What is somatic therapy?
In a nutshell, somatic therapy takes a body centric approach to treating mental health disorders by releasing stress and trauma from the body.
If you’re thinking, what does that even look like? That actually works?
Consider this…:
Have you been so angry your heart starts beating fast, your palms are sweating, and you feel like you could explode? Or how about when you’re so over- whelmed, you feel light-headed/
Think of those sensations as “messenger” to your nervous system. In other words,they signal to our bodies what’s going on.
Yet during childhood, the environment didn’t encourage authentic embodiment . Instead we were taught to ignore our bodies signals ( you’re not really hungry, don’t cry, it’s not that bad, you’re tired / not tired, it’s not time to use the bathroom yet, etc….)
Although, research reveals that suppression emotions won’t make them go away. They’ll just make them speaker louder– often through physical symptoms (hormone imbalance, weakened immune system) & mental disorders (such as anxiety, & depression)
Somatic therapy tends to our nervous system, releasing pent up emotions, so you can thrive despite whatever life may throw at you.
Can I do somatic therapy on myself?
Although best done under a trained therapist, there are a few simple somatic techniques you can try at home.
Here are some ideas….
- Tense & relax different body parts
- Breath-work ( focusing on the inhale & exhale)
- Body scans
- Run cool water of your hands / face
- Dance meditation
- Posture exercises / yoga
What to expect in a typical session…
A typical somatic therapy session takes around 50 minutes ( according to the Potential Clinics)
Generally, there are around 4 central layouts:
- Trust ( cultivating a therapist-client bond, exploring the nervous system, flight-fight-freeze, etc.)
- Awareness ( learning how to articulate the senses , identifying tension, & openness in the body)
- Safety (creating a sanctuary to return to for a sense of peace you can go to anytime a difficult emotion becomes too much)
- Embodiment ( establish a body based practice to process emotions, done in small doses known as nitration, as to not overwhelm the system)
The takeaway
Many of us grew up in an environment that didn’t hold space for our emotions. Throughout time, we learned not to listen to our bodies, & suppress difficult emotions.Somatic therapy is a body based psycho-therapy to help you those old process emotions. By holistically supporting your nervous system through mind-body techniques, you’ll feel calmer, happier, & comfortable in your body.