why somatics

Soma has its roots in Greek and refers to the living body in its wholeness, which includes mental, physical, emotional and spiritual landscapes.

Somatic methods are effective because they recognize that our somas are not separate, isolated entities but instead are uniquely complex and interdependent, influenced by numerous social, political, environmental and institutional conditions.

We experience our lives through our somas. Our tissues hold the narratives, the memories, longings, and impact how we show up, what we move toward and what we avoid. The more aware we become of the habit patterns of our somas, our inner listening deepens. We grow our ability to attune to ourselves in relation to situational conditions with more intention and accountable power. The greater our capacity will become to be in choice and to take action that aligns with what we’re wanting.

“Our sense of self emerges from the ground level of all experience— our reactivity to intense pleasant or unpleasant sensation.”

- Tara Brach, Radial Acceptance

Clients seeking an embodied experience of personal transformation are typically drawn to engaging their whole body, not just relying on intellect. They might have a clear vision of what they want but talking about the issues isn’t taking them in the direction they want to go. They’re wanting to bridge their longing with an authentic, felt and lasting shift. Some examples of where clients feel stuck could look like:

  • Wanting intimacy but being inauthentic in relationships, and wondering why the quality of your relationships aren’t nourishing

  • Wanting to bring a project to fruition, but choosing inaction out of fear, and then shaming yourself

  • Sabotaging opportunities by projecting a past trauma onto the present, and then wondering why things don’t work out

  • Wanting success, working hard and never feeling seen, satisfied or enough.

As somatic practitioners, we engage clients in practices and processes that grow one’s self-awareness- not as an intellectual exercise, but as a pathway for deepening into one’s felt sense, one’s visceral experience. This exploration becomes the gateway for embodied transformation.

We begin to feel more at home in our bodies and in our lives.

For details on the methodologies and disciplines that inform my practice: