Somatic Exercises for Trauma: Healing Your Body to Free Your Mind

Your body remembers what your mind tries to forget. Long after the traumatic event has passed, your muscles may still hold tension. Your breath may still catch in your throat. Your nervous system may still scan for danger in every room you enter.

As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's leading trauma researchers, explains: "After trauma the world is experienced with a different nervous system. The survivor's energy now becomes focused on suppressing inner chaos."

This is why traditional talk therapy—while valuable—often isn't enough. You can understand your trauma intellectually and still feel it living in your body. The path to true healing requires somatic exercises for trauma that speak directly to your nervous system, releasing what words alone cannot reach.

In this guide, you'll discover powerful trauma release exercises that help your body complete its natural healing process—from breathwork and gentle movement to yoga and meditation practices specifically designed for trauma survivors.

Why Your Body Keeps the Score: The Science of Stored Trauma

When you experience trauma, your body activates an ancient survival response. Your heart races, muscles tense, breath quickens—preparing you to fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. In an ideal world, once the danger passes, your body would discharge this energy and return to calm.

But trauma often doesn't work that way.

Peter Levine, PhD, founder of Somatic Experiencing therapy, puts it this way: "Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness."

When we can't fully process traumatic experiences—whether because they were too overwhelming, too repeated, or we lacked support—that survival energy gets "stuck" in our bodies. This is where somatic exercises to release trauma become essential.

The Nervous System's Three States

According to Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, your autonomic nervous system operates in three primary states:

1. Ventral Vagal (Safe and Social): You feel calm, connected, and present
2. Sympathetic (Fight or Flight): You're mobilized for action, anxious, or angry
3. Dorsal Vagal (Freeze/Shutdown): You feel numb, disconnected, or collapsed

Trauma survivors often get stuck cycling between the second and third states, rarely experiencing the safety of the first. Research shows that somatic approaches can reduce PTSD symptoms twice as fast as cognitive-behavioral therapy alone—because they work directly with the nervous system rather than just the thinking mind.

What Are Somatic Exercises for Trauma?

Somatic exercises are body-based practices designed to release tension, regulate the nervous system, and help you reconnect with physical sensations in a safe way. The word "somatic" comes from the Greek word soma, meaning "body."

Unlike traditional exercise that focuses on building strength or endurance, somatic therapy exercises prioritize:

• Awareness: Noticing sensations without judgment
• Slowness: Moving gently to stay within your window of tolerance
• Release: Allowing stored tension to discharge naturally
• Safety: Creating conditions where your nervous system can relax

As Van der Kolk explains in The Body Keeps the Score: "Bottom-up regulation involves recalibrating the autonomic nervous system... We can access the ANS through breath, movement, or touch."

This bottom-up approach is what makes somatic exercises so powerful. Instead of trying to think your way to healing, you work directly with the body's wisdom.

Breathwork: The Foundation of Trauma Release Exercises

Shahida Arabi, author of Healing the Adult Children of Narcissists, emphasizes breathwork in her BREAK THE CYCLE recovery framework: "Breath and bodywork... As Dr. Van der Kolk suggests, our body does indeed 'keep the score.' Breathwork is one of the most powerful ways to address and release trauma that has been stored in the body."

Your breath is the one autonomic function you can consciously control—making it a direct pathway to calming your nervous system.

4-7-8 Breathing Technique

This technique activates your parasympathetic nervous system, signaling safety to your body:

1. Inhale quietly through your nose for 4 counts
2. Hold your breath for 7 counts
3. Exhale completely through your mouth for 8 counts
4. Repeat 3-4 cycles

The extended exhale is key—it stimulates the vagus nerve and shifts you from sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest/digest) mode.

Box Breathing for Anxiety

When you feel anxious or triggered:

1. Inhale for 4 counts
2. Hold for 4 counts
3. Exhale for 4 counts
4. Hold for 4 counts
5. Repeat 4-6 cycles

This creates a sense of containment and control, helping to narrow an overwhelming emotional experience into something manageable.

7 Somatic Exercises to Release Trauma from Your Body

These trauma release exercises can be practiced at home. Start with the gentler ones and progress as you feel comfortable.

1. Grounding: The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 2-3 minutes

When you feel dissociated or overwhelmed, this exercise anchors you in the present moment:

• Name 5 things you can see
• Name 4 things you can touch (and touch them)
• Name 3 things you can hear
• Name 2 things you can smell
• Name 1 thing you can taste

2. Body Scan Meditation

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 10-15 minutes

Lie down comfortably and slowly move your attention through your body:

1. Start at the top of your head
2. Notice any sensations—tension, warmth, tingling, numbness
3. Don't try to change anything; simply observe
4. Move down through your face, neck, shoulders, arms, torso, hips, legs, and feet
5. Notice where you hold tension without judgment

3. Shake and Release

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 3-5 minutes

Animals naturally shake after a threatening experience to discharge survival energy. You can do this too:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart
2. Begin gently bouncing on your knees
3. Let your arms hang loose and shake
4. Allow the shaking to move through your whole body
5. Gradually slow down and stand still
6. Notice how you feel

4. Butterfly Hug (Bilateral Stimulation)

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 2-3 minutes

This EMDR-inspired technique provides bilateral stimulation:

1. Cross your arms over your chest, hands on shoulders
2. Alternately tap your shoulders (right, left, right, left)
3. Maintain a slow, steady rhythm
4. Breathe naturally
5. Continue for 2-3 minutes

5. Gentle Rocking

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 5 minutes

This mimics the soothing motion we experienced in the womb:

1. Sit on the floor or in a chair
2. Gently rock forward and back, or side to side
3. Keep movements small and slow
4. Let your body find its natural rhythm
5. Notice any emotions that arise without judgment

6. Wall Push for Containment

Difficulty: Beginner | Time: 1-2 minutes

When you feel flooded with energy or anger:

1. Stand facing a wall, arms extended, palms flat
2. Push firmly into the wall
3. Hold for 10-15 seconds while breathing
4. Release and notice the sensation in your arms
5. Repeat 3-5 times

7. TRE-Inspired Leg Tremors

Difficulty: Intermediate | Time: 10-15 minutes

Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE), developed by David Berceli, activate neurogenic tremors:

1. Stand with back against a wall
2. Slowly lower into a partial squat
3. Hold until your legs begin to shake
4. Slowly lie down and let the tremors continue
5. Allow your body to shake for 5-10 minutes
6. Rest and integrate

Note: If this feels too intense, work with a certified TRE provider.

Yoga for Trauma Healing: Poses That Promote Safety

Research strongly supports yoga for trauma recovery. In a landmark study by Van der Kolk and colleagues, 52% of participants in a trauma-sensitive yoga program no longer met criteria for PTSD after 10 weeks, compared to only 21% in the control group. The effect size (d = 1.07) was comparable to medication treatments.

What Makes Yoga "Trauma-Informed"

Trauma-sensitive yoga differs from regular yoga classes in important ways:

• Choice: Instructors offer options, never adjustments or commands
• Interoception: Focus on noticing internal sensations rather than achieving poses
• Present moment: Emphasis on "what do you feel right now?" rather than goals
• No pressure: Students can rest anytime without explanation

Recommended Poses for Trauma Healing

Child's Pose (Balasana) This gentle forward fold activates the vagus nerve and creates a sense of safety. Knees can be together or wide, arms extended or alongside the body.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana) Standing tall with feet grounded helps you practice feeling stable and present in your body without requiring vulnerability.

Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) This restorative pose calms the nervous system and promotes the relaxation response. Stay for 5-15 minutes.

Meditation for Trauma: Calming the Nervous System

Mindfulness meditation can be profoundly healing for trauma survivors—but it requires modification. Standard instructions to "close your eyes and go inward" can be triggering for people whose bodies don't feel safe.

Shahida Arabi writes: "Mindfulness is not about making thoughts go away but rather about getting to know them and understanding that they are just thoughts, not reality."

Trauma-Informed Meditation Modifications

• Keep eyes open: Soft gaze downward, maintaining awareness of your surroundings
• Start short: 3-5 minutes is enough; build gradually
• Stay grounded: Feel your feet on the floor, hands on your thighs
• External anchor: Focus on sounds or sensations rather than internal experience
• Permission to stop: You can open your eyes or move anytime

Brain Changes from Meditation

Neuroimaging research shows that regular meditation practice increases activity in the prefrontal cortex (rational thinking) and hippocampus (memory processing), while decreasing amygdala reactivity (fear response). Over time, this helps trauma survivors respond rather than react to triggers.

Building Your Daily Somatic Practice for Nervous System Regulation

Consistency matters more than duration. Research suggests that 8 or more weeks of regular practice produces significantly better outcomes than shorter interventions.

Sample 10-Minute Morning Routine

1. 4-7-8 Breathing (2 minutes)
2. Body Scan (5 minutes)
3. Gentle stretching or shaking (3 minutes)

Signs of Progress

• Feeling more present in your body
• Noticing triggers before you're overwhelmed
• Recovering more quickly from activation
• Experiencing moments of calm more frequently
• Your "window of tolerance" widening

As Van der Kolk notes: "In order to change, people need to become aware of their sensations and the way that their bodies interact with the world around them. Physical self-awareness is the first step in releasing the tyranny of the past."

When to Work with a Somatic Therapist

While self-practice is valuable, some situations benefit from professional guidance:

• Trauma feels overwhelming to approach alone
• You experience intense flashbacks or dissociation
• Self-practice triggers panic or shutdown
• You want to go deeper than self-help allows

Types of Somatic Therapy

• Somatic Experiencing (SE): Peter Levine's approach to completing the body's trauma response
• EMDR: Uses bilateral stimulation to process traumatic memories
• TRE: Guided neurogenic tremor work with certified providers
• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Integrates body awareness with talk therapy

Look for therapists with specific trauma training, not just general counseling credentials.

Related Resources for Your Healing Journey

If you're exploring trauma recovery, these resources may also help:

• Learn about how trauma bonds form and how to break them
• Explore trauma healing through journal prompts
• Discover science-backed techniques for processing trauma
• Understand the narcissistic abuse cycle and its impact on your nervous system

Frequently Asked Questions

What are somatic exercises?

Somatic exercises are body-based practices that help release stored tension, regulate the nervous system, and heal trauma through movement, breath, and awareness. Unlike traditional exercise focused on fitness, somatic work prioritizes gentle, mindful movement that helps you reconnect with your body's sensations and discharge trapped survival energy.

How long does it take for somatic exercises to work?

Most people notice some benefit within the first few sessions—often feeling calmer or more present. However, research suggests that 8 or more weeks of consistent practice produces the most significant changes. Healing trauma is a gradual process; be patient with yourself and celebrate small shifts.

Can I do trauma release exercises at home?

Yes, many somatic exercises for trauma are safe to practice at home. Start with gentler techniques like breathwork, grounding, and body scans. If you experience intense reactions—severe dissociation, panic, or overwhelming emotions—consider working with a trauma-informed therapist who can guide you safely.

What are the best somatic exercises for anxiety?

For anxiety, try:

• 4-7-8 breathing or box breathing
• The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique
• Gentle shaking to discharge nervous energy
• Child's pose or other grounding yoga poses

These exercises help activate your parasympathetic nervous system and signal safety to your body.

How often should I practice somatic exercises?

Daily practice, even for just 5-10 minutes, is more effective than occasional longer sessions. Consistency helps your nervous system learn new patterns of regulation. Many people find that morning practice sets a calm tone for the day, while evening practice supports better sleep.

Your Body Can Learn to Feel Safe Again

Van der Kolk reminds us: "Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort."

But here's the hopeful truth: your body is not broken. The tension, the hypervigilance, the disconnection—these are signs that your nervous system learned to protect you. Now, through somatic exercises for trauma, you can teach it that the danger has passed.

Healing doesn't happen overnight. It happens breath by breath, sensation by sensation, moment by moment. Each time you practice grounding when you feel triggered, each time you notice tension and consciously release it, each time you choose a slow exhale over a held breath—you're rewiring your nervous system toward safety.

Start small. Choose one exercise from this guide and practice it daily for a week. Notice what shifts, even subtly. Your body has been waiting for permission to release what it's been holding.

As Peter Levine says: "The body keeps the score: If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera... then the pathway to recovery is through the body."

Your body kept you alive through trauma. Now let it guide you back to wholeness.