What is Somatic Experiencing?
Ever notice your shoulders tensing when you’re stressed, or a pit in your stomach before a big meeting? That’s your body talking to you.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based therapy developed by Dr. Peter Levine to help you attune and connect to your body and release stored stress or trauma that gets trapped. Dr. Levine’s approach was inspired by observing how wild animals instinctively release the energy of traumatic experiences, which allows their bodies to complete the stress cycle. SE gently guides attention to body sensations so the nervous system can return to balance.
The word “somatic” means “related to the body” and “experiencing” means paying attention to what’s happening in the present moment. So, SE is essentially experiencing what’s happening in the body right now.
Instead of focusing only on thoughts and memories, SE pays close attention to things like:
Changes in breathing
Muscle tension or relaxation
Heart rate, temperature shifts
Tingling, heaviness, or lightness
Small urges to move (like shake or stretch)
The goal is to help the body finish its natural process to danger, so it can finally relax and feel safe again.
Trauma isn’t just “something bad that happened”—it is also how our body reacts to what happened.
When we experience some sort of danger, our body’s nervous system goes into fight, flight, or freeze mode:
Fight means trying to protect yourself.
Flight means trying to escape.
Freeze means getting very still or feeling “shut down” so that the danger passes.
Animals in the wild do this all the time naturally. For example, if a zebra escapes a lion, it might shake all over for a minute—that’s its body releasing the leftover stress. After that, it goes back to grazing like nothing happened.
Humans, however, often don’t complete that process. We might be told to “calm down” right away or we might freeze and never get the chance to fight or run. That leftover energy can get stuck in the body leading to:
Anxiety or panic
Depression or numbness
Trouble sleeping
Chronic pain or tension
Feeling “on edge” or easily startled
SE helps people complete that unfinished survival response in a safe, gentle way.
SE sessions usually are one-on-one with a trained therapist. The therapist’s role is to create a safe, calm environment so the body can start to release tension without feeling overwhelmed.
A key part of SE is not forcing anything. The therapist doesn’t push you to relive the trauma. Instead, they guide you to notice your body’s natural signals and follow them toward release and healing.
Dr. Peter Levine based SE on research about the autonomic nervous system—the part of your body that controls automatic functions like heartbeat and breathing. It has 2 main branches:
Sympathetic nervous system—speeds things up (fight or flight)
Parasympathetic nervous system—slows things down (rest and digest)
After trauma, these systems can get out of balance. SE helps restore that balance by gently guiding the nervous system back to its natural rhythm.
Common Myths about SE:
Myth: “It’s just relaxation”
Truth: SE isn’t just about calming down—its about completing the body’s natural response to stress so it no longer feels stuck
Myth: “You have to remember every detail of your trauma”
Truth: You can work with sensations without talking about the event itself. Our body remembers even if you don’t recall any details.
Myth: “It’s too simple to work.”
Truth: The techniques may seem subtle, but they are rooted in neuroscience and use careful pacing to ensure safety.
Somatic Experiencing teaches us that trauma isn’t just “in our heads” — it’s also in our bodies. By gently guiding the nervous system back to balance, SE can help release old tension, reduce anxiety, and restore a sense of safety.
Healing doesn’t always mean forgetting what happened. Sometimes it means being able to remember without feeling like it’s happening all over again. SE gives people a path toward that kind of freedom.
