Somatic Exercises To Process Grief | 15 Minutes

Welcome to Day 12 of Somatic Kickstart, my transformative 30-day series designed to enhance nervous system regulation and improve your overall well-being. Today's focus is on grief—an emotion as universal as it is misunderstood. Grief manifests not only in our hearts but also in our bodies, as tension, heaviness, or numbness. By working with the body, we can process and release the emotional weight of grief. This session offers scientifically grounded somatic practices to support your nervous system in navigating this complex emotion. BENEFITS OF SOMATIC GRIEF WORK -Improved Emotional Regulation: Releases stored emotional tension, allowing for clearer emotional expression. -Enhanced Mind-Body Connection: Deepens awareness of physical and emotional states, promoting self-understanding. -Stress Reduction: Lowers cortisol levels, alleviating the physical symptoms of grief. -Resilience Building: Strengthens the nervous system's capacity to cope with future stressors. THE SCIENCE OF GRIEF AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM Grief activates the brain's emotional centers, particularly the amygdala, triggering the body's stress response. When unresolved, grief can lead to prolonged states of fight, flight, or freeze, impacting overall well-being. Somatic exercises help shift the nervous system from sympathetic dominance (stress) to parasympathetic activation (calm), facilitating emotional processing and physical relief. 1) Heart-Opening and Self-Hugging: Stretching the chest and hugging yourself alternates between expansion and comfort, helping release emotional tension stored in the pectoral muscles and fascia. This practice stimulates oxytocin production, fostering a sense of connection and soothing the emotional pain of loss. 2) Self-Havening: Gentle, rhythmic strokes on your arms and hands engage C-tactile afferent nerves, calming the amygdala and reducing cortisol levels. This technique enhances safety signals within the body, promoting a state of rest and recovery, essential for grief integration. 3) Spinal Flexion and Extension: Rolling the spine forward and opening the chest mirrors the natural cycle of grief: withdrawal and re-engagement. By stimulating the vagus nerve, this exercise supports physiological calm and releases tension in areas where grief is often held, such as the neck and upper back. 4) The Butterfly Hug: Crossing your arms and tapping rhythmically engages bilateral stimulation, a key mechanism in EMDR therapy. This practice helps the brain process difficult emotions, reducing their intensity while promoting clarity and emotional regulation. 5) Grounding Through Self-Containment: The act of wrapping your arms across your chest provides deep proprioceptive input, signaling safety to the nervous system. Combined with gentle swaying, this exercise activates the insula, a brain region involved in interoception, fostering a deeper connection to the body's emotional states. - Whether you’re new to somatics or looking to deepen your practice, this guided somatic practice offers a gentle introduction to connecting with your body, mind and soul. Don’t forget to like, comment, and share your experience. Reminder: If you sigh, yawn, shiver, swallow or have an emotional release, this is a sign your nervous system is starting to regulate and feel safer. - YouTube:    / @shebreath_teresa   Instagram: shebreath_official TikTok: sheBREATH Website: www.shebreath.com - As a certified trauma-centered somatic practitioner and breath therapist, I help you regulate your nervous system. My journey included transforming personal challenges into wisdom. I´ve evolved through my own trauma, trials and errors, which now empower me to offer guidance and support to others navigating their own transformations. - Disclaimer: The content provided on this channel is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Teresa Trieb is not responsible for any liabilities, injuries, or damages that may occur from following the information or advice in these videos. By voluntarily participating in these somatic exercises, you agree to do so at your own risk and accept full responsibility for any potential damage. You may consult a healthcare professional before beginning somatic exercises. These exercises are intended as a general guide; always pay attention to your body's signals and discontinue if you feel unwell. If you experience sensations such as tingling, ear ringing, dizziness, light-headedness or similar symptoms, please remain calm, as they are completely normal #grief #griefjourney #emotionalregulation #emotionalwellbeing #emotionalresilience #nervoussystemregulation #nervoussystem #nervoussystemhealing #somatics #somatichealing #somaticexperiencing #trauma