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Understanding the importance of bringing the executive noticing part of the brain online is crucial for regulating the nervous system. When trauma is activated, it tends to shut down the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for rational thinking and decision-making, and instead activates the amygdala, the brain's emergency response center. This shift triggers the body’s fight, flight, or freeze response. By engaging in somatic therapy exercises, we can help restore balance by reactivating the prefrontal cortex and calming the amygdala, ultimately aiding in the regulation of the nervous system.
Grounding Techniques to Try at Home
1. Run Water Over Your Hands
Start by running cold water over your hands. Focus on the temperature as it touches each part of your hand, from your wrist to your nails. Switch to warm water and observe how the sensation changes. Continue for a few minutes until you feel calmer.
2. Move Your Body Comfortably
Engage in rhythmic activities like jumping, dancing, playing an instrument, jogging in place, trampolining, or stretching. Pay attention to how your body feels during these movements and focus on regulating your breathe to the movement.
3. Control Your Breathing
Focus on your breathing while consciously inhaling and exhaling. Start by inhaling for a count of 4, then exhaling for another count of 8. Consider repeating a happy word, such as "safe," "peace," "easy," or "gone," after each inhalation.
4. Nostril Breathing
Nostril breathing, or alternate nostril breathing, can help connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale deeply through your left nostril into your belly for an approximate count of 4. Then, exhale loudly from your mouth for an approximate count of 8. Next, close your left nostril with your ring finger, release your right nostril, and inhale through your right nostril, exhale loudly from your mouth. Repeat this cycle several times to promote balance and calm without pauses on the inhale and exhale.
5. Tense and Relax Your Body
Tense different parts of your body and then relax them. For example, press your feet firmly to the ground for a few seconds, then release and notice the difference. Similarly, you can squeeze the arms of your chair tightly and then slowly relax.
Walk Barefoot on the Beach
Walk barefoot along the beach, letting your feet sink into the sand and feeling the water wash over them. Focus on the sensations of the sand and water against your skin and the sound of the waves. This immersive experience can ground you in the present moment, providing a sense of calm and connection to nature.
Resourcing and Visualisation
Resourcing involves tuning into body sensations that are opposite to what you’re currently experiencing. Practicing specific somatic therapy exercises at home can aid in starting this process, often with the guidance of a somatic therapist.
These techniques can be used to relieve distress by creating a "safe" sensation in your mind and body. Practice these somatic therapy exercises when you are not distressed, so it's easier to reproduce the sensations when needed.
Ways to Practice:
1. Create a Safe Place in Your Mind: Recall a time and place when you felt safe and happy, or imagine a new safe place. Focus on its colours, smells, and textures, and feel your body there.
2. Think About Loved Ones:Focus on people who make you feel at peace. Look at photos or recall specific memories you share.
Self-Regulation
Self-regulation in somatic therapy is about managing the nervous system. Unresolved trauma can lead to disregulation, meaning you’re on high alert all the time, affecting your reactions to everyday stress. Working with your physical senses can help release and shift these patterns.
Easy At-Home Techniques:
1. Hug Yourself: Cross your right arm over your chest, placing your hand near your heart. Then, cross your left arm, placing your left hand on your right shoulder. This can create a feeling of containment and safety. Hold the hug for as long as needed.
2. Body Tapping or Squeezing: With your hand in a cupping position, tap your body from your feet to your head. Alternatively, squeeze different parts of your body. This helps with grounding and recognising your boundaries, giving you a sense of containment and safety.
Body Scans
Body scans are an “active meditation” that may help you relax.
How to Practice:
1. Get Comfortable: Sit down and close your eyes.
2. Lower Body Focus: Notice how your feet feel on the floor. Slowly move your attention up from your ankles to your thighs and pelvis, noting temperature, pressure, and tension.
3. Release Tension: When you identify tension, take a deep breath and exhale while releasing it. Move to the next body part once it relaxes.
4. Upper Body Focus: Repeat the process with your upper body, including internal organs like your stomach, heart, and lungs.
5. Neck, Head, and Face: End by focusing on your neck, head, and face.
Let’s Recap
Somatic therapy exercises can help manage symptoms of trauma and chronic stress. While some somatic experiencing exercises can be done on your own, it’s recommended to work with a trained somatic therapist to truly benefit from this approach.
