Anxiety often feels like a wave that crashes over us — quickened breath, racing thoughts, tight shoulders, maybe a flutter (or a storm) in the chest. And while we tend to think of anxiety as something that lives in the mind, at B-rooted Counselling, we know it’s just as much a felt experience in the body.
Somatic counselling helps us get curious about those experiences rather than overwhelmed by them. It’s not about getting rid of anxiety, but learning how to be with it, slowly and safely — so that your nervous system doesn’t have to work so hard to protect you.
Here are some gentle, body-centered ways to regulate your anxiety and reconnect with your sense of safety and steadiness.
1. Ground Through the Senses
When anxiety lifts us out of our bodies and into our heads, grounding helps us land again. It reconnects us to the present moment, using the body’s five senses as anchors.
Try this:
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Look around and name 5 things you can see.
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Touch 4 things and notice their texture.
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Listen for 3 sounds nearby.
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Smell 2 scents around you.
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Taste 1 thing — even a sip of tea or the air in your mouth.
This kind of sensory engagement can gently signal to your nervous system: We’re here. We’re safe. We can settle.
2. Regulate With the Rhythm of Your Breath
In somatic work, the breath is a powerful tool — not to control, but to notice and work with. When anxiety takes over, breath often becomes shallow and fast. A gentle, rhythmic breath pattern can help shift the nervous system from a fight-or-flight state into more of a rest-and-digest one.
Try box breathing (aka bear breath):
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Inhale for a count of 4
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Hold for 4
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Exhale for 4
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Hold for 4
Repeat a few cycles, letting the breath move like waves — steady and soothing. Notice what shifts in your body as you breathe.
3. Let the Energy Move
Anxiety is not just emotional — it’s energetic. Your body may want to shake, fidget, stretch, or pace when anxious. This is your nervous system trying to discharge the excess energy. Somatic therapy invites you to listen to those impulses and respond with curiosity.
Try this:
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Stand up and shake out your arms, legs, hands, feet. Let it be a little messy or playful.
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Walk slowly and feel your feet really connect to the ground.
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Sway or stretch and let your body guide the movement.
Even a few minutes of intentional movement can help release tension and bring you back into balance.
4. Create Space With Curiosity
Instead of pushing anxiety away, try getting curious about it in the body. Where is it showing up right now? What does it feel like — heat? tightness? buzzing? heaviness?
You might even place a hand gently on that area, breathing into it with compassion. You can ask yourself:
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What might this part of me need right now?
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Can I soften around it, even just a little?
This is core to somatic work — bringing awareness without judgment. We don’t need to “fix” anxiety. We just need to be with it in a different way.
5. Offer Yourself Soothing Touch
Soothing, mindful touch helps the body feel held — especially when anxiety leaves us feeling fragmented or unsteady.
Try this:
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Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly.
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Or, wrap your arms around yourself in a gentle self-hug.
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You can even press your hands together and notice the warmth and pressure.
This isn’t just symbolic — this kind of touch can actually help calm the vagus nerve, a key player in regulating the nervous system.
6. Let It Be Heard (With Words or Movement)
Sometimes anxiety wants a voice — or at least a safe place to be expressed. That might mean journaling, talking with a counsellor, or even allowing the body to speak through movement, breath, or sound.
In somatic counselling, we often invite expression in creative, embodied ways — not just with words, but through breath patterns, gestures, or visualizations. The body holds stories that the mind doesn’t always have language for — and expression creates relief.
Regulation is a Practice, Not a Performance
There’s no “perfect” way to regulate anxiety. Some days your body will want to move, other days it may want stillness or a breath to lean into. The key is learning to listen — with compassion, not criticism.
Somatic counselling offers a space to slow down, tune in, and explore your body’s wisdom at a pace that feels safe and supported. Over time, you learn that you can be with discomfort — and that you’re not alone in the process.
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