How to calm the body with somatic therapy

Do you struggle with tense muscles and pain?

Do you feel as if you are always jumpy and on edge?

Do you desperately want to calm your body and leave your hyperactive fight and flight mentality behind?

If so, you came to the right place! The Grow Good team is here to support you on your journey of healing your body and mind!

Why am I jumpy, tense, and on edge all the time?

To begin, think about a time where your body was tense during a stressful situation. Maybe you tensed up your shoulders and locked your jaw during an agonizingly long call. Many of us can be tense throughout the day and not even realize it! 

So, why is this? Well, sometimes it is partially because we have learned from past experiences that our body must be ready to fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. 

Sometimes, we scour our surroundings for a potential threat. This may be due to trauma, high levels of stress, negative life events, and more. Our body tenses up and tells our brain that it must be alert and ready for the attack. 

When we are on edge and searching for a threat the older reptilian centers of our brain that are there for survival dominate. Our body tells our brain that we need to be ready to fight or flee. 

So, we jump at loud noises or a friend’s footsteps as they walk into the room. In addition, our emotional regulation, impulse control, reasoning, and ability to talk to ourselves rationally goes out the window. 

Simply being tense and searching for threats can take away the very tools we need to have a calm body and mind. Luckily, that isn’t the end of the story. There is hope. You can heal and calm the body. 

So, how can I calm my body with somatic therapy?

Say you are at work and are under considerable stress. You could stop and do 15 minutes of mindfulness meditation. However, the client that is talking to you may not be too fond of that.

 So, what do you do? How do you calm the body? You simply check in with your body and identify where you are tense! 

Being mindful of our body and how it is reacting to stress is one of the most simple and essential tools we can use. A somatic therapist can help you connect with and relax your body so that you can live your life following stress. 

What happens when we calm the body with somatic therapy?

Often, calming the body tells our brain that all is good in our environment and that there is no need to be afraid. Yes, even during a scary and stressful time! 

When our body is calm, our parasympathetic nervous system activates and becomes dominant. The parasympathetic nervous system is essentially our calm button. It tells our mind that there is no threat and directs us to homeostasis. 

Also, relaxing the pelvic floor tends to calm the rest of our body. The pelvic floor consists of our hip area and butt muscles. Relaxing our pelvic floor  tells our brain that there is no threat and no need to guard against a nonexistent threat. The sympathetic nervous system isn’t alerted  as it hits the calm button for our body and mind. 

But, I have been tense for years! How do I know if I am tense?  

Often, we hold tension in our shoulders, back, and other areas so frequently that we don’t even realize it. It takes practice to release it! It took practice for me to point out when I was tense because I walked around with tension on a daily basis. 

The tension was with me on the ride to work. The tension lived in my shoulders while I was at work. The tension was alive in my jaw when I was waiting in a long line. The tension was at large in my pelvic floor while I was thinking about the next thing on my to do list. 

So, you may be incredulously wondering how to know that you are tense and how to practice after days upon days of tension. Luckily, a stress management technique called progressive muscle relaxation was created for that purpose. 

Progressive muscle relaxation helps us identify when our body is tense and relaxed. Tensing up our muscles and relaxing them while being mindful of how it feels can teach us to identify when we are tense in our daily lives. Most importantly, it releases the tension we are holding throughout our days. 

Grow Good Psychology has a team of  therapists that are dedicated to support you in calming your body and mind with somatic therapy

To add, at Grow Good Psychology we will create a safe holding space for you to explore techniques that help you release tension and calm the body. Our therapists strive to support you on your journey to connect with your body and nourish all parts of you. We are here to be a partner that supports and empowers you to live fully and grow in all aspects of your life. 

At Grow Good Psychology you can learn to regulate your body and release tension. Our therapists can help you grasp onto a sense of calm even in the midst of life’s stressors. 

Lastly, we have a  couples therapist that can help you and your partner calm your bodies and mind. We have couples’ therapists who can support you and your partner. We help you and your partner strengthen your bond and empower each other as your walk down your shared path.

Finally, connect with us now to begin the healing process and embrace growth with our holistic therapists!