Somatic Therapy Techniques for Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety isn’t just “in your head.” It’s a full-body experience. Your nervous system is wired for survival—constantly scanning for danger, even when no threat is present. That’s why stress can feel like a racing heart, a clenched jaw, or a stomach in knots. The body remembers, holds, and expresses what the mind can’t always explain.
When stress becomes chronic, the nervous system gets stuck in high alert. You might feel like you’re living with your foot on the gas pedal—always braced, always tense. That’s where somatic therapy for anxiety comes in: a way of working with the body, not against it, to bring relief that talking alone can’t always reach.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is an integrative approach that recognizes the inseparable connection between body and mind. Rather than focusing only on thoughts or behaviors, somatic therapy attends to the physical sensations, postures, and nervous system patterns that carry the imprint of stress and trauma.
With my background in humanistic and transpersonal psychologies, neuroscience, and applied Jungian somatic techniques, I use body-based interventions to help women access deeper layers of healing. This might include mindful awareness of breath, gentle movement, psychosensory techniques like Havening, or imaginal practices that bridge body and psyche.
The goal isn’t to control your body—it’s to listen to it, work with it, and restore its natural rhythm of regulation.
How somatic therapy helps anxiety
Anxiety is often the body’s way of saying, “I don’t feel safe.” Somatic therapy offers tools to help the nervous system return to safety, step by step. Research shows that trauma-informed somatic approaches reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress, and even physical pain.
Here’s why:
Bottom-up healing. Instead of starting in the thinking brain, somatic therapy starts in the body—where anxiety is actually felt.
Regulation through sensation. By noticing and shifting physical cues (like muscle tension or shallow breathing), we send messages of safety back to the brain.
Integration. Somatic therapy helps you process the emotional and symbolic layers of anxiety, so it becomes less overwhelming and more manageable.
Resilience. Over time, your body learns new patterns—ones that allow you to meet stress without collapsing into panic or burnout.
This isn’t about eliminating anxiety altogether. It’s about building a new relationship with your nervous system—one rooted in steadiness, compassion, and choice.
Somatic techniques you can try at home
While deep somatic work is best supported in therapy, there are simple practices you can explore on your own to ease stress in the moment:
Soft eyes. Let your gaze widen instead of locking forward. This signals safety to the nervous system and helps shift you out of hypervigilance.
Grounding breath. Inhale slowly, then exhale with a sigh. Notice the weight of your body supported by the chair or floor beneath you.
Gentle touch. Place a hand on your heart or across your arms. Havening touch—slowly stroking the arms from shoulders to elbows—can soothe anxiety within minutes.
Body postures. Experiment with “big” and “small” poses. Notice how expanding your posture changes your breath, or how curling inward allows you to feel contained.
Orienting. Look around your environment, name what you see, and remind your body: right now, I am safe.
These practices may sound simple, but they are profoundly effective. Small shifts in the body ripple upward into the nervous system, changing how we feel, think, and respond.
If you’re seeking somatic therapy for anxiety in Georgia, I offer online sessions that blend neuroscience, depth psychology, and somatic practice. Together, we can create a steadying path forward—one where anxiety no longer runs the show, and where your body becomes a source of safety instead of stress.