How Acting, Singing, and Somatic Body Work Tap into Emotional Hotspots

Feeling emotions in your body takes time—months or even years to notice—but it’s a valuable skill that deeply benefits both your career and personal life. When you’re uncertain about a scene or song, checking in with your body, your breath, and your posture can offer guidance. This awareness creates a reliable, intuitive foundation for expression, helping you to feel grounded and in tune with yourself.

Both acting and singing demand a deep connection with emotion, and for me, one of the biggest insights has come through somatic body work. I first learned about somatic techniques in therapy, where the focus is on letting emotions move through the body and recognizing where they show up physically. In my case, different emotions tend to manifest in the same places: sadness feels heavy in my chest, while anger or joy might show up elsewhere. By tuning in to these emotional “hotspots,” I’ve learned to harness them for performance, bringing authenticity to my acting and vocal delivery.

On stage or in the vocal booth, you need to be highly aware of what’s happening in your body so you can fully explore and convey emotion. While in a live setting I can use arm gestures and body movements to deepen the emotional impact, recording studios often limit movement to avoid picking up unwanted sounds on the microphone. Even so, small arm movements can drive the emotion you’re channeling. Just remember to take off jewelry or noisy clothing—and don’t worry if you look like a fool in the booth! Sometimes, a physical cue is exactly what you need to tap into the feeling you’re aiming for. And how many music artists that you admire do some interesting movements on stage? For me, it's a lot of them.

That said, it’s important to be careful when venturing into method acting or other immersive techniques that ask you to draw from personal experience. Pushing yourself too far emotionally can take a toll. Artistic expression should be about joy, self-discovery, and creativity, not retraumatizing yourself. There’s a reason why people often point to Shelly Duvall’s experience in The Shining as a cautionary tale. While her performance was stunning, it’s widely understood that the intense emotional strain she was put under was harmful. And frankly, a great movie could have been made without compromising her well-being.

Sustainable artistry means balancing honesty with care. There are countless methods to achieve vulnerability—whether you’re recalling personal memories or using your imagination to build an emotional landscape. People sense when a performance feels real, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your health. It has to feel real to you in the moment, but ultimately, it should be an expression that leaves you fulfilled and ready to create again.