Healing from trauma is not always about finding the right words.
For many people, trauma is experienced in the body as much as the mind. It may show up as tension, restlessness, numbness, shutdown, anxiety, difficulty relaxing or feeling constantly on edge.
Somatic therapy is a body-aware approach to therapy. It helps you begin noticing the connection between physical sensations, emotions, memories and nervous system responses. Rather than rushing into difficult material, somatic work is usually slow, careful and paced around what feels manageable.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is an approach that includes the body in the therapeutic process.
Traditional talking therapy can be helpful for understanding thoughts, feelings and relationships. Somatic therapy adds another layer by paying attention to what is happening physically: breath, posture, tension, movement, stillness, numbness or activation.
This can be especially useful when trauma feels difficult to explain, or when you understand something logically but still feel it in your body.
For example, you may know you are safe, but your body may still respond as if danger is present. Somatic therapy helps you work gently with these responses.
How trauma can be held in the body
When something feels overwhelming, the nervous system may move into fight, flight, freeze or shutdown.
These responses are protective. They are the body’s way of trying to survive or cope. The difficulty is that, after trauma, the body can sometimes continue to respond as though the threat is still happening.
This may feel like:
- Tension or bracing
- Shallow breathing
- Feeling frozen or stuck
- Anxiety or panic
- Numbness or disconnection
- Feeling detached from your body
- Restlessness or agitation
- Difficulty feeling grounded
- Physical reactions to emotional triggers
Somatic therapy does not treat these responses as “wrong”. Instead, it helps you understand them with more care and less fear.
Somatic exercises you can try gently
These simple practices are not a replacement for therapy, but they may help you begin noticing your body in a calm and gentle way.
Only try what feels manageable. Stop if anything feels too much.
1. Grounding through your feet
Sit or stand with both feet on the floor.
Notice the contact between your feet and the ground. You might gently press your feet down and then release.
Try to notice:
- The weight of your body
- The support underneath you
- Any areas of tension or ease
- Whether your breathing changes
This can help bring attention back to the present moment.
2. Slow breathing
Take a moment to notice your natural breath.
You do not need to force deep breathing. Simply notice the inhale and exhale.
If it feels comfortable, you might gently lengthen the out-breath. For example, breathing in for a count of three and out for a count of four.
The aim is not to perform the exercise perfectly. It is simply to give your nervous system a chance to settle.
3. Body scan
Bring attention slowly through the body.
You might start with your feet, then legs, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck and face.
Notice areas that feel tense, numb, warm, heavy, light or relaxed. You do not need to change anything. Noticing is enough.
For some people, body scans can feel difficult at first. If that happens, you can keep your eyes open, look around the room, or stop the practice.
4. Looking around the room
If you feel overwhelmed or disconnected, gently look around the space you are in.
Notice colours, shapes, objects and areas of light. You might name a few things you can see.
This can help orient you to the present and remind your body that you are here, now.
5. Gentle movement
Small movements can sometimes help the body discharge tension.
This might include stretching your hands, rolling your shoulders, moving your feet, or slowly turning your head from side to side.
The movement should feel gentle and within your control. Somatic work is not about forcing release.
Can somatic therapy help with trauma?
Somatic therapy can be helpful for people who feel that trauma lives in the body.
This might include people who feel tense, disconnected, frozen, overwhelmed or physically reactive even when they cannot fully explain why.
In therapy, the focus is usually on building safety, awareness and choice. You do not need to relive everything that happened before you are ready. Often, the work begins with what is happening now.
Working with a somatic therapist
Somatic therapy is best approached with care, especially when trauma is involved.
A therapist can help you notice what is happening in your body without becoming overwhelmed by it. They can also help you slow down, stay grounded and make sense of the emotions or memories that may be connected to physical responses.
The aim is not to force your body to “let go”. It is to create enough safety for your body and mind to begin responding differently over time.
Final thoughts
Trauma can affect the body, emotions, relationships and sense of safety.
Somatic therapy offers a gentle way to explore these responses. By paying attention to the body with care, you may begin to understand yourself with less judgement and more compassion.
Healing does not need to be rushed. Sometimes the first step is simply noticing what is happening and allowing yourself to begin from there.