Somatic Yoga + the Nervous System: Why Your Body Needs This Sacred Practice

• June 2, 2025
• By Janelle Lanier

Somatic Yoga + the Nervous System: Why Your Body Needs This Sacred Practice

Feeling anxious, burnt out, or stuck in your head — even while trying to grow spiritually? It’s not just in your mind. It’s in your body. And God wants to heal that too.

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Is Your Nervous System Out of Control?

If you are experience your body is always tense. Your breath is shallow. You’re tired and wired — constantly running on empty.

That’s a sign your nervous system is stuck in survival mode — and healing won’t come just from thinking differently. It may come from learning to feel safe again in your own body with the Lord.

Here’s the good news: God created your nervous system, and He made a way to restore it. Somatic Yoga can be a great way to usher in healing to your body.

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What Is Somatic Yoga?

Somatic yoga is a gentle, body-led practice that helps you reconnect with yourself from the inside out. It uses slow, intentional movement, breathwork, and rest to calm your nervous system and bring healing to stored stress or trauma — all while anchoring you in God’s presence.

Unlike traditional yoga, which often emphasizes flexibility or strength, somatic yoga is about internal awareness, not performance. It’s not about what the pose looks like — it’s about what it feels like.

In somatic yoga, you’re not pushing.
You’re listening — to your body, your breath, and the Holy Spirit within you.

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Your Body is Sacred.

The Bible affirms over and over that your body is sacred. You’re not just a spirit in a shell — your whole being, body included, is part of your walk with God.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…?”
– 1 Corinthians 6:19

Jesus Himself touched, healed, rested, cried, breathed, walked, and washed feet. His ministry was embodied — and yours can be too.

In Holy Yoga Somatics, scripture and prayer are woven throughout the entire experience. Every movement is Spirit-led. Every breath is a moment of worship. Every rest is intentional time to rest in the Lord.

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What Is the Nervous System’s Role in Healing?

Your nervous system is your body’s internal alert system. It decides whether you feel safe or under threat — and it influences how you sleep, think, breathe, and connect with God and others.

Most of us live in chronic sympathetic overdrive (fight, flight, freeze), which leads to:

• Anxiety or panic
• Brain fog
• Exhaustion
• Disconnection from your own body or emotions
• A constant sense of being “on edge”

Somatic yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and restore” side — through:

• Breathwork
• Gentle movement
• Mindful awareness
• Safe, supportive rest

When your nervous system calms, your soul can breathe again.

This is where the real work of healing begins.

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Why Somatic Yoga Matters Right Now

We’re living in a burnout culture. We often glorify hustle and “doing” over being. But Jesus calls us into something radically different:

“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

Somatic yoga helps you receive that rest.

It invites you:

• Back to your body as good and holy
• Back to your breath as Spirit-infused
• Back to your God, who longs to dwell in every part of you — not just your thoughts, but your cells

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What You’ll Experience in a Holy Yoga Somatics Practice

No mirrors. No judgment. No pressure.

Just you, your body, and God — in a safe, trauma-informed, Christ-centered space.

You can expect:
✅ Gentle movement that nourishes, not pushes
✅ Breath-led sequences to calm your nervous system
✅ Christ- centered meditation
✅ Stillness and rest
✅ Somatic awareness practices
✅ A deeper relationship with your body — and with God

You don’t need to be flexible. You don’t need any prior yoga experience.
You just need a willing heart and a body that’s ready to be loved back into wholeness.

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Ready to Go Deeper? Join Our 3-Week Holy Yoga Somatic Training

July 16–30, 2025

Wednesdays | 12:00–1:30 PM CST (Live on Google Meets)
Enrollment closes: July 9, 2025

In this powerful, professional training, you’ll:

• Learn the foundations of somatic movement
• Explore the science of the nervous system through a faith lens
• Discover how to integrate somatics into your Holy Yoga classes

This training is ideal for:

• Anyone seeking a deeper connection to God through the body

No prerequisites. No pressure. Just deep, embodied transformation.

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🔗 Register Now

Spots are limited, and this training only happens a few times a year.

Don’t just read about peace. Come experience it.
Let your body be the temple it was always meant to be — and let the healing begin.