4 Simple Somatic Healing Practices to Calm Your Nervous System & Reconnect to Your Body

A woman rests her hand on her heart, conveying a feeling of tranquility and reflection.

If you're intuitive, sensitive, or spiritually aware, you’ve probably encountered a moment where someone dismissed or mocked your healing practices...

Recently, someone poked fun at a post I shared about loving-kindness, saying self-touch practices like placing a hand on your heart were “woo-woo,” useless, or cheesy.

But here’s the truth:

There is nothing weird or useless about having a healthy, loving relationship with yourself. 

In a world that often demands performance and productivity, we are starving for coping mechanisms that actually work—ones that restore connection to our body, our breath, and our innate safety.

Shame and suppression don’t lead to healing.

But presence, breath, and embodied compassion? These do.

Why Self-Touch Matters in Somatic Healing Practices

Self-touch is a foundational somatic healing practice that gently brings your nervous system out of stress and into regulation. It's one of the simplest ways to communicate safety to your body and begin to unwind trauma patterns, especially when practiced consistently over time.

Here’s what self-touch can do:

• Regulate your stress response and help you return to calm

• Support your parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest)

• Slow your heart rate and deepen your breath

• Increase oxytocin, the “bonding hormone” that supports healing

• Reconnect you to your physical boundaries and embodied presence

• Gently rewire patterns of self-neglect with self-love and compassion

A woman strokes her legs, capturing a moment of self-care and tranquility.

4 Somatic Healing Practices to Try Today

These simple, somatic healing practices are perfect when you’re feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or simply want to deepen your self-connection.

1. Hand to Heart + Belly Breath Feel the connection between the palms of your hands and your body.  Slow your breath, elongating each inhale and exhale. Focus on the present moment and simply being, breathing, and connecting with yourself.  

2. Arm & Leg Squeeze Using each hand on the opposite arm, strongly squeeze up and down your arms, feeling the boundaries of your body, noticing how you’re held and contained within your physical home in this lifetime. Breathe deeply & move on to your legs if you wish. This practice helps reorient your system when you feel scattered or disassociated. Move on to your legs if you wish, and breathe deeply as you go.

3. Give Yourself a Hug

Wrap your arms around your own body. Really—try it. This is a deeply grounding practice that communicates care, containment, and safety. It might feel silly at first, but your nervous system will thank you.

4. Gentle Facial Touch Gently make contact with your face– chin, cheeks, forehead, and nose.  Envision the way a mother would lovingly caress her child, and utilize this image when touching your own face.  

There’s no shame in needing soothing, presence, or peace. Your body is not a machine—it is a sacred vessel that holds your experiences, emotions, and aliveness.

Let these somatic practices be simple invitations back into your body. You are worthy of tenderness and safety. Always.

With love, Stephanie

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In my work with sensitive, soul-led women, we work with somatic tools & practices to rewire patterns of self-abandonment, regulate the nervous system, and build a deep, loving relationship with your body.

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