enough talk - let’s get real
Here is what I tend to hear and read when the word “Somatics” comes up in conversations, online searches, or articles:
Scientific data
Therapy-lingo that comes off as too “woo” and gives a sense of an in-group and out-group
An advertisement trying to convince me of how cutting-edge or woke the practitioner and their offering is, even though the practitioner has no real credibility
What do these three common presentations share? They’re all just talk. Intellectualizing a process and experience that is, by nature, in the body and of the body, is problematic. While many of these articles, practitioners, and therapies are helpful, I want to give you more of an embodied sense of Somatic Therapy and somatics – as much as I can give in written format.
Since you, too, may be used to encountering Somatics in ways that do not deepen connection in your own body – or if you’re unfamiliar and curious about this powerful therapeutic practice and way of being in the world – I want to offer you something different in this blog post. Case studies. Real life examples – while protecting confidentiality, of course – of how somatic therapy works, and the results of the practice.
1) Carolyn reported she found her “true voice” through somatics. Carolyn came in to my office attempting to talk a mile a minute – an adaptation to a fast-paced, cognitive-dominated world that obviously felt uncomfortable in her body. Through somatics, she learned that she is more of a “body-centered person,” who processes information first through her body and sensation. Words come later for her. This realization, in itself, helped Carolyn better understand who she is. Carolyn devoted to the work needed to truly connect with her body and listen to her personal truths offered through the language of the body. She learned that sensation, imagery and metaphor produced from her body, and tuning into her own somatic experience of events gave her reliable and clear access to her truths. Thus, she grew to understand her needs and experiences as valid, empowering her to quit drinking and to voice to her spouse what she needed in their relationship.
2) Harrison safely processed childhood trauma that included extreme invalidation and emotional abandonment, in addition to physical and sexual assault. He had lived well into adulthood feeling scared to speak up when he felt uncomfortable, catering to others’ needs and not understanding he had any of his own, and feeling lonely in his relationships. Through somatic work’s ability to safely process overwhelming, traumatic events that occurred throughout his childhood, he came to understand and value his experiences of the world, and to love himself and how he got to this moment in time. He then met someone who was safe for him to share his feelings and experiences with – someone who really listened to him and asked questions instead of jumping to conclusions – and he entered into the first romantic relationship in his life where he truly felt secure. Further, he realized he wanted to start a family, something he was never sure about before.
3) Viola experienced complex trauma throughout her childhood and struggled to feel her body. She lived largely dissociated for years, and she feared truly connecting with others. Through somatics, she learned to feel safe in her body, to feel her feelings (instead of thinking about her feelings) and thus truly process them, and to recover from narcissistic abuse. Now, Viola understands how to detect who are safe people and who are not, how to trust her gut without needing logical evidence that often comes after the hurt already has occurred, and how to voice her needs in a loving and clear way in her relationships. Somatics also has given her the embodied gift of understanding what boundaries are, when they are needed, and how to voice and maintain them.
These are just three of the many deeply beautiful, real-life examples of the power of somatics. The body takes in all the information of the present moment and only reveals a bit of the full picture to the thinking-mind in the name of efficiency and surviving the moment. Thus, we must tune into the body – what the body stores, the nervous system’s pace for safely processing and integrating, and personal truths – for trauma resolution, understanding our needs and desires, and living authentically. Further, because much of our hurt happens in relationship, doing somatic work in a safe and secure relationship also is essential. The combo of somatics and relational work may just be your golden key to living the life you long for – but, by nature, it’s one of those things you’ll have to experience for yourself.