Attuning to the Stories Your Body Is Telling
Somatic Practices for Providers Engaged in Intergenerational GBV Work
These short practices show how the body holds trauma, and offer practical somatic interventions to support providers doing intergenerational gender-based-violence work.
Trauma creates lasting changes in nervous system regulation and bodily experience; somatic, interoceptive, and breath-based practices help providers notice, regulate, and ethically integrate embodied responses to reduce vicarious trauma and increase clinical presence. Somatic approaches and mind-body practices are evidence-informed adjuncts (not replacements) to clinical care for trauma; they support autonomic regulation, interoceptive capacity, and the ability to stay present with difficult content.
Somatic Practices for Providers
These are adapted from SE/Polyvagal/clinical somatic guidance and the applied work of van der Kolk, Levine, Porges, Apigian, Tracee Stanley.
1. Grounding: 5 Point Body Scan (3 min)
Notice sensations without interpretation.
Settle in
Find a comfortable seated position. Allow your body to soften and take a slow, natural breath.
Bring awareness to your feet
Notice your feet where they meet the floor or ground.
Ask yourself: What sensations are present? Warmth, pressure, tension, or subtle movement?
Notice your seat
Bring attention to where your body meets the chair or surface beneath you.
Observe any sensations—weight, support, warmth, or shifting.
Scan your spine
Gently notice the length of your spine.
Without trying to change anything, simply observe how it feels—upright, curved, tense, or relaxed.
Tune into your breath
Notice the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Feel the movement of the breath in your chest, ribs, or belly.
Soften the jaw
Bring awareness to your jaw.
See if it can soften or unclench slightly.
Closing
Take one or two slow deep breaths and notice how your body feels now. Move forward gently, carrying this awareness with you.
2. Vagus Nerve Reset - Breath (5 min)
Settle in
Find a comfortable seated position and allow your body to settle.
Slowly inhale through your nose for 4 counts.
Gently exhale for 6–8 counts, letting the breath leave your body slowly.
If it feels supportive, add a soft hum on the exhale to deepen the calming effect.
Continue this breathing pattern for as many rounds as feel helpful.
3. Pendulation / Titration Movement (6 min)
Settle in
Find a comfortable seated or standing position. Allow your body to feel supported by the ground or chair beneath you. Take a few slow, grounding breaths.
Bring gentle awareness to your body
Notice any areas of tension, heaviness, or ease. No need to change anything—simply observe.
Begin small movements
Start with slow, gentle shoulder rolls, letting the movement be soft and natural.
Alternatively, try a subtle pelvic rock, shifting slightly forward and back or side to side.
Practice pendulation
Move between neutral and gentle activation, noticing the difference between stillness and movement.
Tune in to sensations
Ask yourself: What do I feel as I move? Warmth? Tension? Release? Notice these sensations without judgment.
Continue at your own pace
Move slowly and mindfully for about 6 minutes, allowing your body to guide the rhythm and intensity.
Close the practice
Slowly return to stillness. Take a few deep, grounding breaths. Notice how your body feels now compared with the beginning of the practice.
4. Grounding Anchor (2 min)
Settle In
Sit comfortably with your feet resting on the floor.
Allow your body to relax and take a few slow, grounding breaths.
Press and release your feet
Gently press your feet into the floor, feeling the connection and support.
Slowly release the pressure, noticing the sensations in your feet and legs.
Repeat this press-and-release a few times, moving at your own pace.
Choose a grounding anchor
Pick a one-word anchor that feels supportive—something like presence, safe, steady, or here.
As you press and release your feet, silently repeat your anchor word with each breath or movement.
Notice sensations
Pay attention to how your feet, legs, and body feel as you connect with the floor and your anchor word.
Let your awareness stay gentle and curious.
Close the practice
After about 2 minutes, release the press and rest your feet naturally on the floor.
Take a few slow breaths and notice any shift in how grounded or centered you feel.
5. Orienting Practice (1-2 Minutes)
Turn your head slowly left to right, letting eyes land on something comforting.
6. Intergenerational Body Mapping (5 Minutes)
A variety of narrative contexts (e.g., intergenerational trauma) profoundly shape bodily expressions of distress.
Place a hand on a part of the body that feels heavy or activated.
Ask: Is this mine? My family’s? My community’s?
No analysis, just listening.
7. Micro-Release Movement (3 Minutes)
Settle In
Sit comfortably with your feet resting on the floor.
Allow your body to relax and take a few slow, grounding breaths.
Shoulder Rolls
Gently roll the shoulders forward (as many times as you need)
Gently roll the shoulders backward (as many times as you need)
Shaking Hands / Arms
In a comfortable seat, or standing with feet firmly planted on the ground, gently shake your arms, then your hands.
Hip Circles
The hips are a powerful storehouse of emotion in the body — holding tension, grief, stress, and unprocessed trauma.
In a comfortable stance, gently roll your hips in a circle clockwise (as many times as you need)
Then gently roll your hips in the opposite direction (as many times as you need).
Gentle Bouncing
Begin to gently bounce, letting your knees soften and your body find a subtle, rhythmic sway. Allow the movement to be easy and effortless. As you bounce, imagine the weight of what you’re carrying begin to loosen and release through your body, through the soles of your feet, and into the earth beneath you. Come to a still position, and remind your nervous system that you are here, you are safe, and your body can find its way back to ease.
