Somatic Healing for Stress Relief: What It Is and 5 Simple Practices That Work

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Let’s keep this simple. “Somatic” just means “body.” Somatic healing is about paying attention to how your body reacts to stress, and finding ways to calm it down, not just powering through like everything’s fine.

If you’ve ever suddenly realized your shoulders are up to your ears, or noticed you’ve been holding your breath while answering emails, that’s your body asking for help. Most of us spend our day stuck in our heads that we barely notice what’s happening below the neck.

Somatic healing is about learning to catch those moments, and doing something small to interrupt them.

It can be ridiculously simple: unclenching your jaw, stretching your arms overhead, or stepping outside for one solid breath of fresh air.

In this post, I’m walking you through what somatic healing actually looks like in real life, plus a few easy ways I’ve snuck it into my daily routine.

Quick Note: This post isn’t about formal somatic therapy (the kind you do with a trained professional, especially for trauma healing.) That kind of therapy is powerful and important, but what I’m sharing here is more like somatic self-care: simple, body-based ways to help your nervous system calm down when you’re feeling overwhelmed or tense. You just need a few moments of paying attention to what your body’s doing, and giving it a chance to reset.

How Somatic Healing Actually Works

When you’re stressed, your body shifts into fight-or-flight mode. That means your nervous system releases cortisol and adrenaline, your heart rate increases, your muscles tense, and your body gets ready to either run or fight, even if the “threat” is just a packed calendar or an annoying email.

The problem is that most of us stay in that state way too long. We don’t burn off the stress hormones like we would in a real danger scenario (running, shaking, crying, etc.). So the tension builds up, physically and emotionally.

Somatic healing helps your body switch out of that stress mode and into rest-and-digest mode, also known as parasympathetic activation. When that kicks in, your heart rate slows, your breathing deepens, digestion restarts, and your body gets the message: we’re safe now.

The way you activate it isn’t through thinking positive thoughts. It’s through body-based cues like:

• Deep breathing
• Gentle movement
• Tactile input (like a weighted blanket or warm tea)
• Releasing tension in your muscles
• Even something as simple as sighing

These send a direct signal to your brain that it can stop pumping out cortisol. That’s why somatic practices work even if you don’t feel “mentally calm” yet. They’re working from the bottom up, not the top down.

Why It’s So Easy to Ignore What Your Body’s Telling You

Most of us aren’t trained to notice what our bodies are doing. We’re taught to “push through,” be productive, stay focused, and deal with the physical stuff later. The problem is, your body doesn’t wait for a convenient time to freak out.

You might be calm on the outside, but your body’s clenching its jaw, shortening your breath, and pumping out cortisol like it’s prepping for battle. And the longer you ignore it, the louder it gets… headaches, fatigue, tension, random back pain, stomach issues. It adds up.

Signs You Might Need a Somatic Reset

• You’re “resting” but still feel wired. Like your brain’s going 100mph even when you’re lying on the couch.
• You catch yourself holding your breath while answering texts or scrolling.
• Your jaw is tense, your stomach’s tight, your shoulders are permanently hunched.
• You feel disconnected, like you’re just going through the motions or zoning out completely.
• You can’t relax, even when nothing’s technically wrong.

Basically, your nervous system is stuck in high alert, and your body’s doing what it thinks it has to do: stay ready, stay tense, stay alert.

Somatic Practices I Use

I’m not doing hour-long somatic sessions in a candlelit studio. What I am doing is sneaking in tiny moments that help my body stop bracing for impact. These are the things that actually work for me:

1. The Hot Drink Check-In

Instead of chugging coffee while doomscrolling, I’ve started using that first sip as a body check. I literally ask myself: “What’s going on in my body right now?” Tight jaw? Shoulders creeping up? Shallow breathing? I take one breath and drop my shoulders. That’s it.

2. Weighted Blanket = Instant Grounding

When my brain is bouncing around but I still want to feel calm, I throw on my weighted blanket.

3. Tense + Release Reset

This is the quickest nervous system hack I know. I pick one body part (like my fists or shoulders), tense it up as hard as I can for five seconds, then release it completely.

4. Barefoot on the Porch (or Balcony, or Backyard)

Yes, it’s giving “earthy girl,” but hear me out: even 30 seconds of standing barefoot outside helps. Or just sit by an open window and take a few full breaths. The point is changing your environment for a minute, so your body gets a reset signal.

5. The Sigh Trick

This one’s subtle but powerful. I breathe in deep through my nose, then exhale with a big, dramatic sigh, like an audible “ugh.” It’s a physical cue to release tension. Sometimes I sigh three times in a row if I’m especially tense. It sounds silly, but it works.

Journaling as a Body Check

I used to treat journaling like a mental unloading zone, but sometimes I’d finish writing and still feel just as tense or unsettled. That’s when I realized I was missing a step: I was ignoring my body.

Now, I treat journaling as a check-in too, not just with my thoughts, but with how I physically feel. And it’s a game-changer.

Before I start writing, I ask: “What’s happening in my body right now?” Tight chest? Sore neck? Butterflies in my stomach? That usually tells me more than whatever story is playing out in my head.

Here’s what this looks like:

• I sit down with my journal and take 30 seconds to breathe and scan my body.
• I jot down whatever I notice, good, bad, neutral.
• Then I write about it. What triggered that tension? What do I need? Is this physical or emotional or both?

That one extra layer (tuning into my body) makes the rest of my journaling way more honest.

A Few Body-Based Prompts to Try

If you don’t know where to start, these help:

• What’s going on in my body right now?
• Where am I holding tension, and what might that be connected to?
• What’s something I’ve been pushing through or ignoring?
• What would help my body feel 10% more supported today?
• What am I physically bracing for?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from doing this it’s that somatic healing doesn’t have to be a whole production. You just need one moment where you notice what your body’s doing, and give it a chance to reset.

FAQ: Somatic Healing for Stress & Burnout