Latest news with #Tenuto
CNBC
25-06-2025
- Health
- CNBC
40-year-old reaches millions on TikTok as 'The Workout Witch': I found a 'deep sense of purpose'
To better understand the cause of her chronic pain and insomnia, Liz Tenuto majored in psychology. Her studies led her to psychotherapy for healing, like EMDR, and a better understanding of how the nervous system operates. While working as a professional dancer after college, a suggestion from her teacher put Tenuto on the path to becoming "The Workout Witch." "It was actually my ballet teacher who noticed that I was very dissociated when I wasn't dancing," Tenuto, 40, tells CNBC Make It. "[They] kind of nudged me to take a somatics class." In 2008, somatic exercises were still pretty new to most people. "For me, it just looked like a bunch of people rolling around in their pajamas on the floor," Tenuto says. "So I was very skeptical at first, especially with an academic background." Somatic exercises were created to relieve tension from the body and entail moving in slow and mindful ways that shift the focus from how you look to what you feel. Yoga, breathwork and dance are all considered forms of somatic movement. "It's micro-movements. They're really tiny, and you do very little in a class," Tenuto says. In the sessions she attended, "we maybe did three or four movements in an entire hour and a half class. And it had profound effects." Somatic movements can be beneficial for a number of reasons, but is most widely touted for its effect on the nervous system. "Our nervous system has different ways that it can be activated — sympathetic activation, which is fight-flight, and parasympathetic activation, which is freeze or shut down," she says. In between those two modes of activation is a middle ground called the "ventral vagal state," which is a state of homeostasis. "You're balanced, you're social, you're grounded, you're regulated," she explains. The polyvagal theory indicates that doing somatic exercises may put you in the ventral vagal state, lead to better emotional regulation and get you out of fight or flight. "You're just reinforcing safety in your body as you do them over and over again, and you're practicing this regulated state," Tenuto says. "It's similar to building muscle. As you continue to build those new neural pathways and practice the exercises, that starts to become stronger than some of your trauma responses." During the Covid-19 shutdown in 2020, Tenuto began uploading videos of herself demonstrating somatic exercises to the social media platform TikTok, which was gaining in popularity at the time. "I was posting the exercises, really to just hold me accountable for doing one exercise per day. Because at that time, I was having a really hard time just getting out of bed," she says. "I was very sad at the time. I was going through a divorce." Tenuto says sharing that daily exercise was the only thing that helped, and she was stunned when her account went from zero followers to 10,000 in just two to three weeks. Today, she's at 2.2 million. Before the pandemic, Tenuto taught Pilates and somatics classes and had private clients who she guided through injury recovery. Seeing how receptive the audience on TikTok and Instagram were to her videos filled her up with a "deep sense of purpose," she says, and showed that sharing her work online could be just as effective. Now, Tenuto's somatic therapy demonstrations for healing trauma, alleviating symptoms of anxiety and shifting out of "functional freeze" go viral. Tenuto deemed herself "The Workout Witch" because "when people experience these exercises, they do think that there's some magic, and some like woo woo stuff going on with them," she says. "I wish there was, but it's really just using neuroscience with movement."
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Stuck in bed after work? You might be in ‘functional freeze'. Here is how to get over it
After clocking out of work and ticking off your to‑do list, you might expect a sense of relief. Instead, you find yourself glued to your bed, doom‑scrolling aimlessly and unable to face simple tasks. If this sounds familiar, you may be experiencing what movement expert Liz Tenuto calls 'functional freeze,' a stress‑induced shutdown of mind and body that leaves high‑achievers immobilized the moment they stop pressing forward. When Success Leads to Shutdown In a recent interview with CNBC Make It , Tenuto—better known online as 'The Workout Witch'—explained that functional freeze is a form of the body's natural freeze response, triggered by chronic overwhelm rather than immediate danger. 'A lot of women get all of their tasks done during the day,' she said, 'then when they get home and finish everything, they completely crash and have a hard time getting out of bed.' Despite outward success, those in this state may feel emotionally numb, dissociated, or trapped in endless hours of passive screen time. The Hidden Signs of a Freeze People in functional freeze often mask their distress with productivity, only to find themselves incapacitated afterward. They might struggle to cry or feel social, wrestle with unexplained aches or gut issues, and lean on alcohol or online distractions to numb the emptiness. Even routine household chores can feel insurmountable, as decision‑making grinds to a halt and the simplest actions require Herculean effort. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tan Dinh: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Thawing Out: Movement as Medicine iStock Breathwork, yoga, or simply a twenty‑minute stroll around your neighborhood can also prompt emotional processing and help reset your nervous system. (Representational Image: iStock) Tenuto, who holds a degree in psychology and trains clients in somatic therapy , argues that the antidote to functional freeze is not more rest but carefully calibrated motion. 'Movement is the best way to come out of freeze,' she said, cautioning against jumping into intense workouts that your exhausted body can't sustain. Instead, she recommends somatic exercises—slow, mindful movements such as gentle ear pulls that stimulate the vagus nerve, or subtle rocking on each side of the body to release tension and restore energy. You Might Also Like: How some people feel rested with just 3 hours of sleep: The science behind the super sleepers who defy the 8-hour rule Breathwork, yoga, or simply a twenty‑minute stroll around your neighborhood can also prompt emotional processing and help reset your nervous system. One practice Tenuto demonstrates on TikTok involves slowly turning the head while holding the chin, a micro‑movement that can reduce anxiety and encourage your mind to reengage with the world. Why Sitting Still Can Backfire Despite the allure of sinking deeper into the covers, Tenuto warns that further immobility can actually reinforce the freeze response. 'Relaxing more and not moving at all can exacerbate functional freeze,' she told. The key, she insists, is gentle but consistent action—tiny steps that remind your body it is safe to thaw and rejoin the flow of daily life. If you find yourself paralyzed by exhaustion and stress each evening, consider that your body may be signaling a deeper need for mindful movement rather than more rest. Embracing somatic techniques could be the very thing that frees you to tackle tomorrow's chores—one micro‑movement at a time. You Might Also Like: Feeling lethargic and sleepy? Hyderabad doctor fixes patient's sleep, reverses BP and triggers 8kg weight loss
Economic Times
15-06-2025
- Health
- Economic Times
Stuck in bed after work? You might be in ‘functional freeze'. Here is how to get over it
Feeling emotionally numb, doom-scrolling all night, or unable to move after a productive day? You could be experiencing 'functional freeze'—a subtle stress response impacting thousands. According to somatic therapist Liz Tenuto, tiny physical movements like gentle ear pulls or breathwork can break the cycle and revive your energy. It's time to thaw out and take control. Ever find yourself utterly drained after work, unable to even fold laundry or make dinner? You might be stuck in a little-known state called 'functional freeze.' (Representational Image: iStock) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads When Success Leads to Shutdown The Hidden Signs of a Freeze Thawing Out: Movement as Medicine Breathwork, yoga, or simply a twenty‑minute stroll around your neighborhood can also prompt emotional processing and help reset your nervous system. (Representational Image: iStock) Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Why Sitting Still Can Backfire After clocking out of work and ticking off your to‑do list, you might expect a sense of relief. Instead, you find yourself glued to your bed, doom‑scrolling aimlessly and unable to face simple tasks. If this sounds familiar, you may be experiencing what movement expert Liz Tenuto calls 'functional freeze,' a stress‑induced shutdown of mind and body that leaves high‑achievers immobilized the moment they stop pressing a recent interview with CNBC Make It, Tenuto—better known online as 'The Workout Witch'—explained that functional freeze is a form of the body's natural freeze response, triggered by chronic overwhelm rather than immediate danger. 'A lot of women get all of their tasks done during the day,' she said, 'then when they get home and finish everything, they completely crash and have a hard time getting out of bed.' Despite outward success, those in this state may feel emotionally numb, dissociated, or trapped in endless hours of passive screen in functional freeze often mask their distress with productivity, only to find themselves incapacitated afterward. They might struggle to cry or feel social, wrestle with unexplained aches or gut issues, and lean on alcohol or online distractions to numb the emptiness. Even routine household chores can feel insurmountable, as decision‑making grinds to a halt and the simplest actions require Herculean who holds a degree in psychology and trains clients in somatic therapy , argues that the antidote to functional freeze is not more rest but carefully calibrated motion. 'Movement is the best way to come out of freeze,' she said, cautioning against jumping into intense workouts that your exhausted body can't sustain. Instead, she recommends somatic exercises—slow, mindful movements such as gentle ear pulls that stimulate the vagus nerve, or subtle rocking on each side of the body to release tension and restore yoga, or simply a twenty‑minute stroll around your neighborhood can also prompt emotional processing and help reset your nervous system. One practice Tenuto demonstrates on TikTok involves slowly turning the head while holding the chin, a micro‑movement that can reduce anxiety and encourage your mind to reengage with the the allure of sinking deeper into the covers, Tenuto warns that further immobility can actually reinforce the freeze response. 'Relaxing more and not moving at all can exacerbate functional freeze,' she told. The key, she insists, is gentle but consistent action—tiny steps that remind your body it is safe to thaw and rejoin the flow of daily you find yourself paralyzed by exhaustion and stress each evening, consider that your body may be signaling a deeper need for mindful movement rather than more rest. Embracing somatic techniques could be the very thing that frees you to tackle tomorrow's chores—one micro‑movement at a time.
