Somatics
Have You Ever Noticed Your Body Reacting Before Your Mind Does?
Maybe you’ve felt your stomach tighten before a tough conversation, sensed an urge to pull away in an emotional moment, or let out a deep exhale when you finally felt safe. These aren’t just random physical reactions—they are somatic responses, your body’s way of processing experiences long before your conscious mind can make sense of them.
Most approaches to healing and transformation focus on changing thoughts first—shifting mindset, setting goals, developing new habits. And while these are important, they often ignore the role of the body.
What many don’t realize is that transformation isn’t just mental—it’s physiological, emotional, and even spiritual. Your body holds the imprints of everything you’ve experienced—tension, emotions, memories—all stored in your nervous system, your posture, even the way you breathe.
This is where somatics comes in.
What is Somatics?
Somatics, from the Greek word soma (meaning “the living body”), is a field of study and practice that focuses on body-based intelligence. Unlike traditional mindset work, which operates from the top-down (mind first, body second), somatic work functions from the bottom-up (body first, mind follows).
Many Indigenous and Eastern traditions have long understood what modern somatic practices are only beginning to explain scientifically:
In African and Afro-diasporic traditions, movement, dance, and rhythm are not just for expression—they are tools for emotional release, grounding, and connection to spirit.
In Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, healing is rooted in the understanding that the body, emotions, and energy must all be in balance for well-being.
In Tantra, the body is not seen as an obstacle to enlightenment, but as the very path to liberation—through movement, breath, and deep presence.
In Indigenous healing practices, rituals, drumming, and somatic-based storytelling help individuals process and integrate life experiences.
Modern neuroscience now supports what these traditions have long known:
The body remembers, even when the mind forgets.
Emotions are stored in the body, not just in thought.
True transformation isn’t just something you understand—it’s something you embody.
How Somatics Helps You Transform
Many of the patterns we struggle with - stress, overthinking, emotional overwhelm, procrastination, difficulty setting boundaries - aren’t just mental habits. They are nervous system patterns.
When faced with challenges, your body instinctively responds in ways shaped by past experiences.
Tension in your shoulders? Your body might be bracing for stress before your mind even registers it.
Avoiding certain emotions or situations? Your nervous system could be wired to perceive them as unsafe.
Feeling disconnected or stuck? Your body may be in a freeze response, protecting itself from something unresolved.
Somatic practices help by:
Regulating the nervous system – Bringing you out of fight-flight-freeze patterns and into a state of ease.
Releasing stored tension & emotions – Moving energy that gets trapped in the body.
Increasing self-awareness – Helping you recognize subtle body cues before they escalate into stress or emotional overwhelm.
Rewiring behavioral patterns – When the body feels safe, old reactive habits can shift naturally.
Deepening embodiment – So that change isn’t just a thought, but something felt and lived in everyday experiences.
This is why traditional mindset work often doesn’t stick. If your nervous system is dysregulated, your body will override any conscious efforts to think differently.
Practical Somatic Practices to Try
Somatics isn’t just a theory—it’s something you can start experiencing right now. Here are a few simple ways to bring more body awareness into your life:
1. The Somatic Check-In
A quick way to notice what your body is holding.
Take a deep breath and pause.
Scan your body from head to toe, noticing any sensations (tightness, warmth, numbness).
Without judgment, just observe.
Ask yourself: What is my body telling me right now?
This simple practice can reveal patterns you may not have noticed before.
2. Grounding Through Sensation
A powerful way to regulate your nervous system when you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or disconnected.
Find a firm surface (the floor, a chair, a tree) and press your hands or feet against it.
Notice the contact between your body and the object. Feel the texture, the weight, the temperature.
Let your breath slow as you focus on this sensation.
Grounding physically anchors you in the present moment, which is essential for nervous system regulation.
3. Somatic Shaking
Releases stress and tension stored in the body.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Lightly bounce through your knees and let your arms shake freely.
Allow the movement to build, shaking out your whole body.
After 1-3 minutes, pause and notice how you feel.
This practice mimics the way animals naturally discharge stress after a stressful event—it’s a built-in way to reset the nervous system.
Somatics & The Bigger Picture
Somatics is just one piece of the puzzle. True transformation happens when we work with the whole system: body, mind, emotions, and actions.
I use four elements in my work to create lasting change:
Somatics – Engaging the body’s innate wisdom to regulate, heal, and embody change.
Mindset & Neuroscience – Understanding and rewiring thought patterns for real shifts in perception and behavior.
Spirituality & Tantra – Connecting to deeper truths, inner wisdom, and surrendering to something bigger than ourselves.
Integration & Action – Bringing insights into everyday life and changing our behaviors to create sustainable transformation.
When we address all four, we stop treating transformation as an intellectual process and start living it as an embodied one.
Somatic work isn’t about adding another to-do to your list. It’s about learning to listen to your body, responding to what it needs, and allowing it to guide your healing.
If this resonates with you, start with the small practices above. Even five minutes a day of body awareness can make a difference.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, this is the work I do with my clients. Somatics is woven into my coaching because I know firsthand how powerful it is to move beyond just thinking about transformation and start feeling it, living it.
If you’re curious about what that might look like for you, reach out. Let’s explore how somatic work can help you break free from old patterns and create real, embodied change.
Your body is always speaking to you. It holds wisdom, memory, and the key to transformation.
The question is: Are you listening?
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts—what did you notice in your body as you read this? Send me a quick message and share your experience.
And if you know someone who could benefit from this, send them this post. We’re building an awakening revolution together.
If you’d like to dive even deeper, you can listen to my podcast episode on somatics here or here, or any podcast streaming platform (just search for Fumbling Towards Awakening).