Reconnecting with Your Body: 10 Somatic Grounding skills for Eating Disorder Recovery

By Erin Gilmore, CEDS-C, EMDR Therapist, NASM Nutrition Coach

Living with an eating disorder often comes with a deep disconnection from the body. Whether it’s through numbing, hyper-fixation on appearance, or rigid control over food, the nervous system has learned to protect you by turning down awareness of physical sensations. Somatic grounding skills are body-based tools that help you gently reconnect with your body in ways that feel safe, tolerable, and empowering. These practices support nervous system regulation and provide essential resources for recovery. Below are ten somatic grounding skills, each explained in detail to help you understand both how to do them and why they work.

5-4-3-2-1 Sensory Scan:

One of the simplest and most accessible grounding skills is the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory scan. This involves noticing five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. This technique gently brings your attention out of overwhelming thoughts and back into the external world. For individuals with eating disorders who may dissociate or become overly focused on internal discomfort, the sensory scan helps re-anchor attention to the here and now. This activation of the five senses engages the prefrontal cortex and signals safety to the nervous system, reducing threat perception and bringing down anxiety.

Orienting:

Orienting is another powerful somatic tool. It involves slowly looking around the room, turning your head from side to side, and noticing what catches your eye—colors, light, patterns, and safe exits. This is not just a visual exercise; it speaks directly to your autonomic nervous system. When you’re in a state of fight, flight, or freeze, the body prepares for danger. Orienting helps the brain recognize that you’re not in a threatening environment, which can deactivate hyperarousal and stimulate the ventral vagal nerve, a core component of the ‘safe and social’ branch of the parasympathetic system.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation:

The practice of progressive muscle relaxation, or ‘tense and release,’ involves intentionally tensing a specific muscle group (like your fists or shoulders) for 5–10 seconds and then slowly releasing. Doing this throughout the body builds awareness of tension you may not have noticed. Many people with eating disorders carry chronic muscle tension from stress, perfectionism, or bracing against emotional discomfort. This technique teaches the nervous system the difference between activation and relaxation, promoting regulation and increasing felt safety in the body.

Weighted Blanket or Pressure:

Using deep pressure through a weighted blanket or firm self-hug is especially calming for individuals who feel ungrounded, anxious, or overwhelmed. The gentle pressure from a weighted blanket stimulates deep touch receptors and proprioception, which help the brain map where the body is in space. This kind of input sends calming signals to the nervous system, often helping people feel more centered and less likely to resort to eating disorder behaviors as a way to self-soothe.

Rocking or Rhythmic Movement:

Rocking or rhythmic movement, like gently swaying side to side in a chair or while standing, mimics the soothing movements often experienced in infancy. These repetitive, rhythmic motions calm the nervous system and stimulate vagal tone, which enhances emotional regulation. In the context of recovery, rocking can be a self-regulating alternative when urges or anxiety escalate.

Grounding Touch:

Another deeply grounding tool is grounding touch, which involves placing one or both hands over areas like your chest, stomach, thighs, or face. The warmth and pressure of your own hands can activate oxytocin and parasympathetic calming pathways. This technique helps shift focus from critical inner dialogue toward a compassionate, physical connection with your body. When paired with slow breathing or supportive phrases like “I am safe” or “I’m right here,” grounding touch can begin to repair the mind-body disconnect that often accompanies disordered eating.

Barefoot Grounding:

Walking barefoot on grass, carpet, or a yoga mat is a simple yet effective way to reconnect with your body’s relationship to the earth. This sensory input through the feet brings awareness to contact points and bodily weight distribution, promoting presence and grounding. For those who tend to “live in their heads” or experience body image detachment, this practice literally brings them back down to earth—both physically and emotionally.

Vocal Toning or Humming:

Vocal toning or humming is another underrated somatic practice. Humming activates the vagus nerve through the vibration of the vocal cords, which sends calming messages to the brain. It also brings awareness to the throat and chest area—places that can feel tight or constricted in times of distress. Singing or humming can be especially helpful after meals or during anxious moments, helping to regulate the nervous system without needing to “fix” anything through food behaviors.

Breath and Gentle Movement:

The combination of breath and gentle movement is a helpful daily regulation tool. For example, slowly raising your arms while inhaling and lowering them while exhaling synchronizes your breath with movement. This can rewire the association between movement and punishment or over-exercise, which is common in eating disorders. Instead of using movement to burn calories, this practice reclaims it as a tool for self-regulation and nervous system balance.

Body Scan with Curiosity:

Lastly, practicing a body scan with curiosity—asking “What sensations do I notice in my body right now?”—can begin to rebuild interoception, the brain’s ability to sense internal bodily cues. You might notice warmth, tingling, heaviness, or movement. This isn’t about judgment or control, but about observation. Learning to notice bodily sensations without panicking or dissociating is a fundamental step in healing one’s relationship with food and body.

Somatic grounding skills aren’t about forcing yourself to feel better—they’re about offering your nervous system the signals it needs to feel safer. Eating disorders often develop as protective strategies, especially when the body has felt unsafe or overwhelming. These skills gently reverse that narrative by helping your body become a source of wisdom, grounding, and safety again. With regular practice, somatic grounding can become a trusted companion in recovery, offering moments of relief, connection, and calm.