Somatic Exercises for Anger: Practical Methods for Emotional Balance

For many of us, intense feelings such as anger can sometimes seem to take over, impacting our actions, thoughts, and decision-making abilities.

Somatic exercises for anger are powerful tools for managing these overwhelming emotions. These healthy outlets for anger help connect emotions to physical responses in the body, strengthening the mind-body connection. By consistently practicing somatic exercises, you can learn to better self-regulate your emotions and achieve greater emotional balance.

To help you gain a better understanding of somatic exercises for anger, this article explores why somatic therapy works, how to release anger from your body, and effective somatic exercises for releasing anger.

What Is Somatic Therapy for Anger?

Somatic exercises for anger focus on addressing built-up energy, tension, and emotional turmoil through heightened physical awareness and intentional movement. 

Somatic anger release exercises teach you how to recognize and manage emotional responses through physical sensations, which strengthens the mind-body connection (1). Through practices such as breathing, mindfulness, and gentle movement, somatic therapy provides immediate anger relief and builds long-term emotional resilience through self-awareness and calming the nervous system.

What Are Somatic Responses to Anger?

When you experience anger, your body activates various physiological responses that can impact decision-making and overall well-being. Common somatic responses to anger in the body and nervous system include (2)(3):

• Raised blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• Muscle tension
• Dilated pupils

Understanding how anger manifests in the body is essential for addressing escalating emotions such as anger. By recognizing these physical effects, you can implement somatic exercises to release your anger effectively.

Where Is Repressed Anger Stored in the Body?

Physical responses to emotions can vary significantly from person to person, as every individual’s emotions and physiology differ. Despite this, repressed anger is often stored in a few common places in the body (4)(5):

• Lower-back tension and stiffness
• Headaches or migraines
• Chest tightness or discomfort
• Stomach discomfort or digestive issues

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How to Release Anger from the Body

Finding healthy outlets for anger can be challenging – particularly if you’re someone who struggles to manage their anger in everyday life.

Luckily, somatic exercises for anger provide techniques for connecting emotions with bodily responses, which allows you to identify the early stages of anger before they become extreme. With this awareness, you can use these exercises to manage feelings of anger and mitigate any negative impacts.

Importantly, somatic anger therapy directly addresses the “fight” response that is associated with the sympathetic nervous system (6), which is beneficial for anyone who needs to release pent-up energy or tension. Regular somatic anger release may help you better self-regulate emotions, reducing the intensity of the fight response and returning to emotional balance.

If you’re curious about a somatic processing of emotions, check out our earlier article.

What Exercises Calm Down Anger?

Somatic workouts and exercises offer effective techniques for managing your anger by connecting emotions with physical sensations. Here, we’ll look at three key somatic exercises that are particularly effective for emotional balance and reduced anger intensity:

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises can be highly effective for managing anger, as they help calm the nervous system and reduce stress hormones such as cortisol. This form of somatic stress release promotes relaxation and clarity, allowing you to self-regulate feelings of anger and reduce their intensity (7).

Common breathing exercises that are used for releasing anger include:

• 4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale through your nose for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7, and exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 8.

• Repeat several times until feelings of anger subside

• Box Breathing: Inhale deeply for a count of 4, hold your breath for 4, exhale for 4, and hold your breath again for a count of 4.

• Repeat in a steady rhythm until feelings of anger subside

• Diaphragmatic Breathing: Sit or lie down comfortably, place a hand on your abdomen, and inhale deeply through your nose. Expand your abdomen as you breathe in, then exhale slowly through your mouth, focusing on a longer exhale.

• Repeat slowly and steadily until feelings of anger subside

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Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Another healthy way to release anger is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), which involves systematically tensing various muscle groups in the body and then relaxing them suddenly (8). By alternating between muscle tension and relaxation, PMR helps reduce physical and mental stress, in addition to teaching individuals to identify and alleviate signs of anger more effectively.

Here are the steps for an easy progressive muscle relaxation exercise:

1. Find a quiet and comfortable space to sit or lie down.
2. Start by focusing on deep breathing, inhaling through your nose, and exhaling through your mouth.
3. Tense your facial muscles by squinting your eyes tightly for a few seconds, then relax them completely.
4. Progressively move down your body, tensing and relaxing different muscle groups including the neck, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, and legs.
5. Hold each tension for approximately 5-10 seconds, then release and allow the muscles to relax fully before you move on to the next muscle group.
6. Continue until you’ve addressed all major muscle groups, noticing the difference in sensations between muscle tension and relaxation.

After you’ve completed a PMR exercise, your muscles should feel completely relaxed and not tensed at all, which may feel uncomfortable at first. If so, take a few moments after the exercise to reflect on your physical and emotional experiences before you move on.

Read more: Stretch Routines For Dancers Geared Toward Muscle Relaxation And Healing

Somatic Shaking

One of the most common anger release activities is somatic shaking, a technique where you intentionally induce shaking movements in your body to release built-up stress and tension. This practice helps manage anger by activating the body’s innate mechanism for stress release, essentially resetting the nervous system and reducing the intensity of anger reactions (9).

To get started, here are the steps for an easy somatic shaking exercise:

1. Find a quiet, comfortable space where you can move freely without interruption.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bending your knees to allow for easy movement.
3. Shake your hands and wrists gently to get accustomed to the movement, allowing it to spread gradually through your arms and shoulders.
4. Gradually increase the shaking to include your torso, legs, and feet, focusing on letting go of tension with each shake.
5. Shake for around 5-10 minutes, maintaining a natural rhythm and focusing on relaxation, free from any judgment.
6. Slow down the shaking movements slowly until they naturally subside, taking deep breaths as you wind down.

After you’re finished with somatic shaking, sit quietly for a few moments to observe how your body feels, taking note of any changes in tension or relaxation. This period of cooling down can help you recognize underlying emotions and manage them better, so you can return to your day without any lingering feelings of intense anger.

To learn more about easy somatic exercises, check out our in-depth article on the topic.

How to Release Repressed Anger

Releasing anger from the body can take time, particularly if it’s been bottled up for a long period of time, so it’s important to approach this process with patience. To see the most benefits from somatic exercises for anger management, you should consider these tips:

• Practice somatic exercises regularly to build a strong awareness of the physical sensations and emotions that are associated with them.
• Experiment with various somatic exercises for anger until you find techniques that work best for you, paying attention to how your body feels.
• Combine somatic exercises with other anger management strategies such as mindfulness and meditation.
• Set achievable goals for managing anger through somatic therapy, celebrating your progress along the way.
• Consider consulting with a mental health professional who specializes in anger management and/or anger release therapy.

For more details about the best somatic exercise program, take a look at our prior publication.

Read more: Meditation State: Find Out How To Induce Deep Meditation

FAQs

• What organ controls anger?

Anger primarily involves the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure in the brain’s limbic system that is responsible for emotional responses (10).

• Which gland is activated in anger?

When you’re angry, the adrenal gland is activated and releases cortisol and adrenaline hormones throughout the body (11). This is associated with the “fight-or-flight” response – an acute stress response that directly impacts your reactions to perceived dangers. 

• How can I release anger immediately?

While immediate anger release isn’t always feasible, there are effective strategies to help it subside more quickly, including:

• Practice somatic exercises (e.g., breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and somatic shaking) to promote relaxation and reduce stress.
• Engage in light physical exercise (e.g., brisk walking, yoga, and dancing) to reduce tension and calm the mind.
• Switch your environment to cool down, reflect, and bring yourself back to the present moment and self-regulate emotions.

• How do I stop hormonal rage?

Hormonal rage refers to intense and often uncontrollable anger or irritability that is caused by hormonal imbalances or fluctuations, commonly associated with conditions such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menopause, and pregnancy (12).

If you’re struggling to manage feelings of hormonal rage, consider practicing stress-relief techniques such as meditation, self-care, or talking to a therapist who can help you understand and address the underlying causes of your stress and anger.

Taking proactive steps to care for your mental health can make a significant difference in managing difficult emotions such as hormonal rage and anger, potentially helping you regulate your emotions more effectively in the future.

The Bottom Line

By regularly practicing somatic exercises for anger, you can work toward achieving better emotional balance and emotional regulation abilities. 

You should always remember that taking care of your mental health is a continuous journey, and it’s normal to experience ups and downs along the way. In the future, when obstacles or difficult emotions arise, try keeping these exercises in mind to more effectively calm your anger.