18 minutes a day.
Body and brain, together.
Soma18 combines four brain exercises and eight body exercises into one simple daily practice. Start with the free book by founder Hans Anderssen.
The Body and Brain Keep the Score
Why I Created My Own Daily Practice
Hans Anderssen
Get your free copy
The Body and Brain Keep the Score: Why I Created My Own Daily Practice
By Hans Anderssen. Edited by Saghar Shahidi-Birjandian, PhD.
“These exercises are evidence-informed and are used within various therapeutic programs.” Dr. Ray Baker
Hans offers practical tools that support greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, resilience, and well-being. His work invites people not only to understand their stories but also to embody healing in meaningful and transformative ways.
The simple practice you've been looking for
Most approaches work on your body or your mind. Soma18 does both at the same time, stacked into one short routine you can do every morning. The 18 isn't magic. It's long enough to matter and short enough to repeat.
- Body and brain are one system. So Soma18 works with both at once.
- Movement makes thought more potent. “I am safe” lands differently when you're moving.
- Safety is the goal. Not just positive thinking. Actually feeling safe.
- Repetition beats intensity. A year of ordinary mornings, not one perfect one.
- Simple wins. No binder, no specialist, no 90-minute routine.
Hello, I'm Hans.
I'm 64, I feel 44, and my mental health has never been better. It wasn't always like this. For years I battled depression, anxiety and insomnia, and watched my marriage fall apart.
I'm not a doctor or a neuroscientist. I'm a guy who got desperate, got curious, and spent years experimenting. Soma18 is what came out of it.
“I couldn't find a simple mind-body practice that actually worked, so I created one myself and practised it every day for a year.”
The Body and Brain Keep the Score
Why I Created My Own Daily Practice
Hans Anderssen
The story behind Soma18
Hans planned to write a dry book of research under a fake name. His friends wouldn't let him. This is the honest version: what happened, what he tried, what didn't work, and how it all became Soma18.
- Hans's story. Why he needed another way.
- The search. Sauna, cold Pacific mornings, EMDR, breathwork and Norwegian ancestors.
- The principles. What all that experimenting actually taught him.
- The practice. Exactly what Hans does every morning.
- Agency. How to become the head chef of your own well-being.
Edited by Saghar Shahidi-Birjandian, PhD. Scholar-practitioner and mediator with more than 16 years in mediation, human rights and transitional justice, including research on intergenerational trauma. PhD in Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London.
Coming soon: the complete Soma18 program, with guided video for every exercise. Readers hear first.
Start your journey with Soma18 today
Begin with the free book. Then begin the practice.