The Somatic Healing Workbook: 100 Body-Based Exercises for Stress Management and Nervous System Regulation
Release Date: November 3, 2026
By Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC
Anxiety, stress, and overwhelm can shape the way your nervous system responds to the world.
Over time, those responses can become automatic. You might find yourself stuck in cycles of overthinking, carrying tension throughout the day, struggling to relax, reacting more strongly than you’d like, or feeling exhausted from always being “on.” These patterns are often adaptations your nervous system developed in an effort to help you navigate life’s challenges.
What You'll Learn in The Somatic Healing Workbook
The Somatic Healing Workbook is a practical guide to understanding these patterns and creating change through the body. Grounded in somatic therapy, trauma research, attachment science, and nervous system regulation, it helps you understand why certain reactions feel automatic – and teaches you how to build new patterns that support greater resilience, flexibility, and well-being.
Inside, you’ll learn how your nervous system develops stress responses, why those responses can persist long after difficult experiences have passed, and how body-based practices can help create new experiences of safety, connection, and regulation.
- Reduce anxiety and overwhelm
- Support nervous system regulation
- Release chronic tension and stress
- Build emotional resilience
- Strengthen your capacity to navigate life's challenges
How the Exercises Are Organized: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn
Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, the exercises are organized around the different ways the nervous system responds to stress. You’ll learn how to recognize patterns of fight, flight, freeze, and fawn, understand how they show up in daily life, and choose practices that support what your body needs in the moment.
The workbook also addresses the more subtle signs of nervous system activation that often go unnoticed: racing thoughts, overthinking, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulty slowing down, feeling disconnected from yourself, and the sense that you’re always preparing for what comes next. By learning to recognize these patterns early, you can respond with greater awareness, flexibility, and self-trust.
Each exercise can be completed in just a few minutes and includes clear instructions with illustrations, practical guidance, and an explanation of the science behind why it works.
Who This Workbook Is For
The Somatic Healing Workbook is for adults who want practical, body-based tools for anxiety, stress, trauma, and nervous system regulation. It’s beginner-friendly, with short exercises and clear instructions you can use in everyday life.
This workbook may be a good fit if you:
- Overthink and struggle to slow down. Your mind keeps running through conversations, decisions, or everything that could go wrong.
- Carry stress in your body. You notice a clenched jaw, tight shoulders, held breath, or trouble settling down.
- Feel restless, overwhelmed, or shut down. You want help recognizing your stress response and choosing a practice that fits.
- Get caught in people-pleasing or perfectionism. You automatically take care of others, push through exhaustion, or feel uneasy when you rest.
- Understand your patterns but want something practical to do. You can explain why you’re anxious and still feel your body reacting.
- Want somatic exercises to use between therapy sessions. You’re looking for a structured way to practice body awareness and notice how you respond.
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Why I Wrote This Book
In my practice, I see people who understand their anxiety and still feel caught in it. They know why they people-please, overthink, or stay on guard. They can recognize the pattern while their heart keeps racing, their shoulders stay tense, or they struggle to relax.
I wrote The Somatic Healing Workbook because many of us don’t know how to work with our bodies when we’re stressed. We notice the signals and have no idea what to do next.
I wanted to make somatic work practical: figure out the state you’re in, find the exercise that matches it, and actually use it in real life.
That’s why I organized the 100 exercises by stress response. Feeling restless and ready to run calls for a different starting point than feeling heavy, disconnected, or stuck. Each practice includes clear steps and an explanation of why it may help, so you can understand what you’re trying and pay attention to your response.
My hope is that this book gives you a deeper understanding of your nervous system and a gentler way of meeting yourself when stress shows up.
Your body is always trying to communicate with you. This book helps you learn how to listen.
California licenses: LMFT #122530 · LPCC #10096
About Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC
I’m Cheryl Groskopf, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Los Angeles, writer, and the founder of Evolution to Healing Psychotherapy in Los Angeles. My work focuses on anxiety, trauma, attachment, and nervous system regulation, helping people understand why they think, feel, and respond the way they do—and what to do about it.
For years, I’ve worked with people who look like they have it together on the outside but feel overwhelmed on the inside. They’re the overthinkers, people-pleasers, perfectionists, caretakers, and high achievers who spend so much energy managing life that they lose touch with themselves in the process. Many understand their patterns intellectually but still find themselves stuck in the same cycles of anxiety, self-doubt, relationship struggles, emotional overwhelm, or chronic stress.
My approach combines somatic therapy, attachment theory, neuroscience, and trauma-informed care to help people create change that goes beyond insight alone. I believe healing happens when we understand both the story and the nervous system behind it. When we learn how our minds and bodies have adapted to our experiences, we gain the ability to respond with greater awareness, flexibility, and self-trust.
Whether through therapy, writing, or education, my goal is simple: to make complex psychological concepts accessible, practical, and genuinely useful in everyday life. Because lasting change comes from understanding yourself well enough to create something different.
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Book Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | The Somatic Healing Workbook |
| Subtitle | 100 Body-Based Exercises for Stress Management and Nervous System Regulation |
| Author | Cheryl Groskopf, LMFT, LPCC |
| Publication date | November 3, 2026 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 224 |
| Dimensions | 7 × 9 inches |
| Publisher | Blue Star Press |
| ISBN-13 | 9781969889158 |
| Listed U.S. price | $22.99; retailer prices may vary |
Therapy and Somatic Healing Services
If you found this information helpful, you may also be interested in therapy, educational resources, and additional tools for anxiety, trauma, attachment, and nervous system regulation.
Explore therapy services, articles, and resources at Evolution to Healing Psychotherapy.
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Somatic Therapy and At-Home Exercises: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I practice somatic therapy at home?
You can practice somatic exercises at home, including grounding, gentle movement, and noticing physical sensations. These practices can help you build body awareness and skills for managing stress. Somatic therapy is treatment with a trained therapist; exercises at home can support that work. Start gently and pause if you feel overwhelmed.
What do you actually do in somatic therapy?
In somatic therapy, you explore how thoughts, emotions, and experiences show up in your body. A therapist may help you notice muscle tension, changes in breathing, or feelings of restlessness or numbness. Sessions can include conversation, grounding, body awareness, and gentle movement, with the pace adjusted to your comfort and response.
What do you actually do in somatic therapy?
Some somatic practices may help with stress and body awareness, but “somatic workouts” covers many different methods. Research on therapist-led Somatic Experiencing has shown promising results for PTSD. Those findings don’t establish that every online workout or self-guided exercise treats trauma. The specific practice, your needs, and the quality of guidance matter.
Can you do somatic therapy by yourself?
You can do self-guided somatic exercises by yourself, while somatic therapy involves working with a trained therapist. A workbook can provide structure for practicing body awareness and grounding. If exercises bring up intense distress, flashbacks, or disconnection, pause and seek professional guidance rather than pushing through.
