Somatic therapy exercises you can do at home
Increasingly, research is backing up the use of somatic therapies such as Somatic Experiencing (SE) as part of a holistic approach to trauma. For example, a 2021 study in European Journal of Psychotraumatology found that SE reduced PTSD symptoms, with positive effects lasting up to a year. It also showed SE improved resilience and quality of life, suggesting potential benefits for self-care and practice.
Having recently had a somatic therapy experience myself, I can attest to its effectiveness when combined with other therapies. Doing the work is important, but so is shaking off the feeling of being stuck in past experiences. For this reason, even some simple at-home exercises, either alone or with your partner, can greatly improve your relationship with yourselves and with each other.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is an approach to healing that focuses on the body as much as the mind. It’s based on the idea that our bodies carry stress, trauma, and emotions in physical ways, in muscle tension, posture, breathing, and even patterns of movement. By working directly with the body, people can release stuck energy and support their own nervous system regulation.
Key thinkers in the field, such as Bessel van der Kolk (author of The Body Keeps the Score) and Peter Levine (developer of Somatic Experiencing), have shown how trauma is not just remembered cognitively but also “held” in the body. This is why simply talking about difficult experiences isn’t always enough. Healing often requires engaging with the body’s natural rhythms, sensations, and movements. Somatic exercises give us tools to do just that.
These practices can be done alone or with a partner. For neurotypical people, somatic work provides mindfulness, stress relief, and a deeper awareness of the body. For neurodivergent people, it can support sensory regulation, improve interoceptive awareness (noticing internal signals like hunger or heartbeat), and provide safe ways to connect without relying only on verbal communication.
Easy somatic therapy exercises you can do at home alone
In a recent reflection, I described what happened when I stepped out of my head and into my body during a holosomatic breathwork session. What struck me most was how easily we overlook the body’s constant signals – this could be tightness in the jaw, a shallow breath or a clenched chest. Even people who are deeply self-aware often end up managing stress cognitively, trying to “fix” or “cope,” while the body quietly stores tension and survival energy.
This is why body-based practices can be so transformative. They encourage presence. Instead of intellectualising or chasing productivity, solo somatic exercises teach you how to pause, feel, and inhabit your body again. They don’t require external tools or workshops. The key ingredient is your own willingness to listen to what your body is already communicating. That simple act of attention can reduce stress, ease perfectionist tendencies, and create the foundation for deeper emotional healing. Deceptively simple solo exercises can help you do this in the comfort of your own home.
Grounding exercise
Find a comfortable place to sit or stand. Slowly bring attention to each of your senses: notice five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
This brings your awareness out of racing thoughts. It brings you back into your body. It’s especially useful when you feel anxious or “spaced out.”
Body scanning
Close your eyes and move your attention through the body, from your toes to your head. Notice areas of warmth, tightness, heaviness, or tingling. You don’t need to change anything, just observe.
This exercise builds awareness of where you hold stress. Over time, noticing subtle body cues can help prevent overwhelm before it escalates.
Shaking it off
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and gently shake your arms, legs, shoulders, and head. Let the movements get bigger, then slow down until you return to stillness.
Many animals literally shake after stressful events to reset their nervous systems. Humans can do the same. This is a safe way to discharge pent-up tension or overstimulation.
Orienting
Turn your head slowly and look around the space you’re in. Let your eyes rest on different objects, colours, or textures. Breathe steadily as you do this.
This exercise helps to remind the body that the environment is safe in the present moment. This can reduce hypervigilance and calm the nervous system.
Breath expansion
Place a hand on your belly and another on your chest. Inhale gently through your nose so that your belly rises first, then your chest. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Try for 5–10 cycles.
Deep diaphragmatic breathing balances the nervous system. In turn, this reduces stress and improves focus.
Somatic therapy in couple relationships
Somatic therapy with a partnered element can foster co-regulation in your relationship. It can really help to bring accessibility, connection and regulation for neurotypical and neurodivergent partners alike.
Mirroring movement
This is such a simple yet effective exercise. One partner makes gentle and simple movements while the other mirrors them in real time. This could be as simple as lifting an arm, swaying or stretching.
The benefit of this exercise for neurodivergent partners is that it encourages attunement and non-verbal connection without the pressure of eye contact or speech. It’s a great opportunity to slow down and connect.
For neurotypical partners, this exercise builds empathy and awareness about how movement communicates mood and energy. For both partners, this simple and playful exercise creates a sense of shared experience that can bring you closer together while creating calm in the process.
Grounding touch
Sit back to back with your partner or, if you prefer, one partner could put a hand on the other’s shoulder. Breathe together, noticing the support and contact.
The benefits for the ND partner is that this provides a safe sensory input, grounding and reassurance through predictable contact. For both partners, this regulates the nervous system through touch and shared breath. If you begin to match breathing rhythm, this enhances the co-regulative effect of the exercise.
Shared movement flow
How’s your yoga vocabulary? This exercise is great for general wellbeing as well as couple connection. Take turns adding movements to a sequence. One person could stretch an arm, then the other could add a twist, and so on. Keep the movements simple unless you are both experienced yogis.
This shared flow encourages play, creativity and adaptability. ND partners benefit from structure with space for self-expression, while NT partners practice attunement. In addition, yoga includes many asanas that open up the hips, which is where a lot of emotions are thought to be stored. This is because muscle tightness and tension, particularly around the hip flexors and pelvic floor, is a common and often unconscious stress response. Over time, this chronic stress leads to tightness, especially in the hip area, so make sure you include a couple of butterfly or frog poses in your shared flow.
