Top Somatic and Mindful Resources
As you try these somatic exercises, check in with yourself before, during and afterwards. Are you more/less present? How comfortable/safe does the practice feel for you? Also available in PDF form.
Bringing down anxiety/intense emotion
Movement
▪ Rubbing the arms gently with your hands/holding the arms, or rubbing the tops of the thighs
▪ Wiggle or shake all over to release and then slowly come to stillness – shake the hands, legs, move energy out of the body. Focus afterwards on your feet planted into the floor
▪ Progressive muscle relaxation
▪ Rest on the floor with your legs up against the wall, pillows under your lower back and head
▪ Rest in child’s pose (yoga)
Sight
▪ Focus on the texture of an object you find pleasing
▪ Name the different objects in the room out loud
▪ Visualizing a safe place/somewhere calm and enjoyable
▪ Use picture of a place/person that is soothing to look at
▪ 5-4-3-2-1: Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste
Smell
▪ Inhaling soothing smells – candles, flowers, etc
▪ Burn incense or diffuse essential oils; inhale the scent of lavender oil
▪ Go to a place where you like the aroma (i.e.: bakery, coffee shop)
▪ Bake something that has a pleasing smell to you (if you are resourced enough)
Temperature
▪ Hold an ice cube in your hand, or ice pack against your cheeks/forehead.
▪ Run cold water over your wrists
▪ Plunge your face into a bowl or sink of cold water while holding your breath (not necessary to hold breath if that feels triggering, just notice the cold against your skin)
▪ Take a warm bath/shower
Touch
▪ Wrap yourself in a cozy blanket – may use a weighted blanket, feeling the soft fabric
▪ While sitting quietly, one hand on your heart and one on your belly, practicing breathing deeply into your belly
▪ Carry a swatch of fabric you enjoy the feel of in your pocket
▪Press your feet into the floor, noticing sensations in feet, legs, elsewhere in body
▪Feel your sit bones pressing against the chair
Breath
▪ Inhale deeply, on exhale make long sound “voo”
▪ Box Breathing – inhale for 4-5 seconds, hold 4-5, exhale 4-5, hold 4-5. Repeat for several minutes. Can prolong breaths on inhale/exhale if comfortable for deeper breathing.
▪ Balloon breathing – imagine as you inhale deeply that a balloon is inflating inside your chest – as you exhale, imagine the balloon deflating .Repeat for several minutes (4-6 s in, 4-6s out).
▪ Alternate nostril breathing
Creating activation/moving out of disconnection
Sound
▪ Listen to some favourite music, see if you can slowly move your body to the rhythm in a way that feels natural for you
▪ Listening or tuning into sounds that are gentle, yet with some activation (i.e. running water, simple instruments/strumming)
Smell
▪ Seeing if you can connect to smell around you/even opening fridge to smell certain foods
▪Using/lighting scented candles, incense, other pleasant aromas to return to presence
Sight
▪Starting to look around the room, notice and if possible name the objects around
▪ 5-4-3-2-1: Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste
Micro movements
▪ Move the eyes left to right, up and down
▪ Slightly lift the fingers up and down
▪ Curl and uncurl the toes
▪ Start shifting slightly in your chair, moving your legs/hips/glutes – see if you can make a slight rocking motion back and forth
Movement
▪ Opening/closing the hands repeatedly while looking at them
▪Tap your hands lightly on a table
▪Slowly rock the body forward and back/side to side, feeling your sit bones on the chair, noticing the different sensations
▪Bringing posture into alignment – straighten the upper body, align the spine out of collapse
▪Rubbing hands together to create some heat
▪ Go for a walk, feel the ground under your feet & warmth/cold on your skin
If in Freeze
Use gentle self-soothing – wrapping self in a blanket, warm bath/shower, touching something soft, one hand on heart and other on belly, gentle and deep breathing, child’s pose. May want to go to bed to rest/lie down on your side, holding a pillow or comfort object
Listen to some soothing sounds or music, a guided meditation, the sound of trickling water
If in freeze for prolonged period, may need to distract self – using a comfort TV show/movie, something passive without pressure
When you’re ready – can use a combination of the above techniques/what feels right for your body. Recommended to start more gently (eg with micro movements)
Moving through Anger
Anger can be moved through in a healthy way via mindfulness (sitting with, tolerating/accepting, following sensations, and bringing awareness to energy moving through body) as well as the practices listed in the first table above.
Anger may also be helped via somatic practices such as:
Pushing against a wall, sides of armchair, table, or pillows
Gripping/grasping fabric or thread and holding, tensing the arm muscles tightly and releasing
Noticing if anger mostly located in one area of the body (eg arms, legs) – shaking to release
Sublimated activities: weightlifting, boxing, running, other forms of exercise
Compiled from resources in Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy by Nina Jankovic, MA RCC CCC