Anxiety & the Body: Somatic Tools for Relief
Anxiety isn't just something we think or feel—it's something our bodies experience. It might show up as tightness in your chest, a fluttering heart, or a breath that feels too quick or too shallow. When anxiety settles in the body, it can feel overwhelming and isolating.
But there’s good news: your body also holds the key to soothing itself.
In this post, we’ll explore gentle, somatic tools and mindfulness practices that invite your nervous system to slow down and find calm. These are not about pushing anxiety away or trying to fix it, but about meeting your experience with kindness, giving space to what is, so healing can unfold naturally.
What Is Somatic Regulation?
Somatic regulation is the practice of calming the nervous system through body-based awareness and movement. When we’re anxious, our bodies often enter a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn state—a primal protective response.
The problem? Our nervous systems don’t always know the difference between a real threat and a perceived one—a difficult conversation, a full inbox, or an uncertain future.
These somatic tools gently guide the body back into a state of safety and connection, helping the brain recognize:
“We’re okay now. We can soften.”
What’s Driving Your Anxiety?
Before diving into tools, it’s helpful to acknowledge what might be fueling your anxiety beneath the surface. Maybe it’s a fear of uncertainty, a drive toward perfection, or a habit of caretaking others at your own expense. These inner drivers create layers that keep your nervous system on edge.
Somatic practices don’t fix those patterns directly, but they create a safe space where you can begin to notice and slowly peel back those layers—allowing more ease and clarity to emerge.
Somatic Tools to gently Regulate Anxiety
Here are some practical, compassionate ways to invite calm into your body and nervous system. You don’t have to do them perfectly or all at once—try what calls to you, gently.
1. Grounding Through the Senses (5-4-3-2-1 Technique)
Best for: Overwhelm, racing thoughts, dissociation
This mindfulness practice draws your attention back to the present moment by engaging the five senses.
How to try it:
5 things you can see
4 things you can feel (textures, pressure, temperature)
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Slow down with each step. The goal is not to rush through, but to arrive.
2. Box Breathing: Slow Your Breath, Calm Your System
Best for: Restlessness, tension, panic
Box breathing is a simple technique that can help reset your breathing pattern and activate the parasympathetic nervous system: the body’s rest-and-digest mode.
How to try it:
Inhale for 4 counts
Hold for 4
Exhale for 4
Hold for 4
Repeat for a few minutes, or until you feel a shift.
Let the breath be gentle. Your body knows how to return to rhythm.
3. Orient to Safety Through Your Environment
Best for: Hypervigilance, disconnection, freeze response
Orienting is a subtle yet powerful way to remind your nervous system that you are safe, here, and now.
How to try it:
Look slowly around your space.
Let your eyes rest on something pleasant or neutral.
Name a few familiar objects or colors.
Notice any softening in your breath or body.
This simple act can reestablish a sense of internal and external safety.
4. Self-Soothing Touch for Emotional Regulation
Best for: Loneliness, overwhelm, emotional sensitivity
Touch is a direct way to communicate safety to the body. It can be surprisingly effective, especially when paired with slow breathing.
How to try it:
Place one hand on your heart, one on your belly.
Apply gentle pressure and breathe deeply.
Or, wrap your arms around yourself in a hug.
Or, massage your thighs or forearms with care.
Let the contact be tender, like you would offer to a loved one in need.
5. Shake It Out: Somatic Release for Stuck Energy
Best for: Built-up tension, agitation, after stressful events
Shaking is a natural way the body discharges stress. Animals do it instinctively after threat, and so can we.
How to try it:
Stand or sit comfortably.
Shake your hands, arms, shoulders, legs—wherever there’s tension.
Let your body move intuitively.
Breathe with it. Sound can help too.
Do this for 30 seconds to a few minutes. When done, pause. Feel what’s shifted.
6. Body Scan Meditation for Gentle Awareness
Best for: Chronic tension, bedtime anxiety, emotional overwhelm
A body scan helps you tune in and reconnect—not to fix what’s happening, but to witness it with kindness.
How to try it:
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Starting from your toes, slowly bring your attention to each part of your body.
Notice any sensations, tension, or areas of discomfort.
Breathe into those areas, allowing them to soften.
Continue up through your body, pausing at each area.
If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the body.
This practice can help you become more attuned to your body and its needs.
Reconnecting with Your Needs and Inner Steadiness
When you tend your body this way, you begin to feel again what you most need—support, rest, ease. That’s where inner steadiness lives, even amid anxiety.
Remember: This isn’t about pushing anxiety away or “fixing” yourself. It’s about meeting what’s here with kindness and curiosity.
When to Seek Additional Support
If anxiety is starting to interfere with your daily life—your sleep, your relationships, your ability to focus or feel at ease—it may be time to reach out. You don’t need to wait until things feel unmanageable. Therapy can offer a supportive space to explore what’s beneath the surface, reconnect with your body, and begin to feel more steady, present, and resourced.
If you’re curious about how therapy might support you in navigating anxiety, please reach out. We’ll talk about what you’re experiencing and explore whether working together feels like a good fit. You can schedule a free consultation below.