Somatic Therapy Training
Most of us carry tension somewhere without ever having agreed to it. You may notice, halfway through a busy afternoon, that your shoulders have somehow migrated towards your ears. They did this without consulting you. A body tension map is…
Anxiety often shows up in the body before you have words for it. Common places people notice it include the chest, the stomach, the throat, the jaw, the shoulders and the hands. But there is no single map that fits…
Nervous-system regulation means your body’s ability to shift between states of activation and rest, and to come back towards a manageable middle after something stirs you up. It does not mean being calm all the time. A regulated nervous system…
A body scan is a simple somatic practice where you move your attention slowly through your body, region by region, and notice whatever sensations are there. You are not trying to relax or fix anything. You are practising the skill…
A somatic approach to anxiety works with how anxiety shows up in the body, such as a racing heart, a tight chest or restless legs, rather than trying to argue with anxious thoughts. The aim is not to make the…
Longer exhale breathing means letting your out-breath last a little longer than your in-breath, for example breathing in for a count of four and out for a count of six. It is one of the simplest breath practices in somatic…
An orienting exercise is a simple somatic practice where you let your eyes and head move slowly around your surroundings, taking in what is actually here. Many people find it helps them feel more present and less caught up in…
To notice bodily sensation, pick one small, neutral area of the body, rest your attention there for a few breaths, and describe what you find in simple physical words: warm or cool, tight or loose, moving or still. That is…
Fight, flight, freeze and fawn are four automatic ways the body may respond when it senses threat: pushing against it, getting away from it, going still, or trying to keep others pleased. They are protective reflexes rather than character flaws,…
Overwhelm has a physical signature. Attention speeds up, the chest tightens, the shoulders creep upward, and thinking tries to solve everything at once – and solves nothing. In that state, asking the mind to calm the mind rarely works. Grounding…