Modern life has turned stress into a silent constant. It’s difficult to escape long working hours, the pressure to be constantly connected, increasing social expectations, and countless daily obligations. All of this fuels a gradual tension that, if we are unable to keep it under control, will eventually generate profound physical and emotional exhaustion.
The Mind-body Connection and Early Warning Signs
The relationship between the mind and the body is not merely symbolic but biologically grounded. When the brain perceives threats, whether it’s an urgent project at work, a conflict with someone close to us, or the social pressure to accomplish everything, it activates physiological responses designed to protect us.
The heart races, muscles tense, and breathing becomes faster, preparing us to react. This mechanism, known as the fight-or-flight response, was key to the survival of our ancestors, but nowadays it’s activated by much more frequent and everyday situations.
The problem arises when this response persists for too long because a nervous system permanently on high alert means the body can’t relax or recover. The price to pay for living in “emergency mode” isn’t just mental; it extends to the physical realm: frequent headaches, stiff shoulders and neck, digestive problems, dizziness, or constant irritability.
These are signs that the body is working overtime, even if nothing serious seems to be happening around us. However, ignoring these warning signs can cause what began as temporary stress to eventually lead to chronic burnout.
If you notice that you end each day extremely exhausted, with tension in your jaw, or that certain stimuli irritate you more than usual, your body is likely overloaded, and you need to take steps to prevent burnout.
Somatic Self-Care Step by Step
Somatic self-care is based on body awareness, which involves listening to the physical and emotional signals your body sends and acting accordingly. This practice focuses on releasing tension, discomfort, or emotions accumulated in the body to improve well-being.
1. Body Scan
Body scan is a mindfulness practice that consists of mentally scanning your entire body, paying attention to each area and the sensations you perceive, but without judging them or trying to change them. The goal is not to relieve tension, but simply to notice what is happening to you, whether it’s stiffness, tingling, inflammation, or any other sensation.
To practice, find a comfortable place where you can lie down or sit with your back straight. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Then, pay attention to each part of your body, starting with your forehead, eyes, jaw, and neck. Slowly move down to your shoulders, arms, torso, legs, and feet. Spend a few seconds on each area, noticing any sensations, but without labeling them as good or bad. Simply observe what you feel in that moment.
After completing the scan, you should feel more relaxed and connected to your body. In fact, an experiment conducted at the University of Moncton with 355 people found that this practice not only reduces anxiety but also relieves pain. It is also very useful for detecting tensions that we normally ignore and addressing them before they become chronic discomfort.
2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a simple and effective technique for reducing accumulated tension. It consists of intentionally contracting different muscle groups and then relaxing them, paying special attention to the resulting feeling of relief. You could also focus only on the most tense areas after performing the body scan.
To practice progressive muscle relaxation, find a comfortable place where you can sit or lie down without distractions. Ideally, you should start with the muscle groups in your feet and work your way up to the space between your eyebrows. Begin by tensing your feet for a minute, then gently relax those muscles, noticing the tension dissipating. Then continue throughout your body: legs, torso, arms, shoulders, neck, and face.
Each moment of tension and relaxation makes this practice a very useful physical and mental “reset” exercise for relieving anxiety and accumulated stress. In fact, a study conducted with nurses at Trakya University confirmed that is a useful technique for reducing burnout and fatigue because it promotes a state of deep relaxation and calms the nervous system.
3. Diaphragmatic Breathing
When we breathe quickly and shallowly, the brain receives the signal that we are in danger. This activates the sympathetic nervous system, the same one that kicks in when we feel fear or need to flee, promoting the release of stress hormones like cortisol. Therefore, learning to breathe deeply, from the diaphragm, is not only relaxing but also interrupts this vicious cycle of constant alertness, generating a signal of calm and security.
To practice diaphragmatic breathing, sit or lie down with your knees bent in a comfortable place. Place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest to better feel the movements. Inhale slowly through your nose, trying to direct the air to the lower part of your lungs, so that the hand placed on your abdomen moves, but not the one on your chest. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, noticing how your abdomen relaxes.
Throughout the exercise, keep your attention on the rhythm of your breathing, without trying to control anything else. You can start with 5 deep breaths and gradually increase to 10 or 15. Research conducted at Beijing Normal University found that this breathing exercise actually lowers cortisol levels, facilitates concentration, and improves mood.
4. Gentle Body Movement
Movement is another way to connect with your body consciously, recognizing its limits and needs without pushing it too hard. Unlike intense exercise, these techniques focus on paying attention to each movement and the sensation it produces. This could be a short stretching session upon waking, a leisurely walk, or yoga or tai chi exercises adapted to your level.
A simple practice involves dedicating a few minutes to mindful stretching. For example, slowly raise your arms as you inhale, feeling your shoulders and back stretch, and slowly lower them as you exhale, noticing how your muscles relax. Another option is to take a leisurely walk, focusing on each step, feeling your heel strike and how your whole body moves.
Incorporating these gentle movements into your routine will allow you to release accumulated tension, improve your posture, gain body awareness, and alleviate physical discomfort. You can release blockages before they become chronic pain or persistent stress.
5. Body Tapping
Body tapping is an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) that combines gentle tapping on specific points of the body with mindfulness of emotions. The idea is that when certain emotions become entrenched, they generate physical blockages and chronic stress, so when you tap these points while paying attention to what you feel, you facilitate their release.
It requires no special skills; you just need to find a comfortable spot and gently tap areas like your collarbones, chest, wrists, or the sides of your eyes with your fingertips. This stimulates the nerve endings in your skin, sending signals to the brain that help regulate emotional responses and decrease physiological arousal.
In fact, during tapping, many people notice that physical tension decreases, breathing calms, and intense emotions, such as anxiety, fear, or frustration, lessen. It’s a way to emotionally “release” the body without needing to talk about what we feel, preventing accumulated emotions from turning into chronic stress or physical discomfort. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise us that a recent study from the University of Messina has found it also useful for treating burnout and preventing stress.
Complementary Tools within a Self-care Routine
When stress levels are very high or we’re not used to relaxing, sitting down to meditate or focusing on our breathing can be frustrating and even counterproductive. Many people tell me that instead of feeling calm, they feel restless, and instead of disconnecting, their minds are besieged by a thousand thoughts they can’t control.
This doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong, but rather that your nervous system is too activated to self-regulate. In that case, some external tools can provide initial support to facilitate relaxation.
Such is the case with aromatherapy using essential oils for anxiety (like lavender or bergamot). You can also try herbal teas (valerian or passionflower) or even natural supplements specifically designed to promote rest and reduce anxiety.
Some people also use CBD products like Mama Kana’s CBD candies to reduce initial tension and facilitate disconnection. In these cases, it is essential to use them judiciously, to stay informed about local regulations, understand individual health conditions, and consult qualified specialists to ensure these tools align with one’s overall well-being.
However, remember that these tools do not replace internal work. You can integrate them into your somatic self-care routine as a bridge that facilitates the beginning of the process when the body has forgotten how to relax.
Listening to the Body as an Ongoing Practice
Somatic self-care is not a one-time solution but a continuous process of observation and adjustment. Becoming aware of subtle changes in breathing, posture, or fatigue levels allows early prevention before exhaustion takes hold.
Incorporating small daily rituals, from mindful breathing exercises to intentional screen-free moments, builds a stronger foundation for navigating daily demands. When the body is treated as a guide rather than ignored, work, rest, and personal well-being begin to align in a more sustainable way.
References:
Rizzo, A. et. Al. (2025) The efficacy of emotional freedom techniques and tapping in reducing job stress and burnout: a review of research. Mental Health and Social Inclusion; 29(6): 782–799.
Bouchard, G. & Gallant, J. (2024) Differential effects of a brief body scan session on pain and anxiety levels. Counselling & Psychoteraphy Research; 24(3): 1069-1075.
Semerci, R. et. Al. (2021) The effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue of nurse managers. Perspectives in Psychiatry Care; 57(3): 1250-1256.
Ma, X. et. Al. (2017) The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Front. Psychol.; 8: 10.3389.
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