Top Somatic Exercises to Release Stress and Rejuvenate Your Mind-Body

In the modern rhythm of life, it often happens that we simply don't pay attention to overload, which ultimately leads to chronic stress, accumulation of fatigue, and constant physical tension. And as a result, all of this directly affects not only our mental health but also our whole body. Decreased concentration and energy are often accompanied by the appearance of body aches and a feeling of detachment from our own body, and it is in such moments that somatic exercises are one of the most effective ways to restore balance. These practices help not only to relieve physical tension but also to strengthen the mind-body connection, improve well-being, and restore receptivity to how the body feels in the present moment.
Somatic therapy is a type of therapy that uses soft, gentle movements, breathing exercises, and somatic movements to help people relax and improve well-being. The focus here is not on the load, as it is in classical fitness, but on how physical sensation and internal signals are perceived. Regular somatic practices that incorporate aspects of mind-body integration help you develop a stable habit of taking care of yourself and heightened awareness.

What are somatic exercises, and how do they work

Somatic exercise is a gentle and accessible practice based on conscious physical movements that help relieve tension, may help reduce the intensity of physical pain, and restore balance to the nervous system. Their distinctive feature is that they emphasize internal physical perception, paying attention to treating the body and its signals with care, rather than focusing on end physical results or exertion. With regular practice, somatic exercise helps strengthen the connection between body and mind, which noticeably improves mental well-being.

During the exercises, it's important to pay attention to internal bodily sensations and signals that the body sends and that are worth noting. For example, breathing, muscle tension, or relaxation, etc. This helps develop body awareness and teaches you to notice in time where stored tension accumulates, or to notice that only your right shoulder or right arm reacts to certain triggers. Over time, you will understand which negative emotions in general and how exactly they are reflected in your body.

According to the Cleveland Clinic blog post, regular somatic exercises help reduce stress. Moreover, somatic movements provide an opportunity to work with chronic pain and maintain mental well-being, shifting the focus from "perfect form" to how we and our body feel in the here and now.

Main types of somatic practices

1. Body scans

Body scans or body scanning is a method of gentle body observation, during which you mentally scan from the top of your head to your toes, noting all your body parts and how each area responds. The focus is on self-awareness and careful attention to bodily sensations/sensory experiences, which gradually helps release tension and return to the moment.

Purpose and effect. This practice develops body awareness, teaches you to recognize body signals, and carefully relieve tension without pressure and perfectionism. Over time, you begin to better understand how your body feels, where physical tension accumulates, which areas are "tight" and which ones are already relaxing. Regular scanning supports promoting relaxation, does not prevent pain, but helps regulate tension and may reduce subjective pain perception, and helps gently regulate the nervous system.

Try this small practice. You can perform it for 5 minutes and gradually increase the time to 15 minutes.

1. Preparation. Sit or lie down, the main thing is that you are comfortable. If you are sitting, be sure to straighten your back as much as is comfortable. Take a few deep breaths and observe the movement of your abdomen and chest. This will help focus your attention on the present moment.
2. Setting attention. If you feel tension or discomfort, tell yourself: "I am just observing." This will help reduce the expectation of results and relieve tension, as well as enhance self-awareness.
3. Upper body. Begin to carefully mentally scan your head and face: forehead, eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, jaw (pay attention to whether you are clenching your teeth). Then move to the neck, right shoulder, and right arm, then to the left shoulder and arm. Note even barely noticeable bodily sensations: warmth, tingling, pulsation, slight muscle tension, or complete absence of sensations.
4. Chest and back. After you've finished scanning your shoulders, arms, and fingers, slowly shift your attention to your collarbones, chest, shoulder blades, and upper back. Don't forget to pay attention to your breathing. How are you breathing - short or deep, how your ribs move, and whether there's tension in the area between your shoulder blades. If you feel body aches, take a longer exhale; this will help relieve tension.
5. Abdomen and pelvis. Next, scan your diaphragm, abdomen, lower back, and pelvic area. These areas where people notice stress-related tension and negative emotions are held. If you notice tension, you don't need to do anything; just pay attention to how your body feels.
6. Legs and feet. Move on to your thighs, knees, calves, ankles, and feet. Note the different muscle groups, compare the right and left sides. If you discover discomfort, imagine again extending your exhale and imagine how with each deep breath the tension "flows" downward.
7. Completion. After the full scan, take 1-2 more deep breaths and note the general condition of your whole body now. Afterward, give yourself a few seconds to return to your normal breathing, and then you can return to your tasks.

If you feel intense tension or notice an obvious block, you can try to very gently tense this area for 3-5 seconds and then relax it. This is a light variation of progressive muscle relaxation, which will help release tension in specific muscle groups. You can scan your body while sitting, lying down, or even during a walking meditation. This will allow you to gently combine somatic movement and observation of body parts.

Frequency and duration. It's good to do 1-2 short scans per day, 3-5 minutes each. Even this will noticeably reduce stress. Longer practices of 10-15 minutes will more deeply calm the nervous system and support mental wellbeing. When support is needed, if during practice you experience vivid, unpleasant physical sensations or emotional surges, be sure to pause and shift your attention to your support and breathing. If uncomfortable sensations persist, it's worth discussing this experience with a qualified somatic therapist.

Body scanning is a simple and safe way to establish a mind-body connection, which teaches us to subtly "hear" the body's signals and gradually relieve tension without self-criticism. This is one of the basic techniques of somatic practices, which can organically complement other exercises and teach you to understand how your body feels here and now.

2. Progressive muscle relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is one of the most popular methods. Its essence is to alternately tense and relax different muscle groups. This helps relieve stress and support parasympathetic activation, helping the nervous system move toward recovery without literally switching modes. This practice combines well with breathing and support (body contact with a chair or floor).

Preparation. Take a comfortable position, sitting or lying down. It's important to find support for your back and feet, then take a calm, deep breath and tune in to how your body feels.

Tense for 5-7 seconds, relax for 10-15 seconds. Do this alternately, moving sequentially from top to bottom through the main body parts. The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn't tense your entire body at once, only one part at a time in the scanning order.

1. Arms → clench your hands into fists and tense your forearms, then release.
2. Shoulders → slightly raise and bring them together, then release.
3. Face and jaw → wrinkle your forehead or clench your jaw, then relax.
4. Chest and back → gently tense and release the muscles, and notice how your breathing becomes freer after relaxation.
5. Abdomen and pelvis → on the inhale, tense slightly and you can twist them a little, and on the exhale, release.
6. Thighs and knees → repeat the tension and relaxation in the same way.
7. Calves and feet → pull your toes toward you, tensing your foot and toes, then release, and you'll feel warmth and lightness.

Tips. Try to lengthen your exhale. This way, you support parasympathetic activity through exhalation, though direct vagus activation is more complex, which helps promote relaxation. If you have body aches or chronic pain, reduce the force of tension or skip individual muscle groups. If negative emotions or unresolved emotional issues arise, take a pause; this will help relieve stress and release tension.

Why it works. Alternating tension and relaxation increases sensitivity to the body's signals, develops internal awareness. Moreover, this method helps release stored tension, strengthening the mind-body connection. In addition to this method, you can practice somatic yoga or walking meditation once a week. With pronounced physical pain or unresolved emotional issues, it's also worth consulting a certified somatic therapist.

This practice will help establish the habit of paying attention to how your body feels and maintain the mind-body connection.

3. Diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing, or simply belly breathing. This is a basic technique of somatic therapy, which supports parasympathetic activation and relaxation, helping the nervous system move from a "fight or flight" state toward recovery. It helps reduce physical tension, may reduce the tension but doesn't guarantee all discomfort disappears, strengthen the mind-body connection, and is one of the simplest and most accessible tools for stress relief.

How it works. When breathing with the diaphragm, the inhale becomes deeper, and the movements of the ribs and abdomen become freer. This activates the vagus nerve, which helps reduce stress and supports mental well-being.

How to practice.

• Sit comfortably and make sure you have support. Place one hand on your chest, the other on your abdomen, and take a few deep breaths.
• Then begin inhaling through your nose for a count of 4. Try to breathe into your belly so that you feel the hand on your abdomen rising, while your chest remains relatively still. This breathing practice develops body awareness and attention to the body's signals.
• After a short pause following the inhale, note any bodily sensations.
• Then exhale through your mouth for a count of 6-8, observing how your abdomen lowers. The long exhale additionally activates the vagus nerve and helps promote relaxation.
• Repeat the cycle 6-10 times. If you feel dizzy, return your breathing to a more natural pattern.

4. Somatic yoga and mindful movement

Somatic yoga and mindful movement are gentle movement patterns that help enhance body awareness and provide an opportunity to feel a deeper connection with your body. These approaches belong to mind-body practices and help maintain inner support and daily balance. These gentle movements help synchronize breathing, attention, and movement, making the practice accessible even for beginners and creating a sense of physical self-care.

Examples of exercises:

• Slow forward and backward bends of the torso, as well as slow and careful rotations of the shoulders and neck. All movements must be performed with an emphasis on breathing and overall fluidity of movements.
• Walking meditation is the practice of walking thoughtfully and with awareness. It's important to pay attention to how your feet come into contact with the ground and all bodily sensations that may come up. Pay attention to your breathing and the rhythm of your steps as you try to notice how different body parts react. You can also observe internal sensations.
• Gentle stretches. The key factors of such practice are not the amplitude, but attention to what internal sensations and in which parts of the body arise.

The effectiveness of these practices is explained by the fact that attention is directed not at the strength or amplitude of movements, but at what internal sensations arise and how different body parts react. Thanks to this, a more stable mind-body connection is formed, and the nervous system regulation, but inpirtant to notice that it not leterally activate it. Thanks to this, a gentle release of tension occurs, which makes such practices especially valuable for helpinh with tension and subjective pain (note that it doesn't treat all types of pain, espessially chronic), stress relief, reducing negative emotions, and improving movement efficiency, while simultaneously supporting overall mental well-being.

5. Movement therapy and somatic elements

Movement therapy slightly overlaps with somatic yoga and mindful movement, as it also incorporates somatic elements and gentle movements for addressing unresolved emotional issues and promoting mind-body integration. The movement therapy can support emotional processing but is not a primary or standalone treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and prolonged stress. The main difference of these practices is that they additionally include gentle dance improvisations, balance exercises, and breathing in motion, which also allows you to feel your own body more deeply and safely process negative emotions.

Regular sessions with a licensed somatic therapist allow you to explore your own body, while in complete safety, you learn to better feel and understand how body parts respond, and gradually release tension. Somatic movements help harmonize the nervous system, support stress relief, and generally improve mental health.

Moreover, all these methods are simple and accessible to absolutely everyone. Just a few minutes a day is enough, and you will be able to quickly feel changes in how your body responds, and discover a deeper connection between body and mind. The key is to practice every day.

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Why somatic therapy is important for mental health

It can be said that Somatic therapy is one of the best self-help practices. It helps not only to understand how the body feels and responds to stress, but also develops a sustainable habit of listening to internal signals, and this helps form a stronger mind-body connection, strengthening both mental and physical health. The main areas in which such practices are especially useful:

1. Stress relief and restoring a sense of calm. Regular practices reduce the level of stress hormones, contribute to promoting relaxation, and create a sustainable habit of noticing how the body feels in the moment.
2. Emotional awareness helps to recognize negative emotions on time, teaches that pracrices awareness and regulation of emotions, but do not literally remove them, and forms a deeper connection between the emotional sphere and the body.
3. Well-being supports mental well-being. Through gentle practices, it helps to form a positive self-perception, which further promotes growth in self-awareness.
4. Nervous system regulation gently activates the parasympathetic part of the nervous system. This helps work with anxiety, improves sleep, and more effectively and gently cope with stressful situations, developing internal support.
5. Pain management helps deal with chronic pain, body aches and reduces physical pain. Somatic therapy often emphasizes internal physical perception and develops sensory awareness, allowing you to understand where tension is stored and how to gently release it. At the same time, systematic studies confirm: regular somatic practices and various mind-body practices help significantly improve mental health, increase the level of mental wellbeing, and quality of life. As noted by the American Psychological Association, such methods are especially useful for reducing stress and increasing psychological resilience.

How to incorporate somatic practices into daily life

To make bodily practices a part of daily routine, it's better to implement them gradually. Even short regular exercises can improve mental wellbeing, reduce chronic stress, and strengthen the mind-body connection. Below are simple steps that will help make them part of your everyday life faster.

• Start your morning with deep breaths or end your day with them. This will allow you to shift your attention to breathing and prepare for the upcoming day or release tension afterward.
• Throughout the day, add short body scans. Just 1-2 minutes, observe how your body feels and what bodily sensations arise. This helps switch to the here and now moment.
• Before bed, try progressive muscle relaxation. Alternately tense and relax individual muscle groups to gently release stored tension.
• Once a week, practice somatic yoga or walking meditation, combining mindful movement and breathing.
• If you have chronic pain or unresolved emotional issues, try working with a qualified somatic therapist who can help adapt somatic practices to your needs.

These easy but regular steps will help you develop a habit of paying attention to how your body reacts, improve your sensory awareness, and help you better notice the signals your body is sending you. This will strengthen the connection between the mind and body over time and lower the amount of tension that has built up.

Conclusion

It's important to understand that somatic exercises to release stress are not just physical practices, but a way to restore balance and establish contact with yourself. They help you better feel how your body feels, develop internal awareness, strengthen the mind-body connection, and bring back joy to everyday life. Regular somatic exercise, somatic practice, and somatic movement can become a reliable tool that supports not only the body, but also mental health, helping to cope with ongoing stress, negative emotions, and strengthen overall well-being.
These methods are simple and accessible; just a few minutes a day is enough to feel changes in how your body responds, and discover a deeper connection between body and mind. They help you more consciously perceive your body's signals, notice sensory experiences, and strengthen self-awareness.