Somatic Surfing
An exercise to build resilience through gentle somatic exploration of challenging emotions.
Why it works
Building your capacity to stay present with challenging emotions develops your emotional fluidity and prevents emotional debt.
How to practice
- Find a quiet, safe space where you won't be interrupted. Choose an emotion/memory of low intensity (3/10 max).
- Acknowledge the emotion. Locate any sensation you feel and explore its qualities: - Texture (rough, smooth) - Temperature (hot, cold, neutral) - Movement (pulsing, static, wavelike) "Walk into" the center of the sensation. Stay present with it, breathe and observe changes. Ask gently: "What does this part want/need?" Allow any natural release (sighs, tears, movement, sound).
- If your awareness drifts to a story/thoughts, gently guide it back to physical sensation until you feel a sense of natural completion.
Good to know
Like learning to surf, start with "small waves" (mild emotions) before building to more intense ones. Many find soft instrumental music helpful for maintaining presence. Remember: most emotional waves, when fully felt, last only 10-20 seconds.
The research
Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapyPayne et al.Somatic Experiencing for PTSD: A Randomized Controlled Outcome StudyBrom et al.Practice this now
Free guided audio in the Protocol Cards app.