Somatic Body Scan Meditation for Deep Recovery

Most of the Thyroid Thrivers I coach are very good at the effort parts of healing—changing their food, taking supplements, staying active, learning new habits and skills. Where they tend to struggle is with the part that requires not efforting: rest and recovery.

With thyroid and autoimmune conditions, under-prioritizing nervous system regulation and deep rest can quietly keep you stuck in that exhausting loop of pushing, crashing, and never quite feeling like yourself as your body plays a constant game of catch-up.

This is something I was reminded of in a very personal way after the launch of my THYROID30 Cookbook. Those big pushes in life have a funny way of leading to big shifts within the body. Mine said, quite plainly: We're done. Time to rest.

It was my own rest and recovery process that led me back to deeply restorative practices I'd put on the shelf for years—somatic movement and Soma Yoga.

In this post, I'm sharing something a little different from my usual recipes and podcast episodes—a free lying down 20-minute Somatic Body Scan Meditation audio from my somatic movement and Soma Yoga teacher, Jean Hindle, the founder of Soma Yoga and Sunset Hill Somatics Studio in Seattle. If you're feeling frayed around the edges, over-activated, burned out, bone tired, or simply in need of deep rest, your nervous system is going to love this. 

Below, I'll explain a bit about what somatics is, and why it matters so much for thyroid and autoimmune healing, how this practice landed in my lap at exactly the right moment, and how to use it. Then I'll hand you the gift of this somatic meditation, thanks to Jean's generosity, and get out of your way so you can experience this delicious reset for yourself.

What Is Somatics, Anyway?

Thomas Hanna coined the term “Somatics” as the body perceived from within: a first-person perspective. Philosopher and somatics pioneer Thomas Hanna is credited with bringing Moshe Feldenkrais to the United States to conduct the first professional Feldenkrais training program. The sensory-motor learning process of somatic movement education, which has been foundational in Jean’s development of Soma Yoga & her somatic movement teaching, involves non-strenuous movement patterns & explorations which give the brain the necessary feedback to release muscles from chronic habitual holding patterns (neuromuscular re-patterning).

You discover the amazing capacity of your nervous system for somatic releasing, resourcing, and re-education.

Chronic tension patterns change as the body regains its innate ability to self-correct to ease and efficiency, expanding our possibilities for moving and thus, living.

Somatic Movement & Soma Yoga invite a quiet mind, a deep unwinding, and endless discovery resulting in a deeper, more lasting sense of ease without forcing, pushing, or powering through.

If you've never heard of or experienced somatics, you're not alone, but a noticeable and welcome shift is happening in the wellness world. Instead of focusing solely on “optimizing harder” through biohacking and restriction, more people are turning their attention to something deeper: regulating stress and supporting the nervous system.

Practices that help calm the nervous system—including somatic movement, breathwork, and trauma-informed approaches—are becoming mainstream tools for navigating stress and burnout.

As a result, the question is shifting from “How do I perform better?” to “How do I feel safe and regulated in my body again?” 

It's a welcome and important conversation for us as Thyroid Thrivers. 

Divine Timing

I first discovered somatic movement in the early 2000s while living in Seattle. Jean's Soma Yoga studio was just down the street from our house at the time, and, not knowing exactly what to expect, I wandered in one rainy day, and signed up for a class. Little did I know that Jean's classes would take me on a journey beyond language, time, and perpetual doing. Jean taught me how to inhabit, tend to, and come home to my body. How to find ease, and most importantly, enjoyment, in movement. How to unlearn old patterns that have been learned and locked in in unhelpful ways. How to listen to the wisdom of my body, and let it lead me to what was needed—a fundamental skill I now teach in the Thrivers Club.   

I kept coming back to Jean's somatic movement and Soma Yoga classes throughout the 3 years we lived in Seattle, and eventually moved on to new adventures in Alaska, but not without having been utterly changed by her teachings. 

Jean’s teaching style is different from what many people expect from yoga or meditation—and intentionally so. She brings together somatic movement, including the teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais and Skinner Releasing Technique with meditation because, as she says, “awareness of habitual moving, thinking, and attention patterns is possible; and with awareness sits liberation.”

Though it has been 20 years since those days when I could walk down the block to Jean's studio, her teachings have quietly stayed with me. I recently found my way back to them. Just as I was launching the cookbook, my body was simultaneously giving me a loud and insistent NOPE. It arrived in the form of migratory pain in my back, neck, shoulders, and feet—a different spot every day. Painful muscle spasms prohibited my typical workouts, and I realized I needed to listen to my body and try a different approach to movement. One that would calm and restore rather than trying to pour from an empty cup. 

So, I found myself back on the mat, gently rolling, twisting, looking, levering, and exploring all of the practices I could remember from Jean's studio. Immediately, I could feel my entire body begin to exhale, as if to say, finally! You listened! 

Just as I was finding my way back to Jean's teachings, she reached out. She’d seen my emails about the cookbook launch and wrote, “I thought you probably need some restoration after birthing this book.”

Attached was an audio of a lying down 20-minute Soma Body Scan meditation—the loveliest, most deeply relaxing practice I’ve done in a very long time (and I meditate daily).

"You sent me this meditation, right when I needed it most," I wrote in reply. 

I've since returned to regular online Soma Yoga, Somatics & BrainDance classes with Jean (hooray for the technology that enables us to connect from afar). It's been glorious. I am loving being re-inspired to dance every day from her BrainDance teaching! I'm feeling so much better and getting strong and mobile again. The best part? Jean has generously allowed me to share this meditation with you. 

So here it is—a small offering of deep rest for anyone whose body and nervous system could use a little extra care right now.

How to use this meditation:

• Find a comfortable place to lie down (on a yoga mat or your bed)

• This practice is lovely in bed before sleep, upon waking, or as an afternoon break

• Jean uses gentle releasing imagery and precise cues to invite the parasympathetic nervous system state

• No forcing, no stretching—just awareness and allowing

Resources like this one—meditations, breathwork, restorative movement—are things I usually share inside my Thrivers Club Membership, so I'm especially grateful to Jean for letting me bring this one out into the open. If you'd like more support like this, you can learn more here.

For now, settle in, get comfortable, and let this be a gentle invitation back to your body.

About Jean Hindle

Jean Hindle is the founder of Soma Yoga & Sunset Hill Somatics Studio. She has been a Soma Yoga, Hatha Yoga & meditation teacher, somatic movement educator, and dancer in Seattle for over 30 years. Her teaching draws from her Soma Yoga, Tibetan & Zen Buddhist meditation, classical hatha yoga, BrainDance Somatic Education, the teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais, Skinner Releasing Technique, Hanna Somatics, and many other somatic practices.

She began developing Soma Yoga in 1994 after a bad accident, founded Soma Yoga in 1998, and has dedicated her life to helping students find freedom in mind, motion, and creative courageous living. Her guiding belief is: “Nurturing compassion and allowance within ourselves changes our world...and A Dance a Day!”

Jean teaches in person at her Sunset Hill Somatics Studio in Seattle, as well as online, through 1-on-1 private sessions, classes, workshops, and retreats. You can learn more about her work at soma-yoga.com.