How Can I Heal Using a Somatic Approach?

Understanding Somatic Therapy: Release Through the Mind-Body Connection

Somatics are a gentle and effective way to heal emotional pain and stress by focusing on the connection between the mind and body. Unlike traditional therapy that mainly focuses on thoughts and feelings, somatic therapy recognises that we also hold important information about our emotional experiences within our body.

This approach can be especially helpful for women dealing with trauma, chronic anxiety, or stress.

Nature can be a restorative place to find peace. Then river near my home.

What is a Somatic Approach?

The word "somatic" comes from the Greek word "soma," meaning body. Somatics invites us to pay attention to the physical sensations in our body to understand emotional pain that is stored there. Our bodies remember experiences, especially traumatic or stressful ones, and this can affect how we feel emotionally, showing up as physical ‘symptoms’.

For example, you might experience tension in your shoulders during stressful times or feel a tightness in your chest when you’re anxious. These bodily sensations are clues to what the nervous system is experiencing.

Over time, holding tension in the body like this, and increased levels of hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, can lead to physical issues. Tension and raised hormone levels are related to inflammation, chronic pain, digestive issues, headaches and more.

Your body is literally a roadmap of our past experiences.

The Mind-Body Connection

The mind and body are deeply connected, working together as one system. When we experience a difficult event, our nervous system reacts to keep us safe. Sometimes, the body holds on to this stress even after the event has passed - we get locked into a highly vigilant state of hyperarousal.

This can lead to ongoing feelings of anxiety, discomfort, or emotional blocks that you may not understand the cause of, or be able to name the emotions to. It is very common for women who have had childhood experiences that have caused them to people please, shut down, become silent, or make themselves small and insignificant to not know what emotions they are experiencing. Yet they spend years feeling a sense of unease.

Somatic therapy helps bring awareness to these physical sensations, allowing the nervous system to regulate itself and let go of trapped stress or trauma. By healing the body, we also heal the mind.

How Does Trauma Get Held in the Body?

Trauma isn’t just something we remember with our minds; it’s something our bodies remember too. During a traumatic event, the body’s natural response is to fight, flee, or freeze. These are subconscious, natural responses that are governed by the ancient parts of the brain related to the amygdala, HPA axis, and limbic system. They are reactive, responding in milliseconds to keep us safe, much quicker than the cognitive functions conducted by the neo-cortex.

If the event is very overwhelming we may be unable to complete this natural process, meaning we weren’t able to flee or fight back. We may have had to freeze up, people please, shut down, or any other number of survival responses to stay safe, especially if the trauma we were dealing with happened over a long period of time. In that instance, the experience can become stuck in the body. This might show up as muscle tightness, chronic pain, flashbacks, or feeling emotionally numb.

Somatic therapy guides you through gentle, mindful practices that help your body and mind process and release this trapped energy, creating space for healing and calm.

The Benefits of Somatic Therapy

• Increased Self-Awareness: You learn to notice subtle physical signals that reveal emotional states giving you information to make choices in the moment.

• Reduced Anxiety and Stress: By calming the nervous system, somatic therapy helps ease feelings of worry and tension.

• Improved Emotional Resilience: Healing the body supports healthier responses to future stress.

• Deeper Healing from Trauma: Addressing trauma at both the mind and body levels promotes lasting recovery.

At Somatic Harmony Healing, I combine somatic approaches with therapies like Internal Family Systems to support women in their healing journeys. By tuning into your body, you can discover a powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom already within you to help you overcome anxiety and trauma. This can lead to a greater sense of peace and wellbeing.

Remember, healing is a journey that honours both your mind and your body. Somatic therapy invites you to listen to your body’s wisdom and gently guide it back to balance. If you’re ready to explore this revolutionary approach, you’re in the right place.

You can book a free consultation with me to discuss your concerns by clicking the button.