Somatic Healing: A Journey of Self-Discovery, Healing, and Personal Growth

Embarking on Your Somatic Healing Journey

By tapping into the wisdom of your body, mind, and emotions, somatic healing practices aim to promote healing and integration. Somatic healing practices can benefit almost everyone, but especially those who have experienced trauma that continues to have a negative effect on their life, relationships, or health. In this blog post, I'll provide you with an overview of what to expect from this transformative experience.

What is Somatic Healing

Somatic healing acknowledges the profound interconnection between the mind and body, emphasizing that thoughts and emotions are deeply intertwined with physical experiences. Bridging this divide helps you live a healthier, more balanced and joyful life. Here are some key components of somatic healing:

1. Embodiment

At the heart of somatic healing is the principle of embodiment, which emphasizes being fully present in your body and the "here and now". This encourages you to move away from mental distractions and connect with your physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts.

2. Cultivating Awareness

Somatic healing emphasizes the importance of cultivating awareness by paying close attention to bodily sensations, feelings, and thoughts without judgment. This practice deepens your relationship with your internal systems, leading to a profound understanding of your inner landscape.

3. Non-Judgmental Attitude

Somatic Practitioners encourage a non-judgmental attitude toward one’s experiences, fostering acceptance and kindness. This approach is crucial for healing and growth, integrating mindfulness to promote self-acceptance and self-compassion.

4. Releasing Tension

Somatic healing recognizes that unprocessed emotions and physical tension can become stuck in the body, leading to discomfort. By bringing awareness to these tensions, we can release trapped energy through mindful movement, breath work, light touch, meditation, and other techniques.

5. Empowerment

This gentle, yet powerful, approach empowers you to take agency over your healing journey, encouraging choices that support your well-being and affirming your capacity to heal from within.

Getting Started: What to expect and how this practice can support your healing journey.

The Intake Form

To better understand your unique needs and goals, we will begin with an intake form. This form collects personal information, any physical or emotional concerns, and your objectives for somatic healing. The insights gained from this form will guide our sessions and help us tailor them to your individual journey.

Your Initial Session

Your initial session is a crucial step in understanding your somatic awareness. We’ll explore aspects such as:

• Sensory Withdrawal

• Breath sensing

• Postural alignment

Additionally, we will ask various questions to identify your window of tolerance. This session helps establish your current baseline of somatic awareness and guides our approach moving forward.

Initial Practice: Grounding Techniques & Cultivating Resources

Your first practice will focus on grounding techniques and cultivating inner/outer resources to foster a sense of safety and presence. This may include:

• Body scans to encourage a deeper connection with your physical self

• Breath sensing exercises and guided meditation to enhance awareness of breath as a bridge between mind and body

• Resourcing activities to provide tools for self-regulation and emotional support

  
  

Follow-Up Sessions: Deepening Your Journey

During subsequent sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to share your findings from your homework. This sharing will inform our practices and help us delve deeper into your baseline somatic awareness. Together, we’ll work to integrate these discoveries into your healing journey, guiding you toward greater well-being through the use of many different somatic tools such as:

• Breathwork (gentle not forced)

• Gentle Yoga-Like Poses and Postures

• Gentle Movement

• Light Bodywork and Touch

• Guided Meditation and Imagery

• Art Therapy

• Sound Healing

Our aim is to empower you to explore the wisdom of your body, uncover patterns that may be holding you back, and facilitate your journey toward healing and self-discovery.

In this practice you start with 3 sessions to build a foundation of healing. Each session is 50-60 minutes long and generally 1-2 weeks apart. Afterwards you are free to schedule single sessions as needed.

Homework: Cultivating Awareness

Somatic Healing is a partnership between you and your practitioner. Homework is required. Between sessions, Initially your homework will involve noticing sensations in your body and observing any thoughts or feelings that arise in response. If you identify these mental and emotional cues, we encourage you to explore whether a judgment accompanies them. This self-awareness practice allows you to uncover the connections between your physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, and judgments.

Journeling is highly encouraged shortly after and between somatic healing sessions. As your healing journey progresses you will be encourage to use various tools to keep your mind and body relaxed and in harmony.

Support: Real Life Support

After each of your sessions you'll receive notes about your session via email, along with a text message check-in. After your initial 3 sessions, you'll have the option to do 30 min video support sessions to strengthen your practice in the "real world".

Conclusion: Your Journey of Self-Discovery

Somatic healing sessions form a foundation for embarking on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and personal growth. They invite you to explore the depths of your inner world, foster a compassionate relationship with yourself, and ultimately experience profound transformation in your life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Book your Introductory Somatic Healing Sessions

What

It

Is

&

How

It

Is

Facilitated

Welcome

to

your

first

Somatic

Healing

session.

This

session

will

combine

grounding

and

centering

practices

to

help

you

feel

embodied

and

connect

your

proprioceptive

awareness

to

interoception.

By

leveraging

the

wisdom

of

your

body,

mind,

and

emotions

to

foster

healing

and

self-awareness,

somatic

healing

practices

aim

to

foster

healing

and

integration.

Our

sessions

are

designed

to

empower

you

on

your

healing

journey,

and

we

want

to

provide

you

with

an

overview

of

what

you

can

expect

from

this

transformative

experience.

Intake

Form

To

better

understand

your

needs

and

goals,

we

will

begin

with

an

intake

form.

This

form

covers

personal

information,

any

physical

or

emotional

concerns,

and

your

objectives

for

somatic

healing.

This

information

will

guide

our

sessions

and

help

us

tailor

them

to

your

unique

needs.

Educational

Information

Before

we

begin,

we'll

provide

you

with

educational

resources

on

somatic

healing.

This

will

include

an

explanation

of

somatic

awareness,

the

mind-body

connection,

and

how

this

approach

can

benefit

your

overall

well-being.

We'll

ensure

you

have

a

clear

understanding

of

what

to

expect

and

how

this

practice

can

support

your

healing

journey.

Initial

Assessment

Our

initial

assessment

is

a

crucial

step

in

understanding

your

somatic

awareness.

We'll

explore

your

Pratyahara

(sensory

withdrawal),

breath

sensing,

postural

alignment,

and

various

questions

aimed

at

identifying

your

window

of

tolerance.

This

assessment

helps

us

establish

your

current

baseline

of

somatic

awareness

and

informs

our

approach.

We

will

also

go

over

boundaries

and

consent

during

your

initial

assessment.

These

boundaries

will

be

revisited

each

session

to

ensure

we

create

a

container

that

supports

your

healing

journey.

Initial

Practice

We'll

start

with

grounding

techniques

to

foster

a

sense

of

safety

and

presence.

This

practice

may

include

body

scans

to

encourage

a

deeper

connection

with

your

physical

self

and

breath

sensing

exercises

to

enhance

your

awareness

of

the

breath

as

a

bridge

between

mind

and

body.

Additionally,

we'll

introduce

resourcing

activities

to

provide

you

with

tools

for

self-regulation

and

emotional

support.

Homework

Between

sessions,

your

homework

is

to

notice

sensations

in

your

body

and

observe

if

any

thoughts

or

feelings

arise

in

response.

If

you

identify

these

mental

and

emotional

cues,

we

encourage

you

to

explore

whether

a

judgment

accompanies

them.

This

self-awareness

practice

allows

you

to

uncover

the

connections

between

your

physical

sensations,

thoughts,

emotions,

and

judgments.

Follow-up

Sessions

During

subsequent

sessions,

you'll

have

the

opportunity

to

share

your

findings

from

your

homework.

This

sharing

informs

our

practices

and

helps

us

delve

deeper

into

your

baseline

somatic

awareness.

Together,

we'll

work

to

integrate

these

discoveries

into

your

healing

journey

and

guide

you

toward

greater

well-being.

Our

goal

is

to

empower

you

to

explore

the

wisdom

of

your

body,

uncover

patterns

that

may

be

holding

you

back,

and

facilitate

your

journey

toward

healing

and

self-discovery.

We're

committed

to

creating

a

safe

and

supportive

environment

where

you

can

connect

with

your

body,

mind,

and

emotions,

ultimately

promoting

holistic

well-being

and

personal

growth