In this month of shedding, letting go, and gratitude practices, one of the things I am most grateful for is being in my body in a new way. It feels like grace has joined me on this somatic journey toward healing and self-acceptance.
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” -Anne Lamont
For me, experiencing pain in my body in a way I hadn’t before was a chance to get curious. I did what a lot of folks do… I had X-rays, physical therapy, and an occasional massage. I kept up my regular yoga practice. Then something shifted and I decided to take my curiosity deeper.
My aging body was trying to communicate with me and I was aware, but not listening in the same language. My curiosity grew. I started getting regular massages and hearing what was being expressed by my muscles and fascia. I began working with a somatic therapist who helped me feel and notice my default responses and sensations with new awareness. He helped me see the way I guarded my heart with one hand and soothed it with the other; the way my breathing changed when I spoke about difficult topics; the way I was feeling my body but simultaneously disconnected from my emotions. He did this in a way that communicated safety and compassion. I paid more attention to my body’s messages throughout the day and was fascinated by how much I have been missing.
I have had years of psychotherapy and it certainly helped me understand a lot about my childhood, about healthy & unhealthy family patterns, about boundaries and communication (or the lack of), and not getting stuck in the story of things you cannot change. But somatic therapy was different. I felt empowered instead of broken. Grace shows up once more.
So, in I jumped to deepen my understanding of somatic healing. I read the books, I took the classes, I worked toward certification. It feels like the missing piece has been found for me. Personally, I have an entire tool box of new strategies to try when I notice myself feeling ungrounded or when I am experiencing big emotions. Professionally, I have a new context for what I learned academically as a mental health counselor in graduate school years ago. I am completely captured by the process. Somatic therapy is less about diagnosis and more about meeting people where they are and giving them some skills while holding them in safety and with compassion. Sounds like yoga, right?
I look forward to using these newly honed skills to guide others.
Check out this link for a real-life example and definition: https://inspiredyogaandhealth.com/somatic-healing/.
Please reach out if you are interested in scheduling a session.
