I Used to Think Somatic Therapy was “Woo Woo”
Field Note 001
Three years removed from getting my degree and I referred to somatic work as “woo woo.”
However, I knew somatic therapy was real once I experienced it for myself.
7 years and 4-5 therapists of consistent therapy later, I was beginning to think that I was the problem. It wasn’t until I found a therapist who was skilled and somatically aware enough to see past my big words and thoughtful responses and see me as the hurt woman that I was. Deeply anxious and shrunken within my own body. She called me out when I tensed up and hid behind my anger. It was alarming but also relieving to be seen.
I know firsthand how it feels to walk around life feeling unseen. I have a rich inner world, which made it easy for others to see the parts I wanted them to see of me. But like everyone else, I had blind spots. Pain points included intense anxiousness, racing thoughts, bouts of anger, and muted depression.
As I worked with my therapist and did somatic work, I became a completely different version of myself—someone who was truly confident, steady, and sure.
If it weren’t for somatic therapy, I don’t know if I would be the woman I am today.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
My clients tend to tell me that they experience an overwhelming amount of thoughts throughout the day that brings their moods here, there, and everywhere. One moment they are content, and then the next you feel low. All from the thoughts that intrude throughout the day and bring you through a vast array of emotions in one day.
And no, experiencing emotional ups and downs from anxiety doesn't automatically mean you have bipolar disorder.
Anxiety keeps clients in a hyper state of mind, where it can be difficult to make sound decisions, hear from your Spirit (or intuition), sleep, feel relaxed, live in self doubt, and wrestle with performance-based actions such as perfectionism and people pleasing.
The clients I serve tend to think their way through a solution, rather than considering their body as a viable source of information.
This is where somatic therapy becomes key.
Somatic therapy is a type of therapeutic work where the therapist guides the clients to understanding the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. The body has a beautiful and complex system of experiencing life, starting with the nervous system. The nervous system holds your big ole’ brain and is connected to your spinal cord, which runs throughout the entire body, and all of our bodies are wired the same but also so different.
My favorite part as a somatic therapist is helping my clients understand their bodily sensations. I do this by hearing their story, and also listening and witnessing what their body is communicating. I make this conscious to my clients (at the right time) so that they can understand themselves differently.
Allowing the mind and the body to coexist with each other without judgement and learning the language of your physical body can be a great first step to deepening decision making skills, self-compassion, emotional control, and taking real steps towards understanding their purpose.
If someone can identify their preferences, dislikes, what makes them tick, what disgusts them, what makes them excited etc.. then they are one step closer to their unique creative making.
Somatic therapy tends to look like:
Breathwork: Learning bodily sensations, such as change in breathing patterns, posture, and muscle tension
Mindfulness: Bringing awareness to the present moment and noticing body sensations in real time
Grounding and Orienting: Learning ways to root oneself back to the present moment and bringing one's awareness back to the present moment.
Pendulation: The practice of moving back and forth between discomfort and calmness
Titration: Learning to experience small amounts of stress to manage overwhelm
Movement: Learning gentle movements such as stretching, shaking, and tai chi, to release pent-up muscle tension
Somatic therapy can help you:
Relieve physical sensations from ongoing stress
Lower anxiety sensations
Relieve the effects of trauma
Create better sleep patterns
Improve decision making skills
Build self-trust and confidence
Feel more connected with oneself
Somatic therapy is more than “feeling the feels” and it’s not a journey to be walked on alone. This work folds deeply into past experiences and also helps you reconstruct a new relationship with yourself. If you (or when you) learn how to withstand uncomfortable physical sensations and use it as information, instead of a punishment, you will begin to meet yourself. Introducing yourself to the part of you that is capable, rooted, and sustained in steadiness.
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