensations throughout the body can help the chaos of life become easier to shut out. Are you searching for new ways to keep your mind at ease? Read on!

What Are Somatic Exercises​?

Somatic exercises improve a person’s neuromuscular perception of their body. They attempt to relieve chronic pain by enhancing proprioceptive sensations while drastically improving physical and mental health. They highlight purposeful movement, which can release muscle tightness and improve postural control and overall movement control.

All of them aim to change motor patterns associatively through breathing, attention, and touch. Since these techniques intentionally engage the nervous system, they promote rehabilitation, increase functional movements, and aid in stress relief. These exercises are beneficial for people who suffer from chronic pain or are recuperating from an injury.

Somatic Exercises for Anxiety

Here are some of the somatic exercises for anxiety:

• Diaphragmatic breathing
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Body scanning
• Grounding exercises
• Pendulation technique
• Somatic shaking
• Mindful stretching

Examples of Somatic Exercises​

Some examples of body exercises include:

• Deep belly breathing activates the relaxation response.
• Tensing and releasing different muscle groups to diminish stress.
• Checking in mentally with the various body parts to release tension.
• Gently shaking the body to let go of restriction and reset the nervous system.
• Walking barefoot, pressing feet into the floor, or engaging the senses to create stability.
• Slowly, deliberately, to diminish stiffness of the muscles and increase body awareness.

Best Somatic Exercises​ for Reducing the Anxiety

1. Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques allow people to shift their attention from what they are nervous or anxious about to things that they can feel. The 5-4-3-2-1 technique uses the senses to focus on what’s in the immediate surroundings. These techniques reduce a person’s heightened emotional state by calming the nervous system.

2. Body Scanning

This technique involves mentally scanning the body from head to toe, noticing areas and deliberately relaxing those muscles. It is body awareness and somatic practices in a supine or sitting position. It also involves focusing on bodily sensations without judgment. Gentle, slow breathing can enhance its calming effects. Body scanning is great for stress relief, muscle relaxation, and even sleep improvement.

3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Progressive Muscle Relaxation deals with tense muscles that are first contracted before releasing and relaxing each muscle one after the other. It is effective in pinpointing tightness in muscles and subsequently relaxing them, thus alleviating anxiety. When all muscle groups are relaxed, the stress response is deactivated, allowing the body to enter relaxation. Moreover, REM sleep is rated to improve with the frequent practice of PMR.

4. Tremoring (Neurogenic Shaking)

Tremoring involves a method of trembling where a person shakes their body in a controlled manner to release stress and trauma. Researchers often observe this in animals and young children. This technique, inspired by TRE, targets the leg and the core to activate the body’s natural stress-coping mechanism. It can also remove deeply rooted tension while enhancing one’s emotional resilience. After steady application, it can yield a state of relaxation and a feeling of lightness.

5. Humming and Gargling

The Vagus nerve is central to relaxation responses within the body, and relaxing its neural pathways can significantly reduce anxiety. Humming, singing, and nerves enable the nervous system to transition from a fight-or-flight state to a much calmer one. These techniques help all people increase their baseline heart rate variability and emotional control. They are incredibly powerful self-regulation tools for combating stress.

6. Somatic Breathing

Breathwork aids in anxiety regulation by deepening and slowing the already rapid breath pattern. You achieve box breathing by inhaling, holding, exhaling, and re-inhaling with forward counts. Breathe can also be done with the diaphragm which makes the lungs fill with more oxygen and relaxes the body. Doing these somatic movement exercises can improve focus, lessen tension, and bring emotional stability.

7. Self-Holding Exercises

Self-holding techniques such as the butterfly hug and hand-on-heart are effective at providing comfort as well as regulating emotions. In addition, placing one quadrate on the chest and the other on the belly cultivates a sense of safety and grounding. These techniques are helpful for self-soothing during times of high levels of anxiety. They foster self-compassion by creating a soft, gentle connection and reducing one’s distress.

Somatic Exercises Benefits

1. Strengthened Mind-Body Integration

Somatic exercises encourage mindfulness of body movements, which increases an individual’s awareness of their body and its patterns. As a result, these individuals identify more and relieve tension more effectively. They also allow better control of stress responses, leading to better self-regulation over time.

2. Improved Self-Regulation of the Nervous System

Somatic exercises for anxiety help slow an overactive nervous system through deliberate, slow movements. They trigger the parasympathetic rest-and-digest state, which lowers anxiety and improves relaxation. This approach is effective for chronic stress or trauma sufferers.

3. Relief From Pain and Chronic Ailments

Somatic drills relearn how muscles are utilized, and this promotes their use in chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, tension headaches, and back pains. Somatic exercises aim at the root of the pain rather than just the symptoms, which makes pain relief more effective in the long term.

4. Improved Sleep

Somatic exercises tend to lower pain, and they are also performed before sleep. It helps in relaxation and tension alleviation from the day’s activities. As a result, deep and restorative sleep is achieved. There is a natural reset of the nervous system, resulting in less restlessness during the night, which improves sleep quality.

Important Note:

All the details provided in this article aim for informational and educational purposes. Please don’t consider it medical advice or a substitute for a psychiatric evaluation. For professional guidance and treatment, consult with our licensed healthcare professionals at MAVA Behavioral Health.

Bottom Line

These somatic stretching exercises reconnect the body with movement and awareness and allow for modulation of the autonomic nervous system, which is the best way to deal with trauma and stress. Gentle movement engages the body, reducing anxiety and fostering good mental health. They are probably well-suited for individuals with symptoms of PTSD, chronic stress, or emotional dysregulation.

MAVA Behavioral Health provides thorough psychiatric evaluations and medication management as part of comprehensive trauma and stress treatment. Whether through telehealth or in-clinic visits. Our very qualified staff custom-designs and tailors these treatments to support each individual’s good mental health. Connect with us so we can help you take one more step toward healing!

FAQ’s

Which body treatments can help reduce symptoms of anxiety?

Breathe work accompanied by relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation, alleviates anxiety. Somatic experiencing and EMDR are types of body therapy that help resolve traumas by relieving any stored tension. Regular movement, such as yoga or tai chi, also helps relieve anxiety symptoms.

Which type of exercise lowers anxiety?

Some aerobic activities consist of running, swimming, and high pace walking. Although yoga and tai chi are classified under the slow pace exercises, it serves the purpose of relieving and relaxing an individual through deep breathing and slow movements just as strength training does by relieving muscle tension and stress.

How do you heal somatic anxiety?

Breathwork accompanies the calm and peaceful practice of body scan meditation. Somatic therapies, such as Somatic Experiencing, assist the individual in working through physical chronic stress.

Aren’t you going to ask if trauma somatic workouts are possible?

Somatic exercises, such as shaking, moving, stretching, and breathing, help resolve the mind-body disconnect. They release emotional tension from the body and may aid in nervous system self-regulation and emotional trauma healing.

What strategies helped clear trauma from the body?

Breathwork and mindfulness techniques work well with movement-oriented therapies like yoga, TRE, and dance to facilitate release. EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapy can also help untangle lost feelings.