Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body: Somatic Practices for When Your Brain’s a Dumpster Fire

Let’s face it—mental health isn’t all in your head. If it were, we’d just download a patch or turn it off and back on again, right? Unfortunately, our nervous systems aren’t that cooperative. Sometimes, despite our best logical reasoning and inspirational Pinterest quotes, we still feel like we’re one group text away from a full-blown existential crisis.

Enter - Somatic Practices

Sounds fancy. Sounds like a yoga class where someone named Skylar whispers affirmations at you. But it’s not just that. Somatic practices are actually evidence-based approaches that use the body to regulate the mind. And spoiler alert: your body has been holding onto a lot of stuff you thought you “processed” six therapists ago.

Somatic. Like "Soma," the Greek word for body...

Somatic practices help you tune into your felt sense—your body's way of communicating before words show up. They aim to release stress, regulate emotions, and reset your nervous system by accessing your internal cues: muscle tension, breath, heart rate, posture, even that weird knot in your stomach you get before Thanksgiving with your in-laws.

Who Needs Somatic Work?

If you check any of these boxes, welcome to the club:

- You’re constantly anxious but can’t figure out why. (Your nervous system can, though.)

- You feel emotionally numb or disconnected. (Like a sentient houseplant.)

- You struggle to sleep, eat, relax, or stop doomscrolling.

- You experience chronic pain, tightness, or fatigue with no clear medical reason.

- You’re stuck in talk therapy but feel like you’ve hit a wall. (Yes, Karen, we get it—you’re self-aware.)

These aren’t personality flaws. They’re symptoms of a nervous system stuck in survival mode: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Somatic practices help complete those cycles so your brain stops thinking you’re being chased by a saber-toothed tiger when you’re just trying to send an email.

Four Somatic Practices That Don’t Require a Yoga Mat or a Mystical Retreat in Sedona

1. Grounding Through Sensory Awareness

Use your senses. Because disassociation is only fun until you forget how forks work.

Try this: Look around the room and name:

- 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

Your body needs cues that it’s safe now. This isn’t mindfulness for monks—it’s for anyone who’s ever cried in a Target parking lot.

2. Shake It Off (Yes, Literally)

Taylor Swift had a point. So does your dog after a vet visit.

Trauma and stress getstuck in the body. Shaking is a natural discharge method animals use all the time. (Weirdly, we just hold it in and develop IBS instead.)

Try this: Stand up. Loosen your knees. Shake your hands, arms, shoulders. Bounce a little. Let it get ridiculous. Bonus points for sound effects.

You’re not going crazy. You’re deactivating survival responses your body didn’t finish. Shake like your dignity depends on it.

3. Deep Vagal Breathing

This is not your standard "just breathe" advice. We’re talking science.

Your vagus nerve (not Vegas, though honestly that city will also test your mental health) is the MVP of the parasympathetic nervous system. Stimulating it with deep, slow exhales kicks you out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest.

Try this: Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold for 4. Exhale through your mouth slowly for 6-8 seconds. Do this 4-6 times.

Your body gets the message: "We’re good. There are no bears here. Chill."

4. Orienting

Because scanning your environment is more effective than scanning your ex’s new girlfriend’s Instagram.

This one’s simple but powerful. It tells your nervous system: "Hey, we’re here now. Not back there."

Try this: Slowly turn your head and eyes to look around the room. Let your body follow. Notice what feels interesting or safe. Linger there. Let your shoulders drop.

It’s a subtle signal that there’s no threat. Just a couch. Or a plant. Or a candle you bought at 2AM during an emotional breakdown.

Final Thoughts from Your Friendly Neighborhood LPC

Somatic practices won’t fix everything. You can’t breathe your way out of childhood trauma or shake off capitalism. But pairing these tools with therapy? Game changer. It’s like adding bacon to a cheeseburger—suddenly things just make sense.

And listen: if your body is holding onto stuff your brain doesn’t understand, it doesn’t mean you're broken. It means you're human. And your body is smarter than you give it credit for.

So take a breath. Shake a little. Feel your feet. You’ve got this.

And if you don’t, call your therapist. Or me.