Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body: Somatic Practices for When Your Brain’s a Dumpster Fire
- Brent Dyer
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
Let’s face it—mental health isn’t all in your head. If it were, we’d just download a patch or turn it off and back on again, right? Unfortunately, our nervous systems aren’t that cooperative. Sometimes, despite our best logical reasoning and inspirational Pinterest quotes, we still feel like we’re one group text away from a full-blown existential crisis.
Enter - Somatic Practices
Sounds fancy. Sounds like a yoga class where someone named Skylar whispers affirmations at you. But it’s not just that. Somatic practices are actually evidence-based approaches that use the body to regulate the mind. And spoiler alert: your body has been holding onto a lot of stuff you thought you “processed” six therapists ago.
Somatic. Like "Soma," the Greek word for body...
Somatic practices help you tune into your felt sense—your body's way of communicating before words show up. They aim to release stress, regulate emotions, and reset your nervous system by accessing your internal cues: muscle tension, breath, heart rate, posture, even that weird knot in your stomach you get before Thanksgiving with your in-laws.
Who Needs Somatic Work?
If you check any of these boxes, welcome to the club:
- You’re constantly anxious but can’t figure out why. (Your nervous system can, though.)
- You feel emotionally numb or disconnected. (Like a sentient houseplant.)
- You struggle to sleep, eat, relax, or stop doomscrolling.
- You experience chronic pain, tightness, or fatigue with no clear medical reason.
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