Feeling Stressed? Your body has the answers …

Explaining what’s possible in Somatic Therapy can be a little like trying to explain why chocolate ice cream is your favorite.

You know why, but putting it into words is challenging. Afterall, it’s an experience. Without experiencing it, you don’t “get it”.

But I’m going to try to explain it anyway.

Here’s an example of how I worked on a dream in a Somatic session: 

I’m lying on my back describing my dream.

Someone I care about is being dismissive. They say they don’t want to be with me anymore. 

Even though I’m not done describing the dream, my therapist invites me to pause and move in response to what I just shared.  

As I move, I put myself back into the dream. 

Something’s telling me to move on. It’s telling me to brush over what just happened.  

This part wants to defend me from the dismissal and rejection. 

My arms move in front of me in slow, wave-like motions, like seaweed moving in the ocean’s currents. 

Another part of me says, “It’s actually ok to slow down and notice what’s going on now”. 

There’s a dissonance between the defending and these soft, curvy, slow movements. 

Normally defending means direct, strong movements, like a solid boundary. 

In martial arts, defending is about moving with the direction of the attack, rather than against it. That deflects it and re-directs it.

This is how my body is choosing to deal with this attack.

It feels supportive and healing. I’m not letting myself get shredded into pieces by the pain of rejection but I’m working with the pain in a gentle and loving way.

I’m letting it ride the waves I’m creating with my movement, and when it comes closer to my body I redirect it back out. 

I’m also aware of the rigid, tight places in the body that are afraid to feel the impact of this pain, and these movements are inviting those places to soften while reassuring them that I’ll be ok. 

It’s ok to let the pain touch me in little bits. I’ll survive.  

This echoes where I am in my process. It’s another manifestation of my growing capacity to care for myself. 

This is what’s available inside the experience of Somatic Therapy and why it’s something you’ll have to experience for yourself.

If you’re ready and want to find out more, set up a free consultation with me and click HERE.