Reset Your Nervous System: 2 Simple Somatic Tools
Today we’re going to explore two somatic tools anyone can do, to calm the nervous system and reach a place of presence and peace.
If you’d prefer to follow along with a guided audio, feel free to use this video below, which is set to beautiful music and will walk you through using these tools in a 5 minute guided audio meditation:
Embodied Movement Practice
Learnt from the Jenna Ward’s School of Embodied Arts, this 5 minute practice involves a simple body scan to music with added movement
Put on some emotive (I prefer instrumental-only) music, get in a safe, private space and simply move your body. As you do this, begin to scan your body for any ‘loud’ sensations, emotions or energies.
As you move and note what you feel, just stay with the sensation and breathe through it. For example, if you begin to feel anxiety in your belly, as much as you can, just stay with it, breathe through it, and move your body. You will find after 1-2 minutes of focusing in this area, the sensation begins to dissipate. It may move to a different area of your body- in which case repeat the process. Most of the time repeating this process a few times will bring you to a place of calm, peace and reset your nervous system,
I like to do this practice to different types of music depending on my my mood- for example, if I am feeling emotional, I will use intense, emotional music (such as Mixhound) to really bring these feelings to the surface so I can move through them
Other times, I like happy, laid back beats such as FKJ.
It’s your practice, and your time to really explore your body and all it’s beautiful sensations.
If you’d like to explore this practice further, this post runs through the benefits and key practices of feminine embodiment.
Somatic Self-Hug
Utilising a technique from Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing technique, soothe your nervous system by placing one hand under your arm-pit, and the other on the top of your arm, so you give yourself a hug. Gently stroke the top of your arm, say or move your body if you feel called to, and just breathe steady, perhaps focusing on the heart.
A few minutes of this practice can really help soothe and release feelings of relaxation and happiness in the body and is a lovely practice you can do anyplace, anytime.
Learn more about how somatic coaching works and its benefits.
I hope these will be useful tools in your toolkit, and empower you to self-coach through your everyday stresses. If you’d like to explore 1:1 Body-first, Somatic Embodiment coaching, please do reach out to schedule a chat or session here- I’d love to support!
About Me
I’m Christina Shakelian, a Somatic Coach certified by the School of Embodied Arts and member of the Association of Coaching and Institute of Complementary Therapies.
I combined body-focused, somatic coaching with over 10 years of corporate coaching experience at Apple. When we combine body- first, embodied methods with structured coaching sessions, we can release stored emotions, tensions and traumas from the body and reach a deep inner knowing by connecting to the body’s wisdom, reaching our goals with more ease and pleasure.