What is Somatic-Based Experiencing?

Somatic experiencing is a powerful approach designed to facilitate the release of stored emotions and limiting beliefs that are physically held within the body.

This method supports your journey towards healing by focusing on body awareness, helping to resolve the physical manifestations of your experiences without delving into mental health therapy.

The Basics

The term ‘somatic’ comes from ‘soma,’ a Greek word that means the physical body, separate from the mind or soul. Unlike traditional talk therapy, which focuses on the mind, somatic experiencing involves movement and body-focused techniques such as breathwork and meditation to help with emotional healing.

SOMA

Why do I need it?

Stressful events can disrupt the natural alignment between the body and mind, causing memories and negative emotions to become entrenched within the body. In response to these events, the nervous system might remain in a prolonged fight or flight state, continuously releasing stress hormones like cortisol. This often results in hypervigilance—a constant state of heightened awareness, accompanied by physical effects such as increased blood pressure, blood sugar, and inflammation. These changes can lead to a weakened immune system, weight gain, heart problems, and chronic pain, highlighting the importance of addressing the physical components of stress.

Our bodies do not only store the memories of distressing experiences; they also harbor deeply ingrained limiting beliefs that often reside beyond the awareness of our conscious minds.

These negative emotions can eventually manifest as chronic psychological distress and physical symptoms, such as neck or back pain. The issue with unresolved stress is that these ingrained thoughts and beliefs can be reactivated during stressful situations, leading to repeated distress.

Somatic experiencing aims to restore a healthy connection between mind and body, helping you to begin healing the unresolved stress stored within your body.

Somatic experiencing

How does somatic experiencing work?

Much of our distress is trapped in our bodies, making somatic experiencing a powerful tool for healing both chronic pain and complex emotional issues. The first step involves recognizing emotions as physical sensations in the body. By learning to identify and relieve tension, you can uncover and address where tough emotions and memories are stored.

In my practice, I use several techniques to help release these negative emotions from the body, including:

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Body Awareness

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Grounding

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Somatic Experiencing

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Mindfulness

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Mirroring

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Resourcing

What does somatic experiencing treat?

Using grounding and mindfulness to put you in touch with your body and experiences, somatic therapy can be used to treat a wide variety of complex psychological and physical issues.

For example, somatic therapy has been successfully used to treat:

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