Exploring Somatic Therapy: Harnessing Felt Sense, Yoga, Breath Work and Emotion Recognition

Somatic therapy offers a powerful way to connect with the body and mind, helping people heal from stress, trauma, and emotional challenges. Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy focuses on the body’s sensations and movements to unlock deeper awareness and promote healing. This approach uses tools like felt sense, yoga, breath work, and emotion recognition to engage what is called bottom-up processing — starting from the body and moving toward the mind. This blog explores how these elements work together to support emotional health and well-being.

What Is Somatic Therapy and Why It Matters

Somatic therapy is a body-centered approach to mental health that helps people become aware of physical sensations connected to emotions and memories. The word "somatic" comes from the Greek word soma, meaning body. This therapy recognises that the body holds emotional experiences and that healing can happen by tuning into bodily sensations.

Many people carry stress and trauma in their bodies without realising it. This can show up as tension, pain, or discomfort. Somatic therapy helps identify these sensations and gently guides people to explore them. This process can release stuck emotions and create new patterns of feeling safe and grounded.

The therapy is especially useful for those who find it hard to express emotions verbally or who feel disconnected from their bodies. It supports healing by working with the body’s natural wisdom rather than relying solely on intellectual understanding.

Understanding Felt Sense and Its Role in Healing

The concept of felt sense is central to somatic therapy. It refers to the vague, bodily feeling that carries meaning but is not yet clear or fully formed. It might feel like tightness in the chest, a flutter in the stomach, or a heaviness in the shoulders. This sensation is often linked to emotions or unresolved experiences.

In practice, as a therapist I might ask you to notice where in your body you feel tension or discomfort. Then ask you to describes the sensation and stay with it, allowing it to change or reveal itself more clearly. This process helps transform vague feelings into clear emotional understanding.

For example, someone feeling anxious might notice a tightness in their throat. By focusing on this felt sense, they might realise it connects to fear of speaking up or being judged. Recognising this connection can be the first step toward healing.

How Yoga Supports Somatic Awareness

Yoga is a natural partner to somatic therapy because it encourages mindful movement and body awareness. Unlike exercise focused on performance, yoga emphasises listening to the body and moving with intention.

Certain yoga practices help people tune into their felt sense by slowing down and paying attention to breath and posture. Gentle stretches and poses can release physical tension and create space for emotional release.

Often when I am workign with someone somatically I suggest a few poses they could try between sessions. As a yoga counsellor, we don't always do yoga together, rather we use yoga as a practice between sessions based on what we have worked through in session.

Here are some ways yoga supports somatic therapy:

• Grounding: Poses like Mountain Pose or Child’s Pose help people feel rooted and present in their bodies.

• Opening: Heart-opening poses like Cobra or Bridge can release stored emotions in the chest and shoulders.

• Balancing: Standing and balancing poses improve body awareness and focus, helping regulate the nervous system.

• Breath awareness: Yoga encourages deep, slow breathing that calms the nervous system and enhances connection to the present moment.

  
  

For example, a person working through grief might find that gentle backbends with arms open wide, helps to release chest tightness, while slow, mindful breathing soothes emotional overwhelm.

The Power of Breath Work in Somatic Therapy

Breath work is another key tool in somatic therapy. The way we breathe reflects and influences our emotional state. Shallow, rapid breathing often accompanies anxiety or panic, while slow, deep breathing promotes calm and relaxation.

Somatic therapists use breath work to help clients regulate their nervous system and access deeper emotional states. Breath exercises can:

• Reduce stress and anxiety

• Increase body awareness

• Help release stored trauma

• Improve emotional regulation

  
  

One common technique is diaphragmatic breathing, where the breath expands the belly rather than the chest. This type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body.

Another technique is coherent breathing, where inhalations and exhalations are balanced and slow, often around 5-6 breaths per minute. This rhythm helps synchronise heart rate and breathing, promoting a sense of safety and ease.

For example, someone feeling overwhelmed might practice breath work to slow their heart rate and bring attention back to the body, reducing panic and creating space for emotional processing.

Recognising and Naming Emotions Through the Body

Emotion recognition is a vital part of somatic therapy. Many people struggle to identify or express their feelings, especially if they have experienced trauma or emotional suppression. Somatic therapy helps by linking emotions to bodily sensations.

When clients learn to recognise where and how emotions show up in their bodies, they gain clarity and control. This process involves:

• Noticing physical sensations connected to emotions

• Naming the emotion (e.g., sadness, anger, fear)

• Exploring the meaning behind the emotion

• Allowing the emotion to be felt without judgment

  
  

For example, anger might feel like heat in the face or tightness in the jaw. Sadness might show as heaviness in the chest or a lump in the throat. By naming these feelings, clients can express them more clearly and avoid being overwhelmed.

This practice builds emotional intelligence and resilience. It also supports healing by preventing emotions from being trapped in the body.

Bottom-Up Processing: Healing from the Body to the Mind

Somatic therapy relies on bottom-up processing, which means healing starts with the body’s sensations and moves upward to thoughts and emotions. This contrasts with top-down approaches that begin with cognitive understanding.

The body often holds memories and emotions that the conscious mind cannot access easily. By tuning into the body first, somatic therapy bypasses mental defenses and reaches deeper layers of experience.

For example, a person with trauma might feel a tightness in the stomach when recalling a difficult event. Instead of trying to think through the trauma, somatic therapy encourages focusing on the sensation. This can unlock emotional release and new understanding.

Bottom-up processing also helps regulate the nervous system. When the body feels safe and calm, the mind can process emotions more clearly and respond more flexibly.

Practical Tips for Using Somatic Therapy Techniques at Home

While somatic therapy is most effective with a trained therapist, there are simple ways to bring its benefits into daily life:

• Pause and notice: Take moments throughout the day to check in with your body. Where do you feel tension or discomfort? What emotions might be connected?

• Practice breath work: Try diaphragmatic breathing for a few minutes when stressed. Breathe deeply into your belly and exhale slowly.

• Move mindfully: Use gentle yoga stretches or simple movements to release tension. Focus on how your body feels rather than how it looks.

• Name your emotions: When you notice a strong feeling, try to identify it and where it shows up in your body. Say the emotion out loud or write it down.

• Create safe space: Find a quiet, comfortable place to explore your sensations without distractions or judgment.

  
  

These small steps build awareness and help you connect with your body’s wisdom.

Journal Prompts

Write about your experience as you do each of the tips above. Was there one that you felt most comfortable doing? Why?

Was there one that was more uncomfortable for you? why?

How did you know it was comfortable/uncofortable? Where did you feel that in your body?

If you focus on a moment where you felt safe - where do you feel safe? Where and how does the body feel when you are safe?

Repeat that for feeling sad or angry? Journal about how the body feels and where in the body you feel it.

Now can you go back to feeling safe? bring up the safe memory and feel that in the body. Perhaps journal how it feels to be able to bring up a memory and feel it in your body.

Taking the Next Step

If you would like to work somatically, bottom up therapy I invite you to book a 15 minute Connection Call where we can get to know each other and talk more about what you'd like to process in therapy.