Somatic Exercises for Anxiety: 8 Gentle Moves to Try

Somatic exercises for anxiety are gentle, body-based moves that help you notice and settle what your body is doing when you feel anxious. Think slow looking around, humming, shaking out tension and long exhales. Research is still early, but many people find these moves calming, and they’re easy to try in a few minutes.

I’m a NASM-certified personal trainer (CPT, CES, PES) and NESTA nutrition coach with more than 20 years in health and fitness. I’m not a therapist or a doctor. I work with bodies every day, so I can share the simple moves that tend to help, plus an honest look at what the science does and doesn’t say.

Jump to a sectionIn this article10 sections

1. What Are Somatic Exercises?
2. Vagus Nerve Exercises: What the Science Really Says
3. How to Calm Your Nervous System: Why the Body Comes First
4. 8 Somatic Exercises for Anxiety
5. Somatic Exercises vs Regular Workouts
6. How to Practice Somatic Exercises
7. When to Stop and Get Support
8. Your This-Week Plan
9. Quick Questions
10. The Bottom Line

What Are Somatic Exercises?

“Somatic” simply means “of the body.” Somatic exercises are practices that pay attention to physical sensations, like your breath, muscle tension, posture and heartbeat, and use gentle movement to shift them.

The idea is simple. Anxiety isn’t only thoughts. It shows up as a tight jaw, high shoulders, shallow breathing and a racing heart. Many people find it easier to calm the body first and let the mind follow, rather than trying to think their way out of a spiral.

You may also hear about somatic therapy, which is done with a trained practitioner. The moves in this article are simple self-care, not therapy. They can sit alongside professional care, but they don’t replace it.

Vagus Nerve Exercises: What the Science Really Says

You’ve probably seen videos promising to “reset” or “tone” your vagus nerve. Here’s an honest look.

The vagus nerve is real and important. It’s a major part of the system that helps your body rest, digest and slow your heart rate. Slow breathing with a longer exhale can shift heart rhythm in a calmer direction, and that link has decent research behind it.

But popular claims run well ahead of the science. Some ideas you’ll see online, including parts of polyvagal theory, are debated among researchers. There’s little solid evidence that humming, gargling or splashing cold water “resets” anything in a lasting way.

My take as a coach: the moves are low-risk and many people feel calmer after them. Use them because they help you, not because a video promised to rewire your nervous system.

How to Calm Your Nervous System: Why the Body Comes First

When you feel threatened, your body revs up. Heart rate climbs, muscles brace and breathing gets fast and high in the chest. That’s useful when there’s real danger. It’s exhausting when the “danger” is an inbox or a worry at 2 a.m.

Somatic exercises send the opposite signals. A long exhale, loose shoulders, a soft gaze and steady feet are what a safe body looks like. Many people find that copying those signals on purpose helps the alarm turn down.

Your body may also hold tension you don’t notice until you look for it. My guide to the signs your body is storing stress covers common ones, like a clenched jaw or tight hips.

8 Somatic Exercises for Anxiety

Try them one at a time. Notice how you feel before and after, and keep the ones that help. Here’s a quick overview.

Move	Time	Best For
Orienting	1 minute	Feeling on edge or hyper-alert in a new place
Long exhale	2 minutes	A racing heart or quick, shallow breathing
Humming	2 minutes	Settling before sleep or a stressful call
Shaking out	1 minute	Jittery, buzzy energy after a scare
Body scan	5 minutes	Noticing hidden tension at the end of the day
Wall push	1 minute	Restless energy that needs somewhere to go
Self-havening	2 minutes	Comfort when you feel shaky or alone
Weight shift	3 minutes	Feeling scattered or ungrounded

1. Orienting

Orienting means letting your eyes and head slowly look around the room. Turn your head gently left, then right. Let your eyes land on things: a plant, a window, the color of a wall. Name three things you see.

This sends a simple message: I’ve checked my surroundings and I’m okay. It’s similar to the grounding work in my guide to grounding techniques for anxiety.

2. Long Exhale Breathing

Breathe in through your nose for a count of four. Breathe out slowly through pursed lips for a count of six or eight. Repeat for two minutes.

This is the move with the strongest research behind it. Keep it gentle, and if you feel lightheaded, return to normal breathing. My breathing exercises for anxiety cover more ways to practice.

3. Humming

Take a comfortable breath in, then hum on a low, easy note as you breathe out. Feel the buzz in your chest and face. Repeat five to ten times.

Humming naturally lengthens your exhale, which is likely why many people find it soothing. It’s also discreet enough to do in the car.

4. Shaking It Out

Stand with your knees soft. Gently shake your hands, then your arms, then bounce lightly through your legs. Keep it loose for 30 to 60 seconds, then stand still and notice your body.

Many people find shaking it out releases that buzzy, keyed-up feeling after a scare or a hard conversation. Keep it gentle if you have joint issues or balance concerns.

5. Body Scan

Sit or lie down. Move your attention slowly from your toes to the top of your head. At each area, notice what’s there: warmth, tightness, nothing at all. If you find tension, breathe out and let it soften a little.

If you like this, try progressive muscle relaxation, which tenses and releases each muscle group in order and has a long research history.

6. Wall Push

Stand facing a wall and place your palms on it at chest height. Press firmly, as if you’re trying to push it away, for 10 seconds. Then release and breathe out. Repeat three to five times.

This gives restless, fight-ready energy a safe outlet. In the beginner boxing classes I’ve taught, a common moment is when someone realizes how much tension they’ve been holding once they finally have something solid to push against.

7. Self-Havening

Self-havening is a gentle self-soothing practice. Cross your arms and slowly stroke from your shoulders down to your elbows, or gently rub your palms together, while breathing slowly.

There isn’t strong research on havening, so I won’t make claims about it. Think of it as a comforting, gentle touch. If it feels good, keep it. If it doesn’t, skip it.

8. Slow Weight Shift

Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips and your knees soft. Slowly shift your weight to your right foot, then back to your left, like a slow pendulum. Feel your feet press into the floor.

This comes from the tai chi I’ve trained in, where slow, rooted weight shifts are a core skill. The slowness is the point, so take about ten seconds each way.

Somatic Exercises vs Regular Workouts

Somatic exercises and workouts help in different ways. Somatic moves are quick, quiet and useful in the moment. Regular exercise builds a calmer baseline over weeks and has stronger research behind it.

You don’t have to choose. Use somatic moves for hard moments and steady movement for the long game. My guide to exercise for anxiety covers the workouts with the most support.

How to Practice Somatic Exercises

A few tips make these moves work better:

1. Practice when you’re calm. Your body learns the moves more easily when it’s not in alarm mode.
2. Start with one. Pick the move that feels most natural and do it daily for a week.
3. Go slow. Slower is almost always better with this kind of work.
4. Keep your eyes open if you prefer. Closing your eyes can feel unsafe for some people. That’s fine.
5. Rate it. Score your anxiety from 1 to 10 before and after. Keep the moves that lower it.
6. Pair it with rest. A nervous system that never gets a break struggles to settle. My post on quiet quitting on stress covers ways to protect your downtime.

When to Stop and Get Support

Somatic work is gentle, but paying close attention to your body can sometimes stir up strong feelings. If a move brings up flashbacks, panic, numbness or a feeling of being detached from your body, stop. If you live with trauma, dissociation or flashbacks, please do this work with a trained therapist rather than on your own.

See your doctor if anxiety shows up most days for two weeks or more or affects your daily life. Call 911 for chest pain or pressure, fainting or severe trouble breathing. If you’re thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the US right away.

Your This-Week Plan

Do each move once a day on a calm moment, and rate your anxiety before and after.

1. Day 1: One minute of orienting, then two minutes of long exhale breathing.
2. Day 2: Five slow hums, then one minute of orienting.
3. Day 3: Shake it out for one minute, then stand still and notice.
4. Day 4: A five-minute body scan before bed.
5. Day 5: Three wall pushes, then two minutes of long exhales.
6. Day 6: Three minutes of slow weight shifts, then try self-havening.
7. Day 7: Pick your two favorite moves and put them in your daily routine.

Want a short set of breathing and grounding drills to keep on hand? Grab the free Calm-Down Toolkit. For the big picture, start with my guide on how to calm anxiety naturally.

More in this series: How to calm anxiety fast, Anxiety at night, Tea for anxiety.

Quick Questions

The Bottom Line

Somatic exercises for anxiety are simple, low-cost moves that help you calm your body so your mind can follow. The science is early and some online claims go too far, but slow breathing, orienting and gentle movement are safe places to start.

Pick one or two moves, practice them on calm days, and keep the ones that help. If anxiety is shaping your days, pair these tools with support from a doctor or therapist.

This article is for general education and is not medical or mental health advice. If you have an anxiety disorder, a trauma history, a heart or lung condition, or you take medication for anxiety or depression, talk with your doctor or therapist about what’s right for you, and never stop medication on your own.

Stop and get help right away for chest pain, fainting, severe trouble breathing or flashbacks that feel unsafe. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the US or your local emergency number. These moves support calm, but they are not a substitute for professional care.