How to use your body to soothe your mind.

Calm Practice

Somatic Sensations

In order to process emotions and regulate our nervous system we need to be connected to our body. This means: noticing the sensations we are experiencing; describing and sitting with them as their witness; and breathing into them and allowing them to pass through.

The list below will help us name and describe the body sensations we feel.

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Tune into your body and ask yourself “What has my attention in this present moment?” Describe those sensations to yourself.

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Achy – Airy – Alive – Bloated – Blocked – Breathless – Brittle – Bubbly – Burning – Buzzing – Chilled – Clammy – Closed – Cold – Congested – Constricted – Contracted – Cool – Cozy – Cramped – Cut off – Dense – Disappearing – Dissolving – Dizzy – Drained – Dull – Elastic – Electric – Empty – Energized – Expanding – Explosive – Faint – Flowing – Fluid – Flushed – Fluttery – Frantic – Frozen – Goose Bumpy – Gurgling – Hard – Heavy – Hollow – Hot – Icy – Imploding – Intense – Itchy – Jagged – Jittery – Jumpy – Knotted – Light – Limp – Loose – Nauseous – Nervy – Numb – Open – Paralyzed – Pit in Stomach – Pounding – Pressure – Prickly – Puffy – Pulsing – Quaking – Queasy – Quiet – Quivering – Radiating – Ragged – Raw – Releasing – Rolling – Shaky – Sharp – Shimmering – Shivery – Shudder – Silky – Smooth – Soft – Spacious – Spasming – Sticky – Still – Stretchy – Stringy – Strong – Stuck – Suffocating – Sweaty – Swirling – Tender – Tense – Thick – Throbbing – Tight – Tingling – Trembling – Twitchy – Untethered – Vibrating – Warm – Weak – Wobbly

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Ballagh, R. (2024). Twists. 101 Ways to Find Calm: How to Use Your Body to Soothe Your Mind. P. 98 – 99.