The holiday season is often described as a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness—but for many people, it can also bring up stress, worry, and activation in the nervous system. Old family dynamics resurface, travel disrupts routines, gatherings can feel overstimulating, and expectations—both spoken and unspoken—can create pressure. If you find yourself feeling tense, anxious, or disconnected during the holidays, you’re not alone.

Somatic therapy offers a gentle, body-centered way to navigate this season with more grounding, clarity, and self-compassion. By working directly with the nervous system, these tools help you stay present in your body, respond instead of react, and create more ease even in challenging environments.

Below are some supportive somatic practices to help you move through the holidays with steadiness, spaciousness, and choice.

1. Orienting: Returning to Safety Through the Senses

One of the simplest and most powerful nervous system resets is orienting—the practice of letting your eyes and senses gently notice the environment around you.

During holiday gatherings, your system may unconsciously scan for threat, especially if you’re entering spaces tied to past stress or complicated relationships. Orienting brings you back into the present moment, reminding your body that you are safe right now.

How to practice:

• Slowly let your gaze move around the room
• Notice objects, colors, textures
• Feel the support beneath you
• Let your breath soften naturally

This simple practice can downshift your physiology within seconds.

2. Resourcing: Strengthening Your Internal Anchor

A “resource” in somatic therapy is anything that brings you a sense of comfort, ease, or support. Identifying your resources before the holidays can help you stay grounded in moments of activation.

Possible resources include:

• A comforting memory
• A pet
• A person who feels supportive
• Nature
• A familiar scent or grounding object
• Music that settles your body

During stressful moments, gently bringing your awareness to a resource can help widen your window of tolerance and keep your system from tipping into overwhelm.

3. Micro-Moments of Regulation

You don’t need long practices to regulate your nervous system. Tiny, consistent pauses throughout the day can make a big difference.

Here are a few you can use discreetly—even in a room full of relatives:

• Softening your jaw

Release the hinge of your jaw and notice your shoulders drop.

• Lengthening your exhale

A slow, extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

• Feeling your feet

Noticing the contact of your feet on the ground helps bring you out of your head and into your body.

• Placing a hand on your heart or belly

This signals safety and self-compassion.

Each of these micro-moments helps keep your nervous system from escalating.

4. Boundaries as a Somatic Practice

Boundaries are not just words—they live in the body.

During the holidays, you may find yourself feeling pulled, obligated, or stretched thin. Somatic therapy teaches that boundaries begin with sensation:

• A tightening in the chest
• A pit in the stomach
• A sense of pulling forward or wanting to pull back

These are the body’s intelligence communicating your limits. Instead of ignoring them (which leads to resentment or shutdown), try slowing down and listening.

Ask your body:

• What do I need right now?
• More space? A pause? Less stimulation?
• A moment alone?
• Permission to say no?

Honoring somatic cues builds safety and resilience over time.

5. Completing Stress Cycles

Sometimes family gatherings activate old protective patterns—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. When the body is stuck in these states, it helps to gently complete the stress cycle through movement.

Try:

• Going for a short walk
• Shaking out your hands
• Stretching your spine
• Gentle pacing
• Slow, rhythmic rocking

These actions signal to the body that it is safe to come out of survival mode.

6. Using Co-Regulation Wisely

Humans regulate best in connection. But not all connections feel regulating.

Before the holidays, identify one or two people who feel grounding to your system—these may be friends, partners, or even supportive online communities. Plan check-ins, text breaks, or brief calls with those who help steady you.

Likewise, notice who tends to dysregulate your system and build in planned pauses to retreat, breathe, or reset.

7. Allowing Yourself to Step Away

It’s okay—healthy, in fact—to step outside, take a breather, sit in your car for a moment, or excuse yourself for a quick break. Doing so isn’t rude or avoidant; it’s an act of nervous system care.

Listening to your limits is one of the most healing practices you can gift yourself.

A Gentle Reminder

Your nervous system is always doing its best to protect you. During the holidays, old patterns may feel louder, but they are simply opportunities to practice new ways of being—inside yourself and in connection with others.

If this season brings activation, stress, or worry, somatic tools can help you move through it with more ease and self-compassion. Each small step toward regulation is an act of healing.

And remember:
You have permission to choose what feels supportive, nurturing, and right for you.