Somatic wellness is the missing link in workplace well-being

Most workplace wellness programs offer the same formula: meditation apps, breathwork breaks, maybe a yoga class in a fluorescent-lit conference room. The intention is good. But for many people—especially those who are neurodivergent—these solutions fall flat.

Why?

Because they’re built on the assumption that self-regulation is a default and stress is a short-term glitch that a few deep breaths can resolve. But for those with ADHD, autism, trauma histories, autoimmune disease, invisible illnesses or chronic stress patterns, regulation is not automatic. It’s a state that must be intentionally cultivated—and it’s influenced by far more than thoughts alone.

The Science: Brains Wired for Intensity

Neurodivergent people process the world differently. Research shows that individuals with ADHD often experience reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex during stress, impacting decision-making and attention regulation. Autistic individuals may have heightened interoceptive sensitivity (how they feel internal bodily signals), but difficulty making sense of those signals—a mismatch that creates overwhelm, not clarity.

Add environmental stressors, workplace pressure, and constant context-switching, and you’ve got a recipe for shutdown, burnout, or what’s often mislabeled as "overwhelm" and “underperformance.”

Traditional mindfulness tools like Headspace or Calm offer momentary relief—but they rarely address the full-body, full-context reality of living and working with a differently-wired nervous system.

Giving employees access to these apps and hoping they'll address the root of the stress is shortsighted.

It assumes they all will remember they have an app, they know what that app does, the have the presence and desire to reach for their phone by passing all the other distractions and old habits there, that they have the decision making bandwidth left to select the program and not get lost in analysis paralysis, decide that a 10 minute meditation is actually worth doing more than whatever other unhealthy thing they usually do to manage stress but is actually fueling disconnection. They then have to to do the guided meditation while not being annoyed at the person's voice or the noise coming from the suite next to you. My point is, stress responses are deeply patterned at a nervous system level. What you might see as a simple fix, upon further breakdown, is actually a complex set of new behaviors and what's missing is a pattern interrupt.

Why Somatic Wellness Works

Somatic practices (movement-based, sensation-aware, nervous system-informed) offer a different approach. Instead of telling someone to “calm down,” they help individuals locate themselves in their body and environment—through breath, movement, grounding, and slow sensory integration.

These tools support what neuroscientists call interoceptive awareness—the ability to perceive and interpret internal bodily signals like hunger, tension, heart rate, or fatigue. Interoception is a foundational building block of self-regulation, yet it’s often impaired in people with chronic stress, trauma, or neurodivergence.

Somatic wellness doesn’t demand quiet. It doesn’t teaches stillness. It invites presence in a way that feels safe enough for the nervous system to unwind—not because it “should,” but because it finally can. It's the pause and the pattern interrupt that makes choice—and change—possible.

What This Means for Workplaces

Neurodivergent professionals often bring extraordinary creativity, insight, and leadership—but they’re also disproportionately impacted by burnout. Not because they’re fragile, but because the environments they work in don’t support how they operate best.

If we want true inclusivity in the workplace, we have to go deeper than productivity hacks and positive affirmations. We need body-based tools that account for real, lived neurobiology.

As a somatic wellness educator working in corporate environments, I help teams learn how to regulate, reset, and reconnect—not just for performance, but for sustainability.

Because when people feel safe in their bodies, they show up more fully in their work, their relationships, and their purpose.

Want to bring nervous system literacy to your workplace?

Let’s talk about how somatic wellness can support your team—from the inside out.