Somatic Practices for Trauma

How to Gently Reclaim Safety in Your Body

Why the Body Holds the Key to Healing

Trauma is more than a mental narrative—it’s a lasting mark woven into the body’s tissues, breath, and the natural cadence of the nervous system. When we’ve experienced something overwhelming, our bodies often carry the echoes long after our minds have tried to move on. We might find ourselves easily startled, holding our breath without realising, or feeling disconnected from sensations altogether.

This is why somatic practices for trauma are so powerful. Rather than relying solely on talking about our experiences, these practices invite us to listen to the language of the body, to notice its subtle cues, and to create conditions where safety can gently return.

In the past decade, there’s been growing recognition—among therapists, coaches, and healing practitioners—that lasting trauma healing often requires body-based approaches. These methods work directly with the nervous system, helping us release stored tension, reconnect with our felt sense, and foster a sense of belonging within our own skin.

In this post, we’ll explore what somatic practices are, how they work, the science and holistic wisdom behind them, and how you can begin today—with gentle, accessible exercises drawn from the SomaVoice® methodology and my voice and embodiment manuals.

What Are Somatic Practices for Trauma?

“Somatic” originates from the Greek word soma, referring to “the body experienced from the inside.” Put simply, it’s not only about owning a body—it’s about truly living in it. Somatic practices guide us to tune into internal sensations, emotions, and impulses, fostering a deep connection between body, mind, and spirit.

While conventional talk therapy works mainly with the thinking mind, somatic approaches process trauma through movement, breath, touch, sound, and present-moment awareness. They recognise that traumatic experiences often bypass our logical brain and are instead “stored” in the body’s implicit memory—felt in muscle tension, posture, breath patterns, and nervous system responses.

Early pioneers like Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) and Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score) illuminated how trauma lives in the body and how physical-based techniques can help release it. In my own work, I blend these understandings with the transformative voice and embodiment methods from SomaVoice®, integrating interoception (awareness of internal sensations), proprioception (awareness of body position), and exteroception (awareness of the outer world).

A simple way to understand body-based trauma healing is this: Where trauma once taught the body to brace and constrict, somatic therapy teaches it to soften, expand, and trust again.

Why Somatic Practices Work in Trauma Recovery

Nervous System Regulation

Trauma can throw the nervous system off balance, trapping us in states of fight, flight, or freeze. Somatic practices help restore balance by directly working with the body’s regulation systems.

When we experience threat, our autonomic nervous system mobilises for survival. If this activation isn’t discharged, it can become chronic—leading to anxiety, hypervigilance, or shutdown. Somatic techniques like mindful breathing, grounding, and gentle movement send safety signals to the body, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and allowing us to rest and repair.

Exercise – Breath & Tone for Safety (adapted from my SomaVoice® Training):
 Sit comfortably with both feet on the floor. Place your hands over your chest, one on top of the other. Inhale deeply, opening your arms as if about to embrace someone. Exhale slowly, bringing your hands back while toning “Ahhh,” feeling the vibration in your chest. Repeat 10 times, focusing on warmth and expansion in the heart area.

Mind-Body Connection

Somatic work bridges sensation and emotion. As we become aware of subtle internal cues—like a tightening in the belly or a flutter in the chest—we can respond with compassion, rather than override them. This builds trust with our body.

Safety Restoration

For many trauma survivors, the body no longer feels like a safe place to be. Through gentle, consistent practice, we can slowly rewire this association, creating what I call a “felt home”—a place inside where you can rest.

Long-Term Benefits

With time, somatic practices lead to:

• Increased emotional resilience
• Reduced anxiety and hyperarousal
• Better emotional regulation
• Deeper self-awareness and presence in relationships

Scientific and Holistic Perspectives

When it comes to trauma recovery, science and spirituality are often seen as separate worlds. But in the realm of somatic healing, they meet like two rivers flowing into the same ocean. One gives us the mechanics—the biological and neurological “how.” The other offers the meaning—the experiential, soulful “why.” Together, they illuminate a path where the nervous system and spirit can heal in harmony.

The Scientific Lens

Polyvagal Theory
At the heart of somatic trauma healing lies the vagus nerve, a wandering nerve that runs from your brainstem through your face, throat, heart, lungs, and gut. Picture it as the body’s information superhighway, relaying signals between your organs and brain. Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory describes how this nerve shapes our experiences of safety, connection, and survival.

When we feel safe, our ventral vagal state is active: our heart rate steadies, breath flows, digestion hums, and we can connect socially. When we sense threat, our system may switch into sympathetic activation (fight or flight) or dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze or collapse). Somatic practices help us re-engage that ventral vagal pathway, so our body learns safety again—not just as a thought, but as a lived sensation.

Neuroplasticity
The brain is not fixed. Every time we give the nervous system a new experience—such as a moment of grounded presence after years of hypervigilance—we create new neural pathways. Over time, these pathways become well-trodden, making safety and ease more accessible.

Cortisol Regulation
Chronic trauma often means chronic stress hormones. High cortisol levels can impair memory, disturb sleep, and weaken immunity. Gentle, body-based practices help lower these hormones, giving the body permission to shift out of survival mode and into repair.

Body-Brain Feedback Loops
Your posture, breath, and facial expression send constant messages to the brain. Shoulders hunched and jaw tight? The brain reads “threat.” Shoulders open and breath deep? The brain registers “safe.” Somatic work rewires these loops, making safety our default message.

The Holistic Lens

From the holistic perspective, healing is not just the absence of symptoms—it’s a return to wholeness.

• Presence and Mindful Awareness – In the SomaVoice® approach, presence is the soil where transformation grows. As we slow down and listen to our inner landscape, energy begins to flow again.
• Vibrational Medicine – Mantra, chanting, and sacred song aren’t just spiritual traditions—they’re vibrational tools that “tune” the body like an instrument.
• Breath and Sound as Internal Massage – When you hum, chant, or tone, sound waves ripple through tissue, fascia, and bone. This vibration stimulates the vagus nerve, loosens tension, and can bring a profound sense of inner spaciousness.

The Dance Between Science and Soul
Science gives us the blueprint. Holistic wisdom gives us the music. Together, they agree on one truth: the body holds the key to unlocking trauma’s grip, and with care, we can turn that key.

6 Examples of Somatic Practices for Trauma

Each of these practices is gentle, accessible, and can be adapted to your needs. If you’re new, think of them as introductions. If you’re experienced, you might deepen into subtler layers—tracking micro-sensations, emotional shifts, or energetic changes.

1. Body Scanning – Coming Home to the Inner Landscape

This is one of the simplest yet most profound tools from Voice Activation training.
Settle into a comfortable posture—either lying down or sitting with your back supported. Gently close your eyes, take three slow, deep breaths, and bring your awareness to the top of your head. Imagine a warm beam of light moving slowly down through your body. As the light passes through each area, notice sensations: warmth, coolness, tingling, pulsing, pressure, or absence of sensation. When you meet tension, simply acknowledge it without trying to change it. Over time, body scanning refines your interoception—your ability to sense what’s happening inside—which is central to reclaiming body trust.

2. Grounding Through the Senses – Anchoring in the Now

This exercise interrupts looping thoughts or flashbacks by calling you into your present sensory world.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Notice the contact between your soles and the ground, pressing lightly to feel its steadiness. Name:

• 5 things you see – let your eyes wander; notice colours and textures.
• 4 things you feel – clothing on skin, air temperature, the ground beneath you.
• 3 things you hear – distant sounds, hums, silence.
• 2 things you smell – subtle or strong scents around you.
• 1 thing you taste – even if it’s just the inside of your mouth.
  This process communicates to the nervous system: I am here, and here is safe enough.

3. Gentle Movement – Releasing Rigid Patterns

Trauma can make the body armour itself. Movement softens that armour.
Try slow, flowing yoga sequences, Tai Chi, or walking meditation. In SomaVoice®, we add sound to movement: hum or tone while gently swaying your body. Let your voice guide your limbs—stretch on an exhale, spiral with a hum, fold forward while sighing. This marries proprioception (body position awareness) with vocal vibration, deepening embodiment.

4. Breathwork for Regulation – Resetting the Inner Rhythm

The breath is a direct dial into the nervous system.

• 4-6 Breath – Inhale through the nose for 4 counts. Exhale for 6 counts. Continue for several minutes, feeling your heart rate slow.
• Humming Breath – Inhale gently. Exhale with a steady hum, letting the lips vibrate. Imagine the hum travelling down into your chest and belly, soothing you from within.

5. Self-Touch for Safety – Holding Yourself from the Inside

Touch can be a powerful antidote to dissociation.
Place one hand on your belly, one on your heart. Close your eyes and imagine a golden warmth passing between your hands. Breathe slowly, telling your body silently: You are safe now. This simple gesture taps into what Polyvagal Theory calls neuroception—the subconscious detection of safety—through warmth, pressure, and connection.

6. Expressive Movement & Voice – Liberating the Held Energy

From Voice Empowerment practices, this is where body and voice meet in cathartic release.
Stand in a private space. Begin shaking your arms, legs, torso—like shaking water off your hands. Add stomping or bouncing to awaken the lower body. Let sound emerge naturally: sighs, hums, vowel tones, even guttural sounds. This practice discharges adrenaline, releases emotional “frozen” states, and reconnects you to raw, authentic expression.

How to Begin Your Own Somatic Healing Journey

Trauma recovery is not about force—it’s about relationship. Relationship with your body, breath, and voice. As with any relationship, it’s built over time through trust, curiosity, and presence.

Start Small

Choose one practice and commit to it daily for a week. Five minutes is enough. This is about quality, not quantity.

Create a Safe Environment

Your nervous system responds to cues—dim light, soft blankets, calming scents. Think of this as creating a “nest” where your body feels welcomed.

Check In with Your Body

Use language from the Body Sensation List in my manuals: “fluttery,” “dense,” “liquid,” “warm.” Naming sensations helps bridge mind and body, giving form to the formless.

Set Gentle Goals

Avoid the trap of “I must heal quickly.” Instead: I will meet myself where I am, every day.

Seek Support

A somatic therapist or trauma-informed voice coach can guide you through stuck places and keep the process safe. In SomaVoice® Coach Training, we practise deep listening—not just to words, but to breath rhythms, micro-movements, and tonal shifts.

For the Hesitant

If internal focus feels overwhelming, begin outward. Pay attention to the hue of the sky, the surface of a leaf, or the beat of your steps. Safety starts in the places where it’s easiest to feel. Return to yourself, one breath at a time.

Recovering from trauma isn’t about speed—it’s a gradual journey. It’s a slow return—breath by breath, moment by moment—to yourself. Through somatic practices for trauma, you can learn to listen again to the whispers of your body, to trust its signals, and to anchor in a felt sense of safety.

You’re not required to resolve it all immediately. Even one mindful breath can mark the start.

Invitation to Go Deeper

If you’d like to explore these methods in community, I invite you to join my newsletter or join my Free Online Voice Course. Together, we’ll explore voice, breath, and embodiment as pathways back to safety, presence, and joy.