What is somatic healing and why is it important for trauma recovery?
Somatic healing is a body-based therapy that focuses on the release of trauma that is preserved in the nervous system. Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic healing techniques emphasize movement, breathing, and body awareness, helping individuals reunite with their own body, reduce stress and promote emotional resilience.
Trauma is not only psychological, but also lives in the body. Somatic practices help to deal with unresolved trauma by regulating the nervous system and allowing stuck energy to move and release.
How trauma is preserved in the body
When we experience traumatic events, our bodies often enter survival modes, such as fighting, flying, or freezing. If these reactions are not completed, energy can be trapped and lead to symptoms such as:
Chronic pain and muscle tension anxiety, panic attacks, or hypervisual emotional numbness or dissociative sleep disorders digestive disorder problems make it difficult to relax or feel emotions
Somatic therapy is useful by creating a safe, mindful movement experience that releases these patterns from the body.
The best somatic healing technique for trauma relief
1. Body Scan
This basic somatic technique helps to build awareness of the body and detect where trauma is held.
How to do it: sit or lie comfortably. It notices tension, numbness and sensory areas and mentally scans your body from head to toe. Breathe gently into those areas.
2. Grounding and direction
Grounding exercises help you feel safe in the environment by returning to the present moment.
Try this: Place your feet flat on the ground. Feel the surface below you. They look around, see, hear, smell.
3. TRE® (Tense and Trauma Release Exercises)
Developed by Dr. David Berceli, TRE® uses certain exercises to activate neurogenic tremor in the body, releasing deep muscle tension and preserving trauma.
4. Body movement and dance therapy
Exercise therapy promotes emotional expression and energy flow through unstructured, intuitive movements. Practices like ecstatic dance, authentic movements, and trauma-based yoga can be powerful tools.
5. Application and Titration (Somatic Experience®)
These techniques, created by Dr. Peter Levine, involve a gentle shift between comfort and discomfort, and safely dealing with trauma without being overwhelmed.
Scientific support for somatic healing
Modern research supports a body-based approach to trauma. He maintains his score, according to Dr. Bessel van der Kork, author of Bod. The heart is not the only sign of trauma on your body.
The Polyvagal theory developed by Dr. Stephen Porges shows how somatic technology can regulate the autonomic nervous system, helping people move from survival mode to safety and connection.
Benefits of somatic therapy for trauma
Strengthening emotional regulation reduces anxiety, chronic stress improves physical awareness, releases connections, releases physical tension, and trauma symptoms increase nervous system healing and resilience, increasing self-confidence and embodied presence
Let’s start somatic healing
If you are not used to somatic cell practices, consider these steps.
Working with a certified somatic therapist or trauma-based bodyworker creates a safe space for practice with daily body scans or grounding exercises.
Final Thoughts: The healing trauma through exercise and consciousness
Somatic healing is a transformative, evidence-based approach to trauma recovery. By listening to the body and using mindful movement, breathing and consciousness, individuals can safely process trauma and reconnect with themselves.
Whether you are dealing with chronic stress, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm, somatic therapy offers a powerful path to healing. It is rooted in body wisdom.
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