After you give birth, your body carries the sensations of exhaustion, joy, fear, and sometimes, trauma. At Pasadena Perinatal Therapy, we know that healing requires more than talking about what happened. It means helping your body feel safe again. That is where somatic resiliency tools come in.

What Are Somatic Resiliency Tools?

“Somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, meaning body. Somatic resiliency tools are practices that use body awareness to help you regulate your nervous system and process emotional experiences. Instead of focusing only on thoughts or memories, these tools help you listen to the physical signals your body is sending: the tightness in your chest, the lump in your throat, or the numbness that can come with being overwhelmed.

These sensations are your nervous system’s way of communicating where stress, fear, or grief live. Somatic therapy helps you learn to tune into those messages and release tension instead of holding onto it. Over time, this process builds resilience, the body’s ability to recover and return to a sense of calm after stress.

Why the Body Matters in Perinatal Therapy

Pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery are full-body experiences. Even in healthy pregnancies, the body undergoes tremendous change. Muscles stretch, hormones fluctuate, and the nervous system becomes highly attuned to both your baby’s needs and your own vulnerability. If you experienced a difficult birth, loss, or medical trauma, your body might still be operating as though it’s in danger.

Somatic therapy acknowledges this reality. You don’t need to talk yourself out of it or suppress physical reactions. Instead, you will learn to understand what your body is trying to protect you from. That understanding can be deeply healing, especially for mothers who feel disconnected from their bodies or anxious in their postpartum experience.

What Somatic Resiliency Therapy Looks Like

Somatic resiliency tools vary based on each person’s needs, but sessions may include techniques like:

• Grounding: Noticing your feet on the floor or the weight of your body in a chair to remind your nervous system that you are supported
• Breathwork: Using slow, intentional breathing to engage the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) system and lower stress hormones
• Body Mapping: Bringing awareness to where emotions are held in the body, helping you understand where tension or numbness may be stored
• Micro-movements: Subtle physical motions, such as relaxing your shoulders or shifting posture, that signal safety to your body
• Resourcing: Identifying sensations, memories, or images that evoke calm or strength, and learning to return to them when overwhelmed

We will guide you through these techniques with compassion and care without judgment. The goal is not to fix the body but to help it feel safe again.

How Somatic Work Connects to Other Modalities

Somatic resiliency tools complement many of the therapies we offer at Pasadena Perinatal Therapy. When combined with EMDR or brainspotting, they can enhance trauma processing by keeping the body engaged and grounded during memory work. In Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic awareness helps identify how different inner parts show up physically, such as a protective part tightening your jaw or a wounded part shrinking inward.

Couples therapy approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Psychobiological Attachment Couples Therapy (PACT) also benefit from somatic insight. When you learn to recognize your body’s stress signals, you can communicate them to your partner before conflict escalates. Over time, this strengthens trust, empathy, and connection.

Restoring Trust in Your Body

Many new mothers feel betrayed by their bodies after pregnancy or birth, especially if complications occurred. Somatic therapy helps rebuild that relationship. You will learn that your body was never against you; it was simply trying to keep you safe.

Sometimes, simply placing a hand over your heart and noticing your breath is enough to begin shifting the nervous system toward calm. With practice, these small acts accumulate into powerful change.

A Foundation for Resilience

Somatic resiliency tools are lifelong skills that help you respond to stress with flexibility instead of fear. They also support the kind of mindful presence that strengthens attachment with your baby. When your body feels calm, your baby senses it and calms, too.

Begin Your Somatic Healing Journey

At Pasadena Perinatal Therapy, our therapists integrate somatic resiliency tools with other evidence-based approaches to support your mind, body, and relationships. Whether you are processing birth trauma, navigating postpartum anxiety, or simply trying to feel at home in your body again, we are here to help.

Reach out today to schedule a consultation. Together, we can help you reconnect with your body, rediscover your strength, and build lasting resilience for yourself and your family.