Every culture is unique and values emotional expression differently. Due to years of social conditioning in the West, in particular, we tend to not value emotional expression. Unfortunately, that has had serious consequences for our holistic well-being, as a society.
Emotional expression is part of being human! In fact, all animals need to express themselves especially when recovering from frightening or upsetting situations. Animals will make sounds, shake, or other movements to let the energy go. We too are animals, yet we don’t let it go. This is why I stand against the term ‘regulation’.
Regulation implies keeping it contained, and is the very problem. Yes, appropriate place and time, but we also need to express and release. And this is exactly what we need to be able to create and empower our children with, so we don’t ‘hold our issues in our tissues’ (Tom Meyers, Anatomy Trains).
9 Benefits of Somatic Awareness for Emotional and Nervous System Health
Understanding our experiences
Develop awareness of what is happening in the body so experiences can be processed before they become deeply ingrained in the nervous system, subconscious mind, or fascia.
Giving voice to emotions
Learn to recognize and express emotions in healthy ways, allowing space for release, support, and healing.
Healthier, more connected relationships
When we understand ourselves more deeply, we are better able to communicate, connect, and show up authentically with others.
Greater empathy
Self-awareness strengthens our ability to understand and hold space for another person’s perspective and experience.
Stronger intuition
Somatic awareness helps us notice subtle cues within ourselves and our environment, strengthening trust in our inner guidance.
Emotional resilience
By processing experiences through the body, we develop a greater capacity to navigate stress and life’s challenges.
Improved nervous system regulation
Greater awareness of bodily cues allows us to respond to stress earlier and support our nervous system more effectively.
Release of physical tension and chronic patterns
Somatic practices can help release stored tension in the body and reduce chronic physical or emotional patterns.
A proactive sense of safety, autonomy, and wellbeing
Somatic awareness helps individuals—especially children—recognize and trust their body’s signals to honour their needs, support a deeper sense of safety, and strengthen healthy boundaries.
What Is Somatic Awareness? Understanding the Mind–Body Connection
Somatic awareness is a crucial part of self-awareness. “Soma” is Greek for body – let’s look at a few other key definitions too:
- Self-awareness, is awareness of our thoughts, actions, emotions & how others perceive us
- Introspection is our ability to examine our thoughts and emotions
- Interoception is our ability to make sense of internal sensations
- Neuroception is our sense of safety
All of these are very important! But what I’d like to explore is Somatic awareness, which is a bit of a combination of all of the above.This is a very important concept I explore in great detail in my Registered Children’s Yoga Training, my Craniosacral, and Clinical Counselling practice.
How Somatic Awareness Supports Emotional Healing and Safety
Our Craniosacral system, the sensory and safety part of our nervous system, receives input and via the Vagus nerve helps our body to determine how to respond. Input is received both from external and internal stimuli – bright lights, our tummy too tight to digest. This system helps us make sense of neuroception and interoception.
When we understand our physiological sensations, we can make sense of our emotions through introspection and self-awareness. When we have an understanding of how and why emotions are communicated through our body, we are able to be more resilient and often experience less shame – they become normalized. We are also able to be proactive in our wellbeing and sense of safety – which is very important for children.
Understanding Interoception: Why Some Children Struggle to Feel Their Bodies
It is common in neurodivergent and sensitive people and children for interoception to be hyper (deeply aware) or hypo (unaware), or fluctuate. So we need to learn to explore in other ways. This can be for many reasons – how we are wired, and more often than not I notice this is tied into a sense of safety. Whether we see them as being in a ‘safe’ space or not, is somewhat irrelevant. If it doesn’t feel safe to be in the body, that is their experience.
Many children have also had their sense of autonomy and safety compromised. And when this happens, especially on a regular basis, children start to distrust their interoception – their body wisdom. There are many adults who struggle to connect with their bodies too. I too had been there until an experience in my early twenties that changed my life completely – for the better!
Why Emotional Awareness Is a Critical Life Skill for Children
While emotions are a temporary state, they are very real to the person experiencing them and are a large part of what makes us human and enables us to learn and grow from experiences. This is a very important tool for all to develop and ideally nurtured at a young age, however; it’s not something most of us are taught… in fact very few are.
If we can learn these tools, particularly as children, just think how many of societies perpetuating traumas we can overcome in the next few generations! So how do we foster and re-build this connection to self? It begins with capacity in the nervous system.
Building Nervous System Capacity Before Emotional Regulation
Here are 3 simple tools I like to share – I think everything should be simple, otherwise we don’t practice it:
Check-Ins
A long meditation is amazing to have in the morning (definitely sets you up for the day!), but more important is getting a few check-ins throughout the day.
If you can only take 2-5 minutes to notice your breath and other sensations in the morning and evening, that’s a great start! I suggest also doing 3 more times throughout the day, to help prevent overwhelm. Consistency is important to develop this muscle.
Body-Mapping
This is a favorite tool of mine, something I stumbled upon as a child. I was aware of what emotions I was feeling where, and used movement and breath to help release. I learned about 15 years later when taking my Yoga Teacher Training, that heart-opening poses, such as backbends are great for anxiety release. So this skill is about noticing what emotions you feel where – it’s different for everybody.
You can learn more about this below – a great tool for adults and children!
Expressing Emotions
This is especially important when working with children or those who have been through difficult experiences (and may feel disconnected from their bodies). Learning how to articulate our internal world isn’t always easy.
Try integrating movement, colour, animals, and breath! This also helps to process the emotions, rather than just giving a very basic name to it.
Co-Regulation: How Children Learn Emotional Safety Through Connection
Children learn primarily from sensori-motor opportunities – How to pick up a heavy book, how to bike, writing with crayon in hand. We can also learn about our emotions and bodies through play!
This is why I created my Children’s Yoga/ Somatic Cards. Explore social-emotional and physical literacy in a fun, creative way with practices drawn from gloWithin’s Registered Children’s Yoga Training. This is a great way to learn tools to calm ourselves, process our emotions in a healthy way, and build confidence!
These cards are perfect for families and classrooms to use daily to start the day off on the right note, and during challenging moments. I always recommend learning new practices when children are in a calm space, as they have access to their whole brain and are actually able to learn.
Keep it fun and light. Practice these tools yourself, particularly if you’re raising a child who likes to observe first – they are watching your every move… and it will help you feel better too! These tools are so important for our children’s sense of safety and wellbeing – and something I feel every child should learn if we are to truly create positive change in our world.
If you’re looking for more resources to empower yourself on your journey, start here: https://glowithin.ca/
You can also find more tools on Instagram @https://www.instagram.com/parentingneurodiversesouls or YouTube @https://www.youtube.com/@parentingneurodiversesouls
