Looking for help in Calming Anxiety? Try Somatic Healing
If you’re struggling with anxiety, stress or overwhelm and have tried talking therapies with limited success, it might be worth focusing on your body instead of your mind with Somatic Healing.
Somatic Healing is a body-first approach, which is focused on releasing stress and anxiety held in the body through gentle, simple techniques, as opposed to relying on more mind-based, analytical talking therapies.
If you are interested in 1:1 Somatic healing sessions to help you learn how to calm your stresses and anxieties and feel empowered to live a more centred, peaceful life, you can learn more and book a session here - I’d love to support.
Below we will run through two techniques which will help you calm anxiety and lead to more peace in your everyday life life.
Two Techniques to help Calm Anxiety
1. Somatic Movement Practice:
This five-minute embodied movement practice, inspired by teachings from Jenna Ward’s School of Embodied Arts, combines movement with a gentle body scan to help calm your heart rate and release tension
Begin by putting on some instrumental music, calming music and find a safe, private space where you feel comfortable moving freely.
As the music plays, allow your body to move in whatever way feels natural. There isn’t a dance and there and no right or wrong way to do this exercise. Simply follow your body’s impulses.
As you move, gently check in with your body for sensations that feel strong or activated. You might notice anxiety sitting in your belly, tightness in your chest, or heaviness in your shoulders.
When something calls your attention, stay with it. Breathe slowly into the area while continuing to move and breathing into it.
Rather than trying to fix or push the sensation away, simply allow yourself to notice and experience it.
Often, after one or two minutes of focused attention and breath, the sensation begins to soften or shift. It may move to another part of your body. If it does, simply bring your awareness there and continue breathing and moving.
Remember that most emotions tend to shift within 90 seconds of focus, so even it feels uncomfortable, this knowledge may help you stay with it.
Practices like this are powerful nervous system regulation exercises because they allow the body to release tension naturally and return to a calmer state.
You can also tailor the music to your emotional state. Deeper instrumental music may help bring feelings to the surface so they can move through the body, while lighter music may support a more uplifting regulating experience.
2. Heart Coherence Breathing
Heart coherence is one of the most effective nervous system regulation exercises for calming the body and reducing anxiety. It works by synchronising breath, heart awareness, and positive emotion.
Begin by finding a comfortable position and, if it feels safe, gently close your eyes.
Bring your attention to your breath. Notice the air moving in and out of your nose, observing its temperature and sensation. If it feels very quick, purposefully slow it down, even if this feels a little unnatural.
Gradually allow your breathing to slow into a calm, steady rhythm similar to the natural breathing pattern your body uses as you fall asleep.
Simply slowing the breath begins to signal safety to the body.
Next, bring your attention to the space around your heart. You may place a hand on your chest to anchor your awareness there.
Begin to focus gently on this area, imagining the breath going into your heart space and out again.
If your chest feels tight or restricted, that’s very normal. Simply breathe toward the edges of the space without forcing anything.
Now imagine a small warm light in the center of your chest. With each breath, allow that warmth to expand gently through your heart space.
As you hold this feeling, bring to mind something or someone you feel genuine gratitude for. It could be a loved one, a pet, a place in nature, or anything else you feel grateful for.
Picture it clearly in your minds-eye and notice how your body responds.
Gratitude often helps shift the body into a more regulated state and release feel-good hormones and chemicals into the body. Just allow feelings of warmth, calm, and connection to emerge.
This simple yet powerful nervous system regulation exercise helps the body move from stress back into balance.
If you would like 1:1 support in releasing anxiety and becoming comfortable in resetting your own nervous system, reach out here to book a somatic taster session and experience the incredible benefits of somatic healing.
About Me
Christina Shakelian is a Somatic Healing Practitioner- passionate about helping people reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and release stuck emotional patterns.
My work focuses on guiding clients beyond purely mental approaches to reducing anxiety & stress, and instead accessing the deeper wisdom of the mind–body connection. Through gentle somatic techniques, I support clients in developing the skills needed to feel calmer, more grounded, and more aligned in their lives.