This week, we’re sharing five “somatic snacks” — these are micro-practices designed to gently regulate your nervous system, release stored stress, and reconnect you to your body.

Somatic movement offers loads of benefits for our body, brain, and overall wellbeing. 

It can help us feel more attuned to feeling the sensations of our body, in a world full of numbing distractions. 

Studies have found that somatic movement can reduce pain, improve mobility and can help us become more present with automatic and instinctive self-soothing behaviors (like humming, or yawning) without force.

We’re excited to have you try some of these and possibly add something new to your self-care toolkit this week! 

Sound and vibration

We'll start by talking about the benefits of humming.

You might know of someone who’s constantly humming (maybe this person is you 😜).

Oftentimes, when we hum, we do it absentmindedly… but did you know this is a surprisingly effective tool for managing stress? 

When you hum, it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which counteracts the feeling of fight or flight that can be triggered by stress. 

Humming also helps slow down your breathing, sending a signal to your brain and body to switch to a state of calm. 

Somatic Snack #1: Humming

🎧  Play one of your favorite songs, inhale softly through your nose, and hum along on the exhale.

🔁 Stay with it for the length of the song, feeling the vibrations traveling through your throat and chest — then take a moment to notice how your body feels once it’s over.

Breath and joy

We’ve all heard the phrase, “laughter is the best medicine.” But did you know this is actually based in science? 

Laughter has been known to boost immunity — making you more resistant to disease, relieving physical discomfort and pain, and reducing anxiety by increasing the production of neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin.

Even if you’re not in a place to meet up with your best friend, or funniest sibling (or watch a comedy show or sitcom)... there are ways to get the benefits of belly laughs in small bursts. Yes, even throughout your workday. 

“Laughter yoga,” a practice introduced by Indian physician Dr. Madan Kataria, is based on the idea that our bodies get similar benefits from laughter — whether it’s a spontaneous laugh or simulated laughter.

He realized that deliberate jokes or comedy shows are not necessary to laugh and that we all have the innate ability to “laugh for no reason." 

Somatic Snack #2: Laughing

🙂 Gently curve the corners of your mouth into a smile, then let out a laugh — even if it feels forced or awkward at first. Let a chuckle build and move through your body, staying with it for a few moments.

Take note of how you’re feeling. Is there more ease of breath? Did your muscles tighten and release? Maybe you feel a little lighter. That’s the magic of laughter! Try returning to it throughout your day whenever you need a small reset.

Movement

Next, we'll explore how to move stress through the body and release stored tension via shaking and rhythmic rocking. 

You might already recognize some of the ways your body responds to stimuli and self-regulates in this way.

Ever been in a meeting, standing in line, or at an event and felt yourself shifting your weight from side to side — whether standing or in a seat? Do you sometimes bounce your knee absentmindedly during a presentation or class? 

If you frequently attend Focused Space sessions, you may have seen hosts encourage you to shake out your limbs before diving back into a work sprint.

Or maybe you already have a curated playlist designed to help you “shake off” and dance away tension whenever you need it.

While some of these movements are automatic, there’s something powerful about paying a bit more attention to them and becoming attuned to when your body needs a release.

Deliberate shaking, rocking, or swaying can be done at your own pace, with as much energy as you give it — limbs flailing, jumping in place, stomping your feet, or holding your elbows as you rock back and forth. 

These movements can help release irritability, soften built-up tension, and gently open the diaphragm, making space for a fuller, easier breath in anxious moments.

Somatic Snack #3: Rocking & Shaking

🪑 Sitting or standing, gently shift your weight side to side or forward and back — keeping the movement slow, soft, and almost unnoticeable. Let your body find a natural rhythm without forcing it.

If sitting or standing isn’t possible, 🤲 lightly rub your palms together in a slow, soothing motion instead. Notice any subtle softening in your body. 

🌿 Stand or sit comfortably and begin to gently shake out your body starting with your hands, arms, shoulders, legs, and letting the movement build into something a little more energetic if it wants to. You can add small jumps, bouncing, or foot stomping if it feels good. After a minute, come back to stillness and notice how you feel.

Breath release

You can support your body’s natural reset systems via sighing and yawning — two subtle ways the nervous system regulates and releases tension.

Ever notice yourself letting out a long sigh after a tense moment, or when you catch yourself in the middle of a deep focus session?

That’s your autonomic nervous system in action. Sighing and yawning help regulate our cortisol levels, relax our muscles, improve diaphragmatic breathing, and lower heart rate. 

Practicing deliberate and intentional sighs can help release tension from the chest and diaphragm. By slowing down to get a fuller breath, we help engage the part of the nervous system responsible for rest and repair. 

Yawning is also one of the body’s most common reflexes, but it can be misunderstood.

While it’s often associated with being tired or bored, yawning also appears in moments of nervous system arousal — such as overstimulation, or anticipation. 

In contrast, because yawning naturally occurs when our nervous system is shifting states, it can also be supportive for emotional and stress regulation. 

Somatic Snack #4: Sighing & Yawning

😮‍💨 The Physiological Sigh

Inhale deeply through your nose, filling your lungs.

At the top of that breath, take a second short inhale. Exhale slowly and fully through your mouth until your lungs are completely empty. Repeat 2 more times.

😮‍💨 Intentional yawning

Open your mouth as wide as feels comfortable. Gently repeat the sound of the letter “R” until a yawn naturally builds and comes through. Feel the yawn through your face, jaw, and chest.

Self-soothing touch

Our final somatic snack involves self-soothing touch: practices like the butterfly hug and gentle tapping. 

The skin is full of sensory receptors that are constantly sending information to the brain about safety, threat, and regulation. 

Gentle, predictable touch can help shift the body out of heightened arousal and support parasympathetic activation, the branch of the nervous system associated with rest and recovery.

Have you ever noticed yourself holding your own hands during stressful moments, or rubbing your arms when you feel anxious? 

During meditation or grounding exercises, you may feel called to press one hand against your chest. These are often self-regulation reflexes and ways your body asks for containment and comfort in real time. 

The butterfly hug is a simple version of this: cross your arms over your chest, rest each hand on the opposite shoulder, and gently tap left to right in a steady rhythm. (Here's a video demonstrating it).

This rhythmic, side-to-side tapping can help your body process stress, and settle into a calmer state.

Research also suggests that repetitive, gentle touch (such as tapping across your arms, thighs, chest and shoulders) can help interrupt stress loops by anchoring attention in the present body and providing sensory input that competes with rumination or hyperarousal. 

In other words, it helps the nervous system focus on something safer and more present. 

Somatic Snack #5: Butterfly hug & tapping

🤲 The butterfly hug

Cross your arms over your chest so each hand rests on the opposite upper arm or shoulder. Gently begin tapping left and right, alternating sides in a slow, steady rhythm. Stay with it for 30–60 seconds, or longer until you feel calm wash over you.

🌀 Gentle tapping

Using your fingertips, lightly tap along your body — arms, shoulders, chest, or thighs at a slow, rhythmic pace. You can move around or stay in one place, keeping the pressure soft and consistent. Let the tapping anchor your attention in your body, continuing for a minute or more.

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We hope this week's theme gave you a few new tools for your self-care toolbox!

P.S. If you aren't a member of Focused Space, but could use help accomplishing your goals, busting through procrastination, or getting motivated… you are welcome to join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions!

Take care,

— Farah and the focused space team