Try and calm your nervous system with somatics. It’s quite effective. Somatics is calming and centering for your nervous system because it lets your body lead you into ease and recovery from the inside out.
Many of us do good things for our bodies – we eat well, we exercise and think good thoughts – but we miss out on the calm that our nervous system can feel by simply moving with somatics. Truthfully, Somatic Movement is about deepening the Body- Brain connection and improving our brain plasticity. Additionally, can read more about that at this blog post discussing what somatic movement is.
Calming your nervous system with somatics is a breath practice.
For instance, there are many wonderful breathing practices out there that can improve your breath and calm your nervous system down. But do you do them? Sometimes, it is impossible to put something good for you into action when your nervous system is too stressed. Experience your nervous system calm down with somatic breath.
From the point of view of somatics, you would simply observe your breathing. Try it now.
Sit comfortably and just notice your breathing. Can you feel it moving your body? Where? In your chest? Entire rib cage? In the small of your back? In your hips? Maybe in your nostrils and throat?
Don’t judge or try to change anything. Just notice. Stay with it for a minute. Then, just notice if your mental or emotional state has changed. If so, you just calmed your nervous system with somatics.
Here are 8 more somatic breathing practices to do today.
Calm your nervous system with somatics is a movement practice.
Okay, so not everyone loves to sit down and do a breathing practice. I get it. For some of us, focusing on breath can be hard or anxiety promoting. So, let’s try some movement instead.
Mostly, when we are anxious, tense or worried, we tighten our shoulders up to our ears! Honestly, this can be quite painful. it also is something that signals our nervous system that we are in distress!
Instead of try to pull, push or relax your shoulders try this:
Slowly, very slowly, lift one shoulder up to your ear. Imagine you are on a very slow and smooth elevator. Take many seconds to raise your shoulder.
Then, hold it there WITHOUT gripping. Feel like your shoulder is suspended at he highest floor of your elevator. Hold it there for quite. a few seconds.
Slowly, lower your shoulder. Now, see if it is now mover relaxed. If not, try it again going even more slowly and smoothy. Try the other side. If your shoulders are more relaxed, you just used somatics to lessen your tension. Congratulations!
Calming your nervous system with somatics is a kind practice.
Perhaps, the most important thing to recognize about developing more calm through somatics is being kind. I like to think of our bodies like our children. If you are too aggressive with a child, they will rebel.
But if you are patient, willing to learn and guide them carefully they want to please you! Your nervous system wants to let go, Your nervous system wants to help you. For better, or for worse, it tries to help by repeating your habits to you! If you want to start generating a more helpful body-mind relationship and more brain plasticity you can start with this video.
Would you like more resources?
Somatic Movement will help you:
- Create more time and space
- Feel a pause between event and reaction
- Stop working so hard at understanding and fixing
- Increase rest and regeneration.
- Soothe an over-active mind.
So please, learn more. And join me. have a helpful playlist for calm on YouTube. I also offer classes and workshops via Zoom, private lessons and maintain resource pages on my website.