These Somatic Mindfulness Exercises Offer Anxious Families Hope and Help
Anxiety manifests physically, so it’s no surprise that body-based practices can be incredibly effective in managing it.
While we often think of anxiety as a mental health issue, it’s deeply rooted in our physical sensations. What do you notice physically when you’re anxious?
Connect with Yourself First
If you’re a parent of an anxious child, you might feel overwhelmed. Anxious kids often have anxious parents. Before you can be your child’s lighthouse, you need to connect with yourself first.
The Power of the Present Moment
Anxiety comes from worrying about the future or ruminating on the past, while mindfulness helps us stay grounded in the present moment. Mindfulness isn’t about shutting off from the world. It’s about integrating awareness into everyday activities, noticing thoughts as they arise, and recognizing that we have choices in how we feel, think, and behave.
Somatic mindfulness practices (like yoga) can effectively tone the vagus nerve, a key player in our nervous system. When regulated, the vagus nerve helps us feel relaxed, safe, trusting, flexible, creative, and loving.
Interrupting the Anxiety Cycle
When our alarm system gets stuck on, we may find ourselves reliving the past or projecting into the future. Somatic exercises can help us interrupt this cycle. By attuning to what our nervous system is telling us, we can choose how to respond rather than reacting automatically.
Movement as a Release
Anxiety is often accompanied by a sense of impending doom, which can trigger a flight response. Keeping someone from moving when they feel threatened can trigger them to descend deeper into a state of anxiety.
Movement can help discharge that anxious energy.
These practices can help regulate our nervous systems and remind us what it feels like to be in a safe and social state. While we can’t eliminate all threats, we can reduce their impact through mindset shifts, somatic practices, and systemic change.
Ask Yourself These 3 Self-Empathy Questions
Am I objectively safe right now?
How am I feeling?
What do I need?
Quick Grounding Techniques
Here are some somatic exercises to incorporate into your daily routine, and during the workshop I’ll guide you through a few longer practices. Have you signed up?
Here’s a booklet for you, to accompany the workshop.
If you have 5 seconds:
Swallow, wiggle your toes, put a hand on your heart or belly, look around, repeat a one-word affirmation, such as “love” or “patience.”
If you have 30 seconds: Roll your shoulders, squeeze and release your fists, unroll your ears, slowly exhale, yawn, circle your tongue around inside your mouth, turn and look behind you.
Together Time and Somatic Play
There are so many practices your family can do together, and I describe a bunch of them during my talk in the Anxiety SOS Summit. Model a practice, invite them to try it as a game, don’t correct them, and remember you’ re still helping them regulate even if they never do it. Never force your kid to practice.
Long-Term Solutions
Simply stop: The world will keep spinning.
Create space: Prioritize, prune your schedule.
Prioritize rest: Restorative yoga, guided relaxation.
Cultivate inner safety: Find practices that work for you.
Advocate for change: Work towards a kinder, more inclusive world.
Remember, you’re not alone. There are resources and support available to help you navigate anxiety. By incorporating somatic exercises into your daily life, you can cultivate greater resilience, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being.
What about raising kids with ADHD?
What does the science say?
…and what if the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree?
Next week, my colleague
will publish her guest post here:How Caring for My Mental Health Benefits My ADHD Kid's Mental Health,
a well-researched manifesto on the necessity of caring for ourselves as parents, especially if we’re raising neurodivergent kids. Watch this space next Sunday!