Somatic Practices for Releasing Tension and Anxiety
Your Body Holds What You Don’t Express
When life feels overwhelming, stressful, or uncertain, your body becomes the place where unspoken emotions settle.
Tension is your body whispering,
“I’ve been carrying too much.”
Anxiety is your body saying,
“I need support.”
Somatic practices help you release what your body has been holding.
Not by forcing change, but by giving your nervous system permission to soften, settle, and unwind.
Your body wants to feel lighter.
It simply needs a way to let go.
Why Somatic Practices Work
Somatic work focuses on sensation, breath, movement, and presence.
These elements help you shift out of stress and into grounding because they communicate directly with your nervous system.
When you work with your body—not against it—you create:
emotional release
muscular relaxation
increased capacity
steady energy
inner safety
clearer thinking
deeper intuition
Somatic practices don’t just treat symptoms—
they transform how your body experiences the world.
Somatic Practices for Releasing Tension & Anxiety
1. The Long Exhale Reset
Why it works:
A long exhale cues your body to exit fight-or-flight and return to calm.
How to do it:
Inhale for 4
Exhale for 6–8
What it releases:
spiraling thoughts
tight chest
racing heart
emotional overwhelm
This breath is the foundation of nervous system grounding.
2. Body Scanning for Awareness
Why it works:
You cannot release what you don’t feel.
Scanning the body helps you locate where tension is held.
How to do it:
Start at your feet and slowly move your attention upward.
Notice:
tightness
pressure
heaviness
fluttering
numbness
warmth
What it releases:
This practice invites the body to soften simply through being acknowledged.
3. Somatic Softening With Touch
Why it works:
Gentle, intentional touch signals safety and presence.
How to do it:
Place your hand on your heart, belly, or upper arms.
Let your body meet the warmth of your hand.
Breathe slowly.
What it releases:
anxiety held in the chest
tension from bracing
emotional intensity
Touch reminds your system that you are supported.
4. Shaking to Discharge Stress
Why it works:
Animals naturally shake after stress to release excess energy.
Humans benefit from the same.
How to do it:
Gently shake your arms, hands, legs, or whole body for 10–20 seconds.
Then pause and notice the sensations.
What it releases:
adrenaline
panic energy
frozen muscles
overwhelm
This is one of the fastest ways to reset your system.
5. Grounding Through the Feet
Why it works:
Grounding brings your awareness out of your head and back into your body.
How to do it:
Sit or stand with your feet touching the floor.
Feel:
the texture
the temperature
the pressure
What it releases:
anxious agitation
dissociation
spinning thoughts
Grounding creates internal stability.
6. Slow, Intentional Movement
Why it works:
Movement helps shift stagnant tension and reconnects you to your body’s natural rhythm.
How to do it:
Try:
shoulder rolls
neck circles
side-to-side swaying
gentle stretching
twisting your spine
What it releases:
back tension
trapped emotion
rigidity
Movement supports emotional flow.
Tension and Anxiety Aren’t Problems—They Are Messages
Your tension says,
“I’ve been trying to protect you.”
Your anxiety says,
“Something needs attention.”
When you listen with compassion, tension softens and anxiety quiets.
Somatic practices allow your body to communicate, release, and return to balance.
You don’t have to force calm.
You create it from within.
How Somatic Dream Coaching Supports Release
In Dream Coaching, somatic practices help you:
learn your body’s signals
build internal safety
regulate with confidence
move through stress with more ease
realign your energy with your dream
reconnect to intuition
expand your capacity for joy and possibility
When tension and anxiety release, your dream becomes easier to hold.
A Little Gift for You – A 60-Second Tension Release
Inhale for 4
Exhale for 8
Drop your shoulders
Place a hand on your heart
Notice one sensation
This moment alone creates a shift.
Your Body Wants to Release What You No Longer Need
Tension and anxiety are not permanent.
Your body can let go.
Your nervous system can settle.
Your energy can open again.
Through somatic practices, you return to:
✨ ease
✨ breath
✨ presence
✨ clarity
✨ alignment
And from this place, you move toward your dream with more steadiness and confidence.