Soma Ease: An Herbal Pain Relief Formula Thirty Years in the Making

By Daniel Atchison-Nevel, A.P.

Pain is one of the most universal human experiences, and one of the most misunderstood.

By definition, pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience connected to actual or potential damage in the body. But if you’ve experienced pain, you know it’s more than that. Pain lives not just in the tissues but in the nervous system, in the breath, in the memory, and in the spirit.

As an acupuncturist and herbalist, I’ve spent over four decades working with pain. Not just as a physical phenomenon but as a mind-body-spirit experience.  I’ve explored how pain evolves and shows up and ow it moves. I’ve witnessed how it reshapes a person’s life. I’ve always believed that pain deserves a response that’s just as layered, compassionate, and intelligent as the people who experience it.

That’s why I created Soma Ease.

A Long Journey to the Right Formula

The idea for Soma Ease first came to me around the same time as another formula I was developing called Emotional Ease. Both came from a simple, powerful truth: The body and the emotions are not separate. I saw patients with muscle or fascia pain rooted in unexpressed emotions. Neck pain that evolved from decades of trauma. Menstrual pain that wasn’t just hormonal but unprocessed grief, anger, or fear. 

While Emotional Ease has been widely used and appreciated for decades, Soma Ease has taken me much more time. Years of refining. Testing. Changing herb ratios. Watching carefully how patients responded. I didn’t just want to relieve pain. I wanted a formula that addressed the whole person while it soothes pain, that works on the experience of pain and the source, gently dissolving the blockages where pain gets stuck.

The Power of Yan Hu Suo: Nature’s Pain Reliever

At the core of Soma Ease is Yan Hu Suo (Corydalis). I’ve used Yan Hu Suo with patients for decades and have come to deeply trust, and even love, how effectively it relieves pain. This remarkable herb has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries to treat all kinds of pain, muscular, neurological, gynecological, and emotional. It works by doing something special: it moves both Qi and Blood to free stagnation, relax the emotions, and calm the spirit.  In other words, it doesn’t just alleviate pain, it helps the body heal it.

Modern research backs this up. Compounds in Yan Hu Suo have been shown to reduce pain signals in the brain, relax the muscles, and calm inflammation, without causing the digestive side effects or dependency many people experience with pain medications. Specifically, alkaloids like tetrahydropalmatine (THP) and dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB) modulate dopamine and other neurotransmitter pathways involved in pain perception. Studies suggest that DHCB in particular helps "reset" abnormal pain signaling by acting on both the central and peripheral nervous systems, making it effective in conditions of both acute and chronic pain.

Dyads: Herbal Pairings with a Purpose

In Chinese herbal medicine, how herbs are combined is just as important as which herbs are used. Soma Ease is built around dyads, intentional pairings of herbs that enhance and guide the formula to where it’s needed most.

Some dyads help the formula move upward into the head and neck, easing migraines, jaw tension, or sinus pressure. Others guide it deep into the pelvis and lower back, supporting women with menstrual or pelvic pain. Some dyads target the emotions held in the fascia. Others calm the nervous system, helping the body truly relax.

The result is a formula that’s intelligent and responsive, able to treat multiple kinds of pain with precision.

Grown Where It Belongs: True Origin Herbal Sourcing

I’m proud to be working with my son, Orion, who brings over twenty-five years of experience and expertise in herbal production and sourcing. Orion ensures that every ingredient in Soma Ease is of the highest quality available at any given time. Our Yan Hu Suo is truly exceptional, the very best available, and the result of Dì Dào sourcing.

“Dì Dào” refers to authentic geographic origin, and for Yan Hu Suo, that means the mountainous regions of Zhejiang and Yunnan, where it has been cultivated and wildcrafted for generations. Herbs grown in their native ecosystems aren’t just more potent, they’re more energetically aligned with their traditional purpose, carrying the vitality and wisdom of the land they come from.

Soma Ease is extracted and prepared in small batches using a meticulous low-heat process to preserve the full spectrum of active compounds, ensuring purity, potency, and maximum therapeutic benefit.

Orion doesn’t cut corners.  He honors the herbs and the people who grow them
 

Soma Ease, The Extraordinary Vessels, and the Body’s Deeper Wisdom

The Extraordinary Vessels are the focus of my life’s work. I’ve spent decades studying, practicing, and teaching how to engage these channels to support deep, lasting healing.

These vessels are the primordial fields of the body, the deepest levels where pain develops, is stored, and is ultimately processed. They hold the imprints of trauma and unspoken and unprocessed experience.

Soma Ease was designed with the vessels in mind. It doesn’t just target surface-level symptoms,it’s crafted to support healing at the constitutional level: where pain is born, where it lingers, and where, with the right support, it can finally be dissolved.

Soma Ease: Holistic Pain Relief and Support 

I named it Soma because it means body, but also because it hints at something more, the living, breathing whole of who we are. Soma Ease is for easing pain anywhere in the body, yes but it also address ALL the aspects of the lived pain experience. 

If you’re someone who’s lived with pain,or love someone who does, my hope is Soma Ease brings you the kind of relief that feels gentle, grounded, and wise.

Dosage & Ingredients 

I recommend 30 to 90 drops of Soma Ease, about 1 to 3 dropperfuls, as needed, up to three times per day, or as directed by your practitioner. For nighttime pain or discomfort that interferes with sleep, you may take up to 120 drops (4 dropperfuls). For best results, put Soma Ease in a small amount of boiling water and let cool. The heat helps activate the herbs, enhances absorption, and reduces the alcohol. For best results, take Soma Ease between meals unless otherwise instructed.

Soma Ease Herbal Ingredients:

Yan Hu Suo (Corydalis), Bai Zhi (Angelica Root), Gao Ben (Chinese Lovage Root), Chuan Xiong (Sichuan Lovage), Xiang Fu (Cyperus), E Zhu (Wild Turmeric), Ji Xue Teng (Spatholobus), He Huan Pi (Silk Tree Bark).

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Medical Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or the use of herbal supplements.

Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here. Soma Ease and other herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a licensed healthcare practitioner, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking prescription medications, or managing a chronic health condition.

Statements made about Soma Ease or any herbal ingredients have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.