How to Start Practicing Somatic Awareness
Aug 13, 2025
We hear a LOT about this word, but there's not a whole lot about HOW to do it. Let me help.
1. Pause once a day and check in with your body.
Pick a small trigger — after a meeting, after a text conversation, after a meal.
You don’t need to “feel emotional” first — just check in no matter what.
2. Scan your body from head to toe.
Ask yourself:
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Where am I feeling tight, heavy, fluttery, warm, tense, or numb?
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If that sensation had a shape, color, texture, or sound, what would it be?
Describing it helps your mind stay connected to the experience instead of drifting off.
3. Stay with the sensation for 30–60 seconds.
You don't have to change it or fix it.
Just breathe into it and give it permission to exist.
Most people are amazed how much shifts just by paying attention without trying to control it.
Optional bonus:
Place your hand gently over the area you notice.
Offer kindness to that part of your body, like you would comfort a hurting child.
Helpful Self-Coaching Cues:
When you feel yourself getting activated or overwhelmed, try gently asking:
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“What am I noticing in my body right now?”
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“Where do I feel this emotion physically?”
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“If this sensation could speak, what would it want me to know?”
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“What would happen if I just stayed with this feeling a little longer?”
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“Is this sensation asking for movement, stillness, breath, or comfort?”
These questions build emotional muscle memory over time — where your first instinct becomes listening, not reacting.
Optional Journaling Prompt:
“Today, I noticed my body felt ______ when I experienced ______.
When I stayed with it, I realized ______.
Next time, I want to offer myself ______ when I feel this again.”
This simple prompt helps you build a roadmap for your emotional landscape — one that is rooted in understanding instead of shame or fear.
Final Thought:
Somatic awareness isn’t about doing it perfectly.
It’s about building a new relationship with yourself — one sensation, one breath, one moment at a time.
Your body is not the enemy.
It’s your greatest ally, your loudest guide, and your built-in support system.
Learning to listen to it might just change your life.