Somatic Release Techniques: A Guide to Releasing Stored Trauma

If you’re like me, you were taught that yoga is about structure and alignment.

And while I LOVE alignment and asana, I’ve come to recognize that yoga doesn’t have to be about achieving more challenging poses…

Nor does it have to be about chasing a feeling of bliss or enlightenment. 

Yoga can actually be about:

☂️ Embracing emotions you’ve suppressed  

☂️ Evolving your family’s wounds and patterns

☂️ Experiencing a deeper sense of pleasure

This is called Somatic Yoga: A combination of yoga and somatic release.

Where you tune into your body’s wisdom to exit any fight/flight/freeze response that’s holding you back from your full potential. 

You’re probably already practicing somatic yoga with me on YouTube (and if not, I linked the perfect class for you to try at the bottom of the post). So now, let’s talk about what somatic release is and how it can benefit you, especially if you’ve experienced trauma.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brett Larkin 🧘‍♂️Uplifted Yoga (@larkinyogatv)

What Is Somatic Release?

Science has proven that emotional bracing patterns reside in your fascia – the interconnective tissue of your physical body. NOT just in your mind.

Somatic release addresses the fact that you need to unwind these bracing patterns through movement and expression in a way that is UNIQUE to you. There’s no one-size-fits all approach.

Somatic therapies are about getting into a state of deep self regulation where you’re able to release stress. Only once your body feels safe, can you begin processing past traumas. Clearing old traumatic events system means you need feel to heal. Often, you need to feel what you’ve been most avoiding (or suppressing feeling for years).

We often turn to traditional talk therapy to handle emotions, 🙋‍♀️ myself included. But for me personally, the biggest leaps happened when I addressed the root cause of fear and pain IN MY BODY (rather than just talking about it). 

Talk therapy is operating only on the mental plane. It’s not addressing the habitual bracing patterns in your physical body. These bracing patterns affect your thoughts and how you’re moving through life. And yes, if you’re aware of yoga and the chakras as psycho-emotional centers, it’s affecting your emotional body as well.

Somatic Therapy Example

Here’s an extreme example. Let’s say Sally goes through her car windshield at 80 mph and lands on the ground in a specific position. She’s then tied onto an ambulance gurney, put under anesthesia and undergoes surgery. Two things then happen:

1. Her body holds trauma memories of the position in space associated with her accident and surgery. Even if she appears to have physically recovered, it’s likely she’s still subtly bracing against that position of impact and her fascia (her interconnective tissue) has reorganized accordingly. Even if she shows no signs of post traumatic stress disorder, she likely holding herself in a freeze response. Instead of shaking, screaming and feeling the negative emotions related to the pain of the accident — which would complete the stress cycle and allow her to nervous system to recalibrate — she braces against feeling.
2. This “bracing against feeling” requires a lot of extra energy from the body. As the body clamps downs and freezes into order to avoid feeling, it causes a slew of other health issues: like digestive distress, insomnia, or chronic physical pain.

Rationally, Sally knows the traumatic experience of her accident is in the past.

But her “animal” body is still in survival mode.

Without somatic work, her body is still moving through space bracing against traumatic memories from the accident. Until she processes her body’s somatic experience of what happened with a somatic coach or somatic therapist, her “animal body” will still be on high alert. She’ll won’t have closed the stress cycle on this traumatic event, affecting her mental health and causing physical symptoms.

💎 Key takeaway: What we resist persists. In order for trauma to go away, it has to unwind along the same course of tension it was created. 

Luckily, you can do this slowly, on your own terms. In my somatic coaching certification, we talk about the principle of titration: Intentionally slowing down the process of healing in order to feel safe – or working with small parts of a traumatic experience at a time.

Getting Started with Somatic Therapy

By tapping into the wisdom of your body, somatic release can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation. It’s not just about stretching muscles – it’s about stretching your capacity for joy, resilience, and self-love.

So, how can YOU do this? 

Instead of dialoging with your brain, somatic therapy asks you to dialogue with your animal body. Think of it this way: the language of your head is intellectual thought, but the language of your body is the 5 senses. 

So you need to slow down and notice your physical sensations. This is also known as somatic awareness. 

Somatic yoga can be a great place to start. Somatic Yoga invites you to: 

1️⃣ Prioritize your internal experience over external appearance

2️⃣ Transform the yoga postures you already love into containers for emotional processing 

3️⃣ Tune into your innate body’s wisdom and what your physiology needs to unwind and feel safe again. 

Instead of following along to someone else’s sequence or alignment cues, you tune into yourself. 

For example, you start doing traditional Cat/Cow, but then realize it feels good to spiral the head and neck, move one hand to your hip, sigh out the mouth, or sit back on your heels. Try it in this somatic yoga class designed for emotional release.

Through somatic therapies, you increase your body awareness and your mind body connection. Your nervous system regulates and you can tune into what’s behind any chronic pain or physical symptoms.

I love somatic mind body techniques because they help you:

✅ Unlock your body’s natural intelligence

✅ Unleash what you’ve been suppressing 

✅ Unwind habitual bracing patterns and past trauma 

Working with a licensed somatic therapist or a mental health professional who has specialized training can also be helpful. You may want to also explore things like sensorimotor therapy, eye movement desensitization, and EMDR therapy, and other somatic experiencing exercises.

If you’ve been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), somatic therapy can be extremely healing for your mind body connection. A somatic therapist or coach can guide you through somatic therapy exercises to work through the traumatic events and painful emotions.

Experience My Somatic Yoga Workshop (usually $67) FREE!👇

Benefits Of Somatic Release

Somatic therapy offers a plethora of benefits that can positively impact your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Here are some of the amazing benefits, but remember, to fully reap these rewards you should work with a practitioner you feel safe with:

• Stress Reduction: Somatic therapies activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing stress. A study in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies suggests that practices like mindful movement (ahem…yoga!) can significantly decrease stress and anxiety.
• Improved Emotional Regulation: Somatic therapy allows you to become more aware of your bodily sensations and responses to emotions, fostering greater emotional resilience. 
• Release of Physical Tension: Somatic experiencing targets areas of physical tension, alleviating stiffness, soreness, and discomfort in the body. A study in the International Journal of Yoga Therapy demonstrates that somatic practices – like the Hakomi Method – effectively reduce muscle tension and improve flexibility.
• Trauma Healing: Somatic therapy is particularly beneficial for individuals who have experienced trauma or have PTSD. Engaging in gentle movement and body-centered practices allows trauma survivors to safely process and release stored trauma. Research in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation highlights the efficacy of somatic experiencing in treating trauma-related symptoms.
• Increased Energy Flow: By releasing blockages and restoring balance within the body, somatic healing promotes the smooth flow of energy (prana) – leading to more vitality, rejuvenation, and an overall sense of aliveness.

Take my feminine energy quiz to get a recommended practice for balancing YOUR feminine energy 👇

What Are Somatic Exercises?

Somatic therapy exercises include mindful movement and body-centered practices aimed at facilitating the release of physical tension, emotional stress, and trauma stored within the body.

These exercises focus on cultivating awareness of bodily sensations, promoting relaxation, and restoring balance to your nervous system.

Here are six of my favorite somatic release practices (🤫There are 35 in my Somatic Yoga manual):

Somatic Shaking

Somatic shaking involves rhythmic, spontaneous movements of the body to release tension and stress promoting relaxation on a cellular level. It’s a natural response observed in animals and humans as a way to discharge excess energy and reset the nervous system. You know how dogs shake after they feel stressed? That’s somatic shaking!

However, in modern society, we’ve been taught to suppress this reflex in favor of psychology. But sometimes the best therapy for our nervous systems is to simply shake it off!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brett Larkin 🧘‍♂️Uplifted Yoga (@larkinyogatv)

Body Scan Meditation

This key method of emotional release is one of my favorite somatic approaches to release trauma and create safety in the body!

You systematically direct your attention to different parts of the body, noticing any sensations without judgment. Think of deep relaxation in savasana.

This practice cultivates deep body awareness, allowing you to identify areas of tension and consciously release them. This should be done in a secure space where you feel safe and won’t be interrupted. No external stimulus allowed!

Breathwork

Conscious breathing helps regulate your whole system, induce relaxation responses, and release physical and emotional tension stored in the body. Your breath is the lever you must pull to control your nervous system and get into the present moment. Making it your most powerful tool for regulation–where most healing can occur.

Somatic breathwork techniques, such as diaphragmatic breathing and breath awareness, are integral to somatic therapy exercises. 

By focusing on the breath, you can deepen your connection with the body and process traumatic experiences.

Mindful Movement

The mindful movement of yoga makes it the ultimate somatic therapy. 

Through mindful movement, you can release tension, improve your flexibility, and feel better all around. Read more about somatic yoga benefits to get an idea of how this mindful movement will impact your life.

Or try my beginner somatic release yoga class.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

One therapeutic approach I love is progressive muscle relaxation. This is similar to a body scan, except it involves systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.

This practice helps you become more aware of muscle tension and learn to release it intentionally, which helps in releasing traumatic experiences too. PMR is often used therapeutically to manage anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain.

Give it a try: Body Scan 👀 | PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION | Guided Somatic Meditation with Music

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy

Sometimes known as sensorimotor psychotherapy, this body-oriented psychotherapy is usually done with a somatic therapist. It includes methods like Somatic Experiencing and the Hakomi Method, which integrate somatic awareness with traditional psychotherapeutic techniques.

These approaches recognize the interconnectedness of mind and body, using somatic exercises to facilitate the processing and release of trauma stored in the body.

Incorporating these somatic exercises into your daily routine helps you tap into the body’s innate wisdom to release tension and stress. To feel calm, cool, and collected.

You should take your time to find the right therapist. But you don’t need a therapist to start getting embodied and experience somatic therapy. You can start on your mat with Somatic Yoga.

How To Release Tension In Body

If you’re ready to integrate somatic therapy practices into your life, you can start by following 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Check-in with your body

You know your body better than anyone. Find a quiet and comfortable space to tune into your body without distractions. Close your eyes, breath deep, allow yourself to become fully present in the moment. Notice how you’re feeling physically, emotionally, spiritually without judgment.

I also like to take this moment and state three feeling words. For example: “I feel tired, confused, and a little sad.” or “I feel calm, happy and excited.”

Step 2: Regulate–Get into a relaxed state

Lie down and make yourself as comfortable as possible. Eyes closed, slow, deliberate breaths. Check in with each part of your body. No judgment, just observance. Feel held in the container of the body. Progressive muscle relaxation can help. 

Regulation will get you out of the fight/flight/freeze response allowing you to temporarily feel safe enough to work on areas of trauma.

✨In a regulated state, we can receive the full intensity of life without feeling shattered or overwhelmed.✨

Step 3: Pleasure–Use your intuition

Use your innate wisdom to move in a way that feels pleasurable.

Trust the signals your body sends you as you explore various techniques. Whether it’s gentle movement, breathwork, or meditation, let your intuition lead the way to your optimal somatic therapy practice.

Step 4: Titrate–Be gentle with yourself

Assuming you now feel safe, your body can revisit some of these places of past trauma. Gently lean into areas of tension. Reflect on how your body feels. Notice any shifts in your physical sensations, emotions, or overall sense of well-being.

Step 4: Unwind–Release and recalibrate

Somatic release happens when you go into a point of tension and unwind from that place to let your body recalibrate. Your body knows how to do this if you take the breaks off. Turn off your brain and turn up the volume on felt sensation.

Allow yourself to rest and integrate the benefits of these somatic therapy techniques. Know that you’ve taken an important step towards releasing tension and nurturing your body.

Common Questions About Somatic Release

If you still have questions, you’re not alone. Somatic therapy is complex and can take a while to understand, especially since it’s so different from other forms of healing.

These are some questions people ask in my Somatic Yoga Certification and Somatic Yoga Life Coaching courses:

Is crying a somatic release?

Definitely!

Crying releases emotional tension stored in the body, like sadness, frustration, or grief, giving us a sense of catharsis and much-needed relief. This emotional release can manifest as tears, trembling, or other bodily sensations. Crying is a GOOD thing. It means energy is moving. This is what you want in somatic therapy sessions.

What does a somatic release feel like?

Common sensations include a sense of lightness, relaxation, and emotional release.

It may feel like tension melting away from the body, muscles softening, and a deep sense of peace washing over you. Some people may also experience tingling sensations, warmth, or a feeling of energy flowing freely. But this is a deeply personal experience. It may also feel different in different areas of the body. The somatic release I felt in my heart around a specific emotional issue was very different from the release I felt in my jaw after recovering from a surgery.

How do you release trauma trapped in the body?

A therapist helps but you are your own best coach, especially on the mat. A coach or therapist simply provides a supportive safe space for you to explore your edge. Engage in somatic therapy practices that facilitate the processing and integration of traumatic experiences, like the ones listed above.

Cultivating an awareness of bodily sensations, emotions, and triggers — YOUR bod’s map) — helps safely process and release trauma. It’s important to seek support from trained professionals and significant people in your life when addressing complex trauma or PTSD.

Final Thoughts

Somatic therapy is a powerful tool in your healing journey. If you liked this blog post, I invite you explore my Somatic Yoga Life Coaching program where you’ll deep dive into your own personal development and how to help others. Or if you prefer a go-at-your-own-pace Home Study course my online Somatic Yoga Certification is a perfect place for you to start. Thanks for reading to the end!