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Somatic Exercises: 7 Gentle Ones and What the Evidence Says

Seven gentle somatic exercises for stress and tension, each with simple steps and a plain line on what the research shows, and what it doesn't.

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Guided rest and the research behind it
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Somatic Exercises: 7 Gentle Ones and What the Evidence Says

Somatic exercises are slow practices that put your attention on what's happening in your body, such as tension, breath, weight and warmth, instead of on your thoughts. People turn to them when they feel tense or stressed. The research on "somatic exercises" as a category is thin, but a few of the individual practices have better evidence than the label does.

This guide explains what the word covers, gives you seven gentle exercises to try at home, and sets out what's known and what isn't. This is general information, not medical advice. NSDR is not a treatment for any condition.

What are somatic exercises?

"Somatic" means "of the body". In practice people use the word for three different things. The split below is ours.

The first is gentle movement methods. Hanna somatic education is a method of movement retraining, and the Feldenkrais Method is described as a somatic education approach aimed at awareness and movement. Classes called "somatic stretching", "somatic movement" or "somatic yoga" fit in this group too. The second is body-awareness practices you can do alone, like a body scan, progressive muscle relaxation or paying attention to your breath. The third is body-oriented therapy, such as Somatic Experiencing, a form of trauma therapy given in sessions with a trained practitioner.

This post is about the first two, for everyday stress and tension. Therapy gets its own short section further down.

7 gentle somatic exercises

Each one takes two to five minutes. Try them sitting or lying down, somewhere you won't be interrupted.

ExerciseTimeWhat you noticeWhat's known
1. Orienting2 minThe room around youNo study found on its own
2. Feet on the floor2 minWeight and contactNo study found on its own
3. A longer out-breath2 to 5 minYour breathing slowingA review of slow breathing and one cyclic sighing trial
4. A short body scan3 to 5 minTension, warmth, contactOne small trial of a 10-minute scan
5. PMR, three areas3 to 5 minTension, then releaseA 2024 review of 46 studies
6. Slow neck and shoulder release3 minMuscles letting goOne study with no comparison group
7. A hand on your chest and belly2 to 3 minPressure and warmthOne 2026 trial in stressed adults

1. Orienting

How. Sit still. Let your eyes move slowly around the room, and turn your head if you want to. Name five things you see, in your head or out loud.

What's known. We found no study that tests this on its own. It's here because it's simple and moves your attention outward, away from your thoughts.

Stop if it makes you feel more on edge. Look at one thing instead, or try the out-breath below.

2. Feet on the floor

How. Sit with both feet flat on the floor. Press them down gently for a few seconds, then let go. Notice the weight, the contact and the temperature under your feet.

What's known. A prompt like this ("Feel the chair underneath you") appears in a published composite case of Somatic Experiencing. We found no study that tests it on its own.

Stop if your feet, knees or hips hurt.

3. A longer out-breath

How. Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out slowly, a little longer than the in-breath. Keep it comfortable for two to five minutes. For a variation, try a cyclic sigh: breathe in, take a second, shorter breath in on top when your lungs feel full, then breathe out slowly until they feel empty.

What's known. Your heart speeds up a little on each breath in and slows a little on each breath out, which researchers think is mostly the vagus nerve. More in our guide to vagus nerve stimulation. In a 2023 Stanford trial (108 people enrolled), five minutes a day of cyclic sighing for a month raised daily positive mood and slowed breathing more than mindfulness meditation. Anxiety fell in both the breathwork and mindfulness groups, with no significant difference between them. More in our guide to the physiological sigh.

Stop if you feel light-headed. Go back to normal breathing. Never practise breathwork in water or while driving.

4. A short body scan

How. Close your eyes or lower your gaze. Move your attention slowly from your feet up to your head. At each area, notice what's there, such as tension, warmth or contact, without trying to change it.

What's known. The direct evidence is small. In a trial of 55 adults with chronic pain, a 10-minute recorded body scan eased pain-related distress in the clinic compared with a control recording, but not when they repeated it in their normal environment. Full steps for a longer scan are in our guide to how to relax.

When to stop. If stillness or a body scan brings up distress, stop, open your eyes and take a break. You can leave a session at any time.

5. Progressive muscle relaxation, three areas

How. Tense your shoulders for about five seconds, then let them drop and notice the difference. Do the same with your hands (make fists) and your jaw. Breathe normally throughout.

What's known. A 2024 systematic review of 46 studies covering more than 3,400 adults concluded that PMR reduced stress, anxiety and depression, and worked better combined with other techniques than alone. Many of those were multi-session programmes, and some were single sessions. This three-area version is a shortcut that we found no study of on its own. The full sequence is in how to relax.

Stop if tensing hurts or you get cramp. Skip any area with an injury or pain, such as your jaw.

6. Slow neck and shoulder release

How. Sit tall. Lift your shoulders gently towards your ears, then lower them as slowly as you can, over about five seconds, and notice the muscles let go. Repeat three to five times. Then lower your chin towards your chest and lift it again just as slowly. Move only in the range that feels easy, with no force.

What's known. Hanna somatic education is built around this pattern of tightening a muscle and then lengthening it slowly, which it calls "pandiculation". The evidence is limited. A 2022 study that looked back at the records of 103 adults with neck or low back pain lasting more than two months found their pain scores fell after an average of about three one-to-one Hanna sessions. There was no comparison group, so it can't show the sessions caused the drop. The NHS suggests neck flexibility exercises for neck pain and not keeping your neck in one position for a long time.

Stop if a movement hurts, or you get pins and needles or a cold arm. The NHS says those can be a sign of something more serious, so see a GP.

7. A hand on your chest and belly

How. Put your right hand on your chest over your heart and your left hand on your belly. Close your eyes and take a few slow breaths. Notice the pressure, weight and warmth of your hands.

What's known. In a 2026 randomised trial, 78 chronically stressed adults, mostly young women recruited through a university, did this kind of self-soothing touch or a short meditation for 5 minutes after waking, daily for 14 days. In both groups, stress ratings fell from just before to just after each session, with no difference between them. Neither changed stress measured looking back over the weeks. Both groups sat quietly for 5 minutes, and the authors note that quiet rest alone may account for part of the drop.

Stop if touch feels uncomfortable. Rest your hands in your lap instead.

What the evidence says

The honest answer to "do somatic exercises work?" depends on which ones you mean.

Some of the body-awareness practices have trials behind them. Progressive muscle relaxation has a 2024 review of 46 studies in adults, which included studies without a randomised comparison group. Slow breathing has a review of physiology studies in healthy people, and cyclic sighing has a 108-person trial. The body scan and self-soothing touch each have one small trial. Apart from those two reviews, these are single studies, and they mostly relied on people rating how they felt.

The category itself hasn't been tested. We found no study that tests "somatic exercises" as a group, and nothing that compares them to find the most effective one. The phrase is used loosely, and a PubMed search on 21 October 2026 found 13 papers with "somatic education" in the title or abstract, most of them not about Hanna, and 4 on somatic yoga.

Somatic Experiencing is therapy, and its evidence is early. In 2017, researchers published what they described as the first known randomised trial of Somatic Experiencing. It gave 63 adults with PTSD 15 weekly sessions and compared them with a waiting list. Their PTSD symptoms and depression improved more, and the authors said more research is needed on who benefits most. That's a therapy given by a trained practitioner over months, not a list of exercises.

Somatic exercises and trauma

You'll see a lot of claims that somatic exercises "release trauma stored in the body". We found no good evidence that an exercise releases trauma stored in the body. The idea is linked to theories like the one behind Somatic Experiencing, which its authors present as a theory, illustrated with a composite case rather than tested in a trial.

For PTSD in adults, NICE recommends trauma-focused CBT or, in some cases, EMDR, delivered by trained practitioners. If you think past trauma is part of what you're dealing with, start with your GP or a qualified therapist. And if any exercise brings up distress, stop.

How to make it a habit

Pick two exercises you liked. Do them at the same time each day, such as after you wake up or before bed, for two to five minutes. Change them whenever you want.

If you'd rather follow a voice, a guided body scan at bedtime is an easy place to start. Wind down for sleep with guided deep rest.

NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) is guided rest. You lie still with your eyes closed, stay awake, and follow a voice that moves your attention through your body and slows your breathing. Sessions are often 10 to 30 minutes.

If you notice you feel too wired or too shut down, our guide to the window of tolerance explains the model and what to try on each side.

For a longer plan that adds sleep, breathing and movement, see how to reset your nervous system.

When to get help

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See a GP or a qualified therapist if:

  • you have flashbacks, nightmares, or vivid images or thoughts of a past event that keep coming back
  • you feel disconnected from yourself and the world around you
  • you get panic attacks, a rush of intense mental and physical symptoms that can come on very quickly
  • you have symptoms of depression for most of the day, every day, for more than 2 weeks
  • you're struggling to cope with stress, or what you're trying isn't helping
  • neck pain doesn't go away after a few weeks, or you have pins and needles or a cold arm

If you've had a recent injury, check with a GP or physiotherapist before doing movement exercises.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you or someone you know needs immediate help, or you have seriously harmed yourself.

If you're struggling, talk to your GP. UK: Samaritans 116 123. US: 988.

This is general information, not medical advice. NSDR is not a treatment for any condition.

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For the longer list of stress signs, see our guide to nervous system dysregulation.

FAQ

Do somatic exercises work for anxiety?

Some somatic exercises have evidence for anxiety, but the label as a whole doesn't. The 2024 review of progressive muscle relaxation found it reduced anxiety in adults. In the cyclic sighing trial, anxiety fell in both the breathwork and mindfulness groups, with no significant difference between them. For more options, see our guide to natural approaches for anxiety.

What is somatic stretching?

Somatic stretching usually means slow, gentle movement with your attention on how it feels, often based on Hanna somatic education, whose core move is tightening a muscle and then lengthening it slowly. It isn't stretching to the limit. The evidence is limited: one 2022 study of 103 adults with neck or back pain found pain scores fell after sessions, but it had no comparison group.

Can somatic exercises release trauma?

We found no good evidence that somatic exercises release trauma stored in the body. For PTSD in adults, NICE recommends trauma-focused CBT or, in some cases, EMDR with a trained practitioner. The exercises here are for everyday stress and tension.

Are somatic exercises safe?

Somatic exercises are gentle, but stop if anything hurts or brings up distress. Some people feel more anxious when they try to relax. It has a name, relaxation-induced anxiety, and a 2019 lab study linked it to generalised anxiety disorder and depression. If you have an injury or a health condition, ask a GP or physiotherapist which movements suit you.

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