Oftentimes, during January in Central Indiana, our bodies often mirror the environment. Huddled against the wind, our shoulders creeping toward our ears, we try to navigate the icy sidewalks in Indianapolis. We clench our jaws against the cold, and these physical patterns often become containers for emotional stress.

When we experience stress, our nervous system triggers a “fight, flight, or freeze” response. If that energy isn’t fully processed, it can become “stuck” in our muscles and tissues. That’s why you might feel a knot in your stomach when you’re anxious or a heavy tightness in your chest when you’re overwhelmed. 

Talk therapy is an incredible tool for understanding why we feel this way, but it often struggles to reach stress that has “settled” into the body. This is where somatic expression through art therapy comes in.

Moving Stress From the Inside Out

Different art materials offer different levels of “resistance,” which can be used strategically to help the body let go of specific types of tension:

• The Release of Clay: Working with clay is one of the most effective somatic tools. It requires significant physical engagement. Kneading, pounding, pulling, and smoothing provide deep pressure input to joints and muscles. This repetitive, physical manipulation is naturally calming to a stressed nervous system. Working with clay is like working through the “stuck” energy. Shaping the stress into something external that you can observe and even change.
• Resistive Paint Strokes: Sometimes stress feels like a build-up of frantic or aggressive energy. Thick acrylics or oil pastels that require force to apply allow you to use your entire arm and shoulder in the creative process. Making large, resistive strokes on a canvas can provide a cathartic release for pent-up frustration.
• The Fluidity of Watercolors: For those in a “freeze”—feeling numb, sluggish, or shut down—working with fluid materials like watercolors encourages a sense of flow. Watching the paint move and bleed across the paper can “thaw” a rigid emotional state, encouraging the body to relax and return to a state of ease.

Beyond the Words

The beauty of somatic art therapy is that you don’t need to have the “right words.” You don’t even need to know exactly what you are releasing. By focusing on the physical sensation of the materials—the coolness of the clay, the resistance of the brush, the texture of the paper—you give your body permission to express.

As we continue through the cold Indiana winter, remember that your body is more than just a vessel for your thoughts. It is a partner in your healing. By moving the stress out of your body and onto the canvas, you create space for new energy, resilience, and peace to take root.

Is your body holding onto the stress of the season? You don’t have to carry that weight alone. Contact S. Haymaker Counseling, LLC today to schedule an appointment.