When we face mental struggles, we often experience physical ones as well. Years of research and lived experiences confirm this deep connection between mind and body.
While talking through our emotions can be an essential part of healing, it’s not the full picture. Sometimes, discussing feelings can feel draining and may not address the root causes of stress and trauma. Focusing solely on talking about emotions overlooks the profound mind-body link.
Unprocessed emotions, over time, can become trapped in the body, contributing to a variety of chronic psychological and physical symptoms, sometimes even affecting the health of your skin.
That’s where somatic movement comes in a holistic practice that helps release emotional blockages through intentional movement, restoring balance by reconnecting the mind and body.
We’re excited for you to experience the benefits of this transformative practice, which can improve your overall well-being.
What Is Somatic Movement?
A quick search online about somatic movement might leave you with more questions than answers. While somatic practices can be defined in many ways, they share common principles that can help clarify the concept.
At its core, somatic movement involves any form of body movement performed with deep intention and awareness. This includes practices like deep breathing, yoga, stretching, and even movements that stimulate the vagus nerve. All of these can be considered somatic.
By moving with purpose and mindfulness, you tap into your body’s innate wisdom, releasing trapped emotions and trauma in a natural, intuitive way.
The Hidden Impact of Unprocessed Emotions
To understand why emotions become “trapped” in the body, it’s essential to look at how the body reacts to trauma and stress. When we experience emotional or physical distress, our body instinctively enters the fight-or-flight state, triggering tension, especially in the fascia the connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs.
In the fast pace of life, we often bury emotions to keep moving forward. With the demands of:
→ Getting through the day
→ Meeting work deadlines
→ Managing personal responsibilities and relationships
→ Caring for our health and families
…it can feel easier to suppress emotions. In the short term, this can seem like a survival tactic, but it’s crucial not to feel ashamed of this response it’s natural.
However, without fully processing and releasing these emotions, tension builds up. Since fascia is linked to nearly every muscle, organ, and nerve in the body, this emotional tension can manifest in many ways.
How Trapped Emotions Show Up in the Body
The symptoms of trapped emotions vary from person to person, depending on numerous factors, many of which may be beyond our control. While this list is not exhaustive, here are some common ways that unprocessed emotions may show up:
- Muscle tension (which can hinder lymphatic flow)
- Weight gain or difficulty losing weight
- Chronic pain
- Inflammatory skin conditions
- Nausea or dizziness
- Appetite changes
- TMJ dysfunction
- Excessive screen time or binge-watching TV
- Anxiety and depression
- Sleep disturbances
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Cardiovascular problems
- Neurological concerns
- Musculoskeletal issues
- Premature aging and wrinkles
- Respiratory issues
- Dermatological disorders
- Urological problems
- Substance use issues
Just as changes in your menstrual cycle can indicate stress or imbalance in your body, these symptoms serve as signs that your body is asking for attention. They’re a cry for help, and it’s up to us to listen.
Somatic movement offers a way to begin addressing these issues, helping us process emotions and reconnect with our body’s natural ability to heal. By incorporating this practice into your life, you may find yourself feeling more aligned, balanced, and at ease.
The Power of Bodily Processing
Too often, when we finally work through our emotions, it’s confined to mental processing—while the mental aspect is crucial, we’ve lost touch with the powerful connection between mind and body. Both parts need your attention.
Emotions must be fully experienced to be properly processed.
Somatic movement provides a reset in how we engage with our emotions. It’s about choosing to move with awareness, paying attention to how each movement makes you feel. By tapping into and acknowledging your emotions, you allow them to flow through (and out) of your body, bringing you to a more balanced and regulated state.
At its core, somatic movement helps you reconnect with your body and mind, enabling you to break free from emotional blockages. Once you experience the release of unprocessed emotions, the benefits continue to grow.
The Benefits of Somatic Movement
Somatic movement offers a refreshing new approach to movement and overall well-being. Unlike traditional exercise, it’s not about chasing specific results or outcomes. Instead, the beauty of somatic movement lies in its freedom from expectations, allowing you to sit in stillness and dive deeper into emotional processing.
The benefits of somatic movement include, but are not limited to:
- Regulating the nervous system and supporting homeostasis
- Enhancing your ability to manage stress
- Slowing your breathing and heart rate
- Processing trauma and preparing for future emotional triggers
- Easing stress-induced skin conditions
- Calming anxious thoughts and lifting your mood
- Sharpening focus and mental clarity
- Relieving chronic pain
- Releasing muscle tension
- Improving posture, flexibility, and mobility
- Reducing inflammation and lowering cortisol levels
- Restoring a sense of groundedness and releasing stress
Just like skin health reflects our overall well-being, our emotions are intricately tied to our physical health. It's easy to forget that everything we experience mentally is also felt physically.
How Somatic Movement Works
It may sound almost too simple to be true, but somatic movement can help heal your body and mind in ways you wouldn’t expect. Here’s a breakdown of how this practice works:
→ Somatic Movement is Deeply Internal
Somatic movement teaches us to tune inward, paying attention to what’s happening beneath the surface. Instead of pushing away uncomfortable emotions, it encourages us to reflect on how words, actions, and situations have made us feel, and to process past wounds. It’s a way of reconnecting with ourselves, examining how we've grown, and learning to move through emotional barriers.
→ Somatic Movement Cultivates Awareness and Presence
By practicing somatic movement slowly and mindfully, you learn to be more present both with yourself and with others. The priority is not on perfect form or control, but on being in the moment. Awareness is essential for healing; by noticing and acknowledging what you’re feeling, you help your body move through those emotions. Ever noticed your body shaking or feeling tense during stressful moments? Somatic practices use intentional movements to trigger the release of those stored emotions, helping your body process them.
→ Somatic Movement Stimulates the Vagus Nerve to Improve Vagal Tone
Chronic stress, including trauma and trapped emotions, can keep you in a constant state of fight or flight. Many somatic movements are designed to activate the vagus nerve, which is believed to be the connection between body and mind. By engaging the vagus nerve, somatic movement encourages your body to shift into a restorative "rest and digest" state, promoting healing and balance.
A healthy vagal tone helps you process emotions more effectively and build healthier neural pathways in the brain.
→ Somatic Movement is About Experiencing, Not Just Doing
Unlike typical exercises, somatic movement is about the experience rather than a specific goal. It involves noticing the sensations your body feels during movement, helping you reconnect with physical and emotional sensations. The unfamiliarity of these movements stretches your muscle memory and brings awareness to areas that are often neglected in everyday life. It’s not a formula to follow it's an exploration. And most importantly, there’s no wrong way to do it!
→ Somatic Movement Releases Trapped Emotions and Boosts Endorphins
Through somatic movement, you may experience physical releases shaking, changes in breath, or spontaneous emotions like crying or laughter. These releases occur as your body lets go of stored emotions, offering a therapeutic reset. They are natural ways the body resets itself after trauma or intense emotional experiences. These sensations can feel subtle yet deeply soothing, leading to a release of pent-up energy and stress.
Somatic practices also trigger the release of endorphins, the "feel-good" chemicals in your body, which help uplift your mood and support emotional healing. When you allow yourself to feel fully, rather than numbing emotions, it frees you mentally, emotionally, and physically.
→ Somatic Movement Empowers Us
Processing emotions through somatic movement leads to deeper self-awareness and a stronger connection to others. As you release emotional blockages, you increase your confidence, contentment, and overall sense of well-being. While it may feel uncomfortable to experience your emotions fully at first, the liberation that follows makes it all worth it.
Having explored the core of somatic movement and its intrinsic benefits, let’s take a closer look at how you can integrate somatic practices into your own life.
Getting Started: Examples & Resources for Somatic Movement
Most experts agree that somatic movement isn’t defined by a specific motion or technique—it’s about the internal experience and the awareness you bring to it. In essence, any movement can be somatic if you approach it with the intention of connecting your body and mind.
A Note on the Term "Somatic Exercise"
There are many approaches to somatic practices, each with unique techniques and methodologies. The term somatic exercise is often used interchangeably with somatic movement, but all focus on the same core goal—processing and releasing emotions through body awareness.
Ways to Incorporate Somatic Movement Into Your Routine
→ Work with a Certified Somatic Practitioner
A trained professional can guide you through personalised somatic techniques, offering deeper insights into your body's responses. A quick search online can help you find certified experts near you.
→ Explore Free or Paid Resources at Home
There are plenty of free somatic movement guides on YouTube, along with dedicated apps designed to walk you through various practices.
→ Bring More Awareness to Daily Movements
Even mundane activities can become somatic with intentional awareness. Paying closer attention to how you move, breathe, and engage with your surroundings can help regulate your nervous system and support emotional processing.
→ Practice Somatic Movements for 10 Minutes a Day
Some movements may feel unfamiliar or even silly at first, but somatic movement isn’t about how it looks it’s about how it feels.
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Body Scan – Close your eyes and mentally scan your body from head to toe. Notice any sensations, tightness, or tension. Simply acknowledging these sensations helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system and prepares the body for deeper somatic work.
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Dance – Move freely to express your emotions. Dance is a natural way to release stored tension and reconnect with your body. (I love this one)
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Yoga, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, or Pilates – These practices already integrate breath, mindfulness, and movement, making them inherently somatic. Many apps offer guided sessions tailored for beginners.
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Breathwork – Conscious breathing techniques help regulate emotions, reduce stress, and even shift states of consciousness, reinforcing the mind-body connection.
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Facial Massage – A calming self-massage can relieve muscle tension and encourage relaxation, offering a simple way to tune inward.
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Vagal Nerve Neck Stretch – Gentle neck stretches can activate the vagus nerve, signalling safety to the nervous system and promoting relaxation.
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Pandiculation – This natural stretching movement (like when you instinctively stretch upon waking) helps reset muscle tension and restore voluntary muscle control.
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Butterfly Tapping – Linking your thumbs together to form a "butterfly" shape over your chest, then rhythmically tapping each hand, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation.
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Hip & Psoas Release – Gentle, repetitive hip-opening movements can cue your body that it’s safe, helping to release stored tension from stress and trauma.
There are countless somatic movement practices to explore, and these are just a few examples! The key isn’t in performing a specific movement but in the awareness and intention you bring to it. With a little mindfulness, any movement can become a somatic practice.
Restoring the Vital Connection Between Body and Mind
Somatic movement bridges the gap between emotions and physical sensations, helping you recognise how your body responds to what you feel. By tuning in with curiosity and compassion, you create space to process emotions rather than letting them linger and manifest as tension or discomfort.
Many people have found profound relief through somatic practices perhaps it’s the missing piece you didn’t even realize you needed. Start small, trust the process, and watch as the benefits ripple through your mind, body, and spirit.
Here’s to moving with intention and living in deeper connection with the one beautiful life we have.
Kayleigh x
Sources
Somatic Practice and Chronic Pain Network: somaticandpain.coventry.domains
University of Warwick – Somatic Practice and Chronic Pain: warwick.ac.uk
What is Pandiculation? - Somatic Movement Center: somaticmovementcenter.com
Dancing with Pain: Agency Through Pain Worlds: tandfonline.com
