Discover 10 powerful somatic therapy exercises you can do at home to support trauma recovery, regulate your nervous system, and feel more grounded in your body.
Trauma Lives in the Body—So Should Healing
Many trauma survivors struggle with symptoms like anxiety, dissociation, hypervigilance, or shutdown. These are not just psychological issues—they’re physiological survival responses rooted in the nervous system.
That’s why somatic therapy has become a foundational approach in trauma recovery. Somatic therapy doesn’t ask you to relive the past—it helps you reclaim safety, presence, and choice in your body, today (Levine, 2010; Ogden et al., 2006).
If you’re beginning your healing journey at home, these ten somatic exercises are safe, accessible, and effective tools to begin regulating your nervous system and reconnecting with your body.
1. Grounding Through the Feet
How: Stand or sit with both feet on the floor. Press your feet down and feel the floor pushing back. Notice sensations—pressure, temperature, or texture.
Why: Grounding restores your sense of here-and-now presence, especially after dissociation or emotional overwhelm.
2. Orienting to Safety
How: Gently turn your head and eyes to look around the space you’re in. Let your gaze pause on anything that feels neutral or pleasant.
Why: Orienting helps the brain and body recognize the current environment as safe—shifting the nervous system out of fight-or-flight (Porges, 2011).
3. Butterfly Hug
How: Cross your arms over your chest and tap your shoulders alternately (left–right–left), slowly and rhythmically. Breathe gently as you do this.
Why: This simple bilateral stimulation technique helps calm anxiety and increase emotional regulation (Shapiro, 2001).
4. Voo Sounding
How: Take a deep breath and exhale slowly while vocalizing the sound “voo” like a foghorn, feeling the vibration in your chest or belly.
Why: Vocal toning stimulates the vagus nerve, which supports parasympathetic nervous system activation and calming (Porges, 2011).
5. Tense and Release
How: Gently tense a specific muscle group (like fists or shoulders) for 3–5 seconds, then exhale and release completely.
Why: This practice helps discharge stored tension from the body and increases awareness of physical holding patterns.
6. Soft Belly Breathing
How: Place a hand on your lower belly and breathe slowly, letting your abdomen rise and fall naturally. Focus on a longer exhale than inhale.
Why: Slow, diaphragmatic breathing helps signal safety to the nervous system and supports emotional regulation (Levine, 2010).
7. Tracking Sensation
How: Close your eyes and gently notice what sensations are present in your body. Observe without judgment—just name what you feel: warmth, tightness, tingling, heaviness, etc.
Why: Tracking builds interoception (awareness of internal states), a key skill in somatic trauma therapy (Ogden et al., 2006).
8. Containment with Pressure
How: Use your hands or wrap a blanket tightly around your shoulders and apply gentle pressure to your body. Breathe slowly as you hold.
Why: Deep pressure can be soothing to the nervous system, helping reduce anxiety and foster a sense of safety.
9. Safe Touch or Self-Holding
How: Gently place your hand over your heart or hold your own hand. Notice how it feels to offer yourself contact and presence.
Why: Safe, intentional touch can support emotional regulation and build felt-sense safety, especially after relational trauma.
10. Shaking it Out
How: Stand and shake your arms, legs, or whole body for 15–30 seconds. Let the movement be loose and spontaneous.
Why: Shaking mimics the body’s natural way of releasing stress and trauma, used instinctively by animals after threat responses (Levine, 2010).
Somatic Practices Can Begin Right Where You Are
These exercises are not a replacement for professional trauma therapy—but they can be powerful tools for nervous system regulation and building resilience at home.
At Diverse Paths Wellness, our somatic-based trauma therapy and recovery coaching supports clients in learning these tools—and more—as part of a personalized healing process. We meet you where you are, whether you’re just beginning or continuing your recovery.
Ready to Explore Somatic Therapy for Yourself?
Book a free consult to see how we can support your healing through trauma-informed, body-based coaching:
https://diversepathswellness.ca/book-now
Explore somatic-based recovery coaching:
https://diversepathswellness.ca/therapists
Read more about trauma therapy and resilience-building:
https://diversepathswellness.ca/diverse-paths-blog
References (APA Style)
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.
Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W.W. Norton.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.
Shapiro, F. (2001). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.