If you are in crisis, SoMi is not the right tool. Call your local emergency number, or in the United States call or text988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The app does not monitor what you write and nobody is reading it.
SoMi is not medical care
SoMi is a general wellbeing and self-regulation app. It is not a medical device, not therapy, and not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment by a qualified professional. Nothing in the app or on this website is medical, psychological or psychiatric advice, and using SoMi does not create a clinical relationship of any kind.
Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you encountered in SoMi.
About the polyvagal framing
SoMi organises its exercises using a polyvagal-informed model — the energy and safety axes, and the state names like Steady, Wired and Shutdown. This is a useful way of sorting practices, and it is how many somatic practitioners work. It is not a measurement of your vagus nerve, it is not a diagnostic instrument, and the state the app shows you is derived entirely from where you placed your own finger on a picker. It reflects your self-report, nothing more.
Aspects of polyvagal theory remain debated in the research literature. We present it as a practical organising lens, not settled clinical science.
Talk to a professional before starting if you
- are pregnant, or recently gave birth;
- have a heart condition, uncontrolled blood pressure, or a history of stroke;
- have a neck, spine, jaw or shoulder injury — several exercises involve head turns, gaze shifts and stretches;
- have an eye condition, retinal problem, glaucoma, or recent eye surgery — some exercises use sustained gaze direction;
- have an inner-ear or vestibular condition, or are prone to vertigo or fainting;
- have a seizure disorder;
- are being treated for a mental health condition, particularly trauma, PTSD, dissociation, psychosis, or an eating disorder;
- are recovering from surgery or an acute injury.
What can come up
Somatic practice deliberately brings attention into the body, and that can surface more than you expected. Sighing, yawning, shaking, trembling, tears, heat, tingling and spontaneous movement are all common and usually harmless — the app even gives you tags for them. Less often, turning attention inward can bring up difficult memories, strong emotion, numbness, or a feeling of being far away from yourself.
If that happens: stop the flow, open your eyes, put your feet on the floor, and look around the room until it feels like a room again. If it keeps happening, work with a trauma-informed practitioner rather than alone with an app.
Stop immediately if you experience
- chest pain, pressure, or shortness of breath;
- dizziness, faintness, or visual disturbance;
- sharp or increasing pain anywhere;
- distress that keeps escalating rather than settling as the practice continues.
Then seek medical attention. Do not push through. Nothing in a five-minute flow is worth an injury.
Practising safely
- Work within a range that feels easy. Somatic practice is not a stretch you win.
- Never practise while driving, operating machinery, or anywhere you need your full attention.
- Do the lying-down exercises on a surface you can safely get down to and up from.
- Skip anything that does not feel right. Every block in a flow can be swapped or skipped.
No promised results
We make no claim that SoMi will reduce your stress, improve your sleep, regulate your nervous system, or produce any other specific outcome. Individual responses to somatic practice vary widely, and streaks and stats in the app are a record of what you did, not evidence of a health benefit.
Questions
This disclaimer forms part of our Terms of Use. If something here is unclear, write toconnect@azorean.io.
Azorean Studios
Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States