Episode 550: Liz Tenuto: The Somatic Exercises That Calm Your Nervous System in Under a Minute

About this episode

In this episode, Liz Tenuto discusses somatic exercises that help calm the nervous system and release stress from the body.

The Greek word "soma" means body. Somatic exercises were first researched in the 1970s as a way to release trauma and stress through tiny physical movements, bypassing the mind entirely. Decades later, most people still think it sounds like a woo-woo wellness trend. That gap between what the science says and what people assume is exactly why I wanted to sit down with Liz Tenuto. Liz, better known as The Workout Witch, has nearly 5 million followers, 240,000 students, and a 99% success rate with her courses. She holds a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara, is certified in Pilates and Reiki, and spent six years being mentored in the Feldenkrais Method under Augusta Moore. With fifteen years of hands-on teaching experience, she bridges science, movement, and somatic practice to help people release stress, stored trauma, and tension from their bodies, using the same methods that got her off beta blockers for anxiety. Her work has been featured in USA Today, BBC News, Harper's Bazaar France, and more. In this Fitness Friday episode with Liz, part one of a three-part series, she shows me several somatic exercises live on the podcast. One of them nearly put me to sleep on camera…

People in this episode

Host: Jen Cohen

Guest: Liz Tenuto

Topics covered

• somatic exercises
• stress relief
• mental health
• physical movement
• anxiety management
• wellness

Keywords

• somatic exercises
• nervous system
• stress
• anxiety
• wellness
• trauma
• Feldenkrais Method
• Pilates
• Reiki

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: USA Today, BBC News, Harper's Bazaar France, UC Santa Barbara

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