How Do Somatic Exercises Help Manage Stress?

Before you continue reading, sit back and relax. Feel your body make contact with the surface that supports you. Notice the weight of your body. Take a few deep, slow breaths. You can place your hands in the navel area. Feel your hands rise slightly on the inhale and fall on the exhale. Assess whether you are comfortable and how your body weight feels now. Remember these sensations.

What is somatics?
I assume that after this first somatic exercise, you are sitting quietly, continuing reading the article. What makes up the fact that you know you are sitting still or in tension? Ability to observe bodily sensations. According to the definition of the Polish PWN dictionary, “somatic” means “physical, bodily”.  However, it is important to remember that there is a fundamental difference between the typically physiological, or medical, perception of the body and the somatic one.

“Somatics is a field of knowledge that deals with the study of the soma, or body, in terms of its perception from the inside, from a first-person perspective”. What distinguishes the somatic approach to exercise is the way of observing. We deal with the body holistically, taking into account both external, objective, mechanical and biochemical observations, as well as subjective sensations from within. Somatic practices use the body-mind connection to help listen to the signals sent by the body, both regarding areas of pain, discomfort and imbalance, as well as a sense of well-being.

Felt sense
Through somatic exercises, we learn to focus our attention on something we are directly experiencing, but which is not yet put into words. This set of subtle, initially often vague feelings was described and named by Eugene Gendlin, author of the Inner Relationship Focusing method and the notion of “felt sense”. “Felt sense is not just a feeling. It is a holistic perception of a situation through the body”.  The senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste) provide only part of the information building the framework of felt sense. Gendlin stresses that “felt sense can be influenced – and even changed – by our thoughts, although it is not a thought, but a physical sensation”. “Emotions are part of it, but much smaller than most people think (...). Expressive emotions, such as sadness, anger, fear, disgust, joy, are intense and direct. There is a limited number of these emotions and they are easy to recognise and name. This is completely different from felt sense” – he points out.

It can be said that with felt sense we experience the totality of a sensation. For example, at the beginning of reading this article, by carefully breathing and observing your body weight, you may have experienced felt sense of feeling comfortable.

See also: "Life Without a Diet – How to Learn to Eat?".

Stress is our ally
Body awareness also means recognising signs of stress in the body. Recall the last such situation. The stress-inducing factor (reason) is not relevant at this point. Recall how your body reacted. If the memory is quite intense, then it is possible that there is now an echo of the tension response in your body. Most often, we can observe tension in the temporomandibular joint, tightness in the stomach, faster heartbeat, change in breathing rhythm or tension in the neck. Perhaps your palms are sweating or you feel the temperature in a peculiar way (a sudden wave of heat or cold).

Our lives alternate between tension and relaxation, which determines well-being. An imbalance between the two can result in disease. Stress is our ally. The physiological response that occurs in the event of an emergency ensures survival and allows you to save your life or the lives of others. This is the wisdom of the body. As physician Hans Selye, author of the book “Stress Without Distress”, points out, “the physiological response to stress is a more accurate indicator of the body’s actual experience than the conscious perception of that stress. The pituitary gland is a much more accurate judge of stress than the intellect”.

Whether experiencing sensations of comfort or tension, the way to regain agency is to be aware of the body’s subtle sensory impressions. This is why practicing mindfulness is crucial to managing the stress response.

Regulatory reflexes
How can we effectively manage the stress response? Through the ability to regulate the autonomic nervous system. The processes it affects are controlled by two oppositely acting regulatory systems: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for mobilising the body – “switching” the organs to be ready for action. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system causes an increase in tension, activity and readiness to respond. This part of the nervous system is responsible for alarm reactions. On the other hand, stimulation of the parasympathetic system provides rest, relaxation and regeneration.

Basic knowledge of the work of the autonomic nervous system is useful, but you don’t need to do neuroscience to skilfully manage the body’s stress response. The most important thing is to watch your body carefully and not stop your natural regulatory reflexes, such as sighing, yawning and swallowing saliva. Sighing and yawning are natural physiological reactions of the body to reduce stress. Deep breathing can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to relaxation.

Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system promotes saliva secretion, which facilitates the swallowing process. It works both ways. First, we sigh, yawn and swallow saliva reflexively, and we can tell from these reflexes whether our nervous system is in a state of adjustment. Second, by deliberately inducing these reflexes, we can actively influence the nervous system. If, after a stressful situation, we consciously direct our attention to the breath and allow ourselves to sigh, we can move into a state of relaxation and regulate our nervous system.