Release Stress Somatically

If you've read my blog at all, you'll know that I'm huge on meditation as a regular way to clear stress from the mind. I've also talked about how stress can be released through movement. However the science of somatics is also really interesting. Somatics holds that our emotions are stored in the body.

Remember a long time ago, if someone had a stomach ache because they were nervous, you might accuse them of having a "psycho-somatic" ache? That was essentially a derogatory way of saying that their pain was all in their head. We know more now. We know that stress and emotions can actually show up in the body, not by conscious choice. Think about those times when you've been surprised and your heart races, and maybe your core and legs tense up? Eventually, your heart rate will come down and with time, your muscles will relax. That surprise is very scary for your brain, it sets you up for fight or flight, rushing your body with adrenaline. This reaction tenses our muscles, gets your heart racing, and prepares us to deal with a physical threat. Somatics helps us better understand how our emotions and stressors are manifested in the body.

So if small stressors like a surprise "boo" attack from your kid can be released naturally, what about the chronic stress you deal with while you sit at your computer all day? The stress you feel when your boss is upset, or when your colleague leaves you high and dry, where does that all go? The fact is that unless you're regularly de-stressing your body, it doesn't go anywhere, it stays there. It leads to chronically tense muscles, headaches, lower back aches and more. Different people have different somatic patterns and different emotions can lead to different types of pain.

However some patterns are pretty common. Chronic stress and traumatic experiences leave the body and brain in a constant state of fight or flight. That state requires the legs and core to be very active and thus the illiopsoas muscles (the muscles that flex your hips and allow you lift your legs) are constantly activated. Also, because our modern day stress takes place in a seated position, the hip flexors are often already short and tight because the hips the chronically flexed. Now take a look at the picture in the blog, you can see that the hip flexors are directly attached to the spine, making them directly activated by the limbic system, meaning stress will trigger them more quickly than other leg muscles in the body. In today's video, I share three short exercises that release tension in the illiopsoas muscles.

Why is this important? Well the theory of somatics goes a few steps further than just explaining how stress is stored. We also understand that when stress is stored in the muscles, it feeds back signals to the brain that we're under threat and the brain continues to produce stress hormones. What this means is that when there is stress in the body, it will continue to show up in the mind, which then creates more stress in the body - your perfect vicious cycle. So doing somatic exercises (especially for the hip flexors), releasing stress in the muscles, can send a powerful signal to the brain to calm down. If you can't meditate to stop the cycle from your mind, you can start the process of relaxation in the body.

I love somatic exercises because not only to do they feel really relaxing, I also find them really helpful in settling my mind so that I can meditate. Even though I'm a seasoned meditator, I definitely have days that my stress level is so high that I can't sit and meditate. Somatics gets me into a more receptive and relaxed state. But even if you choose to just do the exercises, that can often be enough to get that vicious cycle broken. And keeping with the theme of this blog, these exercises are short and easy to do.

Give the exercises a try and let me know what you think!