What is Somatic Healing?
The pathway to healing is never linear. Many of us experience daily life through the lens of where we need to go, what needs to get done, and who we need to take care of. We uphold responsibilities whether it be at school, at work, within the home, or throughout social obligations. At the same time, we are constantly responding to the sensations, emotions, judgments, and beliefs that are imprinted within us from a young age. We are taught how to read, how to write, how to treat others, and how to work hard. But, we do not dedicate much attention to how to develop the basic self-care elements that come with understanding our bodies and our minds. With the ongoing hustle and bustle of life, now more than ever, it is crucial we acknowledge the role that our body and our mind play.
Somatic healing is a modality of therapy that utilizes the power of the “Mind-Body” connection. “Soma” in Greek can be translated as “Body”. Therefore, Somatic Healing is the healing of the body. The Principles of Somatic Healing place emphasis on the idea that there is no separation between the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of being. Our body directly influences our mind and our mind directly influences our body.
There are several benefits to participating in Somatic Healing. Resetting the nervous system, cultivating resilience, embodying authenticity, facilitating safety and trust, establishing boundaries, fostering independence, and feeling relaxed and at ease are all important elements of this modality of healing. The ultimate goal is to learn how to be in touch with yourself on a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual basis and allow these forces to join as one.
Practices such as grounding, resourcing, breath work, body-awareness exercise, and mindfulness set the foundation for somatic healing. As Michelle Young states, “If you can recognize the felt sensation and identify the psychological messenger, then one can undo the doing by leveraging tools to help regulate the thoughts of the mind and interworking systems of the body”.
Somatics reside within our nervous system. The Nervous System can be broken down between the Central Nervous System (located within the brain, brain stem, and spinal column) and the Peripheral Nervous System (located in all other parts of the body). The Peripheral Nervous System is made up of two parts, the Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System. The Somatic Nervous System is responsible for all sensory sensations, voluntary control of body movements, and internal physiology. This explains why we feel tension in our muscles when stressed or a fast heartbeat when feeling anxious. The less we are aware of how to tune into these sensations, the less likely we will be able to work with them.
Somatic Healing will meet you where you are at in your healing journey, no matter what phase. Research has shown that Somatic healing practices work to unify the body and mind, which allows for one to feel completely embodied in their lived experience. Our bodies pick up on nuances, vibrations, and frequencies and react accordingly. By learning how to access unconscious scripts through the physical body, we can begin to identify areas of opportunity as they relate to repatterning and reframing our beliefs and judgments.
TheGracePratice is founded on the idea that we can overcome life’s hardships and traumas by exploring inner healing, self-compassion, and personal fulfillment. Whether it be anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, sensory disorders, or an overwhelming feeling of being disconnected, somatic healing can provide a roadmap with strong tools and practices to ignite true healing and recovery.