When a door slams…
The best way to describe why Somatics I have found is to talk about what happens when a door slams. First, we jump or startle, heart rate increases, we become more alert. Second, we feel fear, excitement, confusion. Lastly, we ask, what was that? who could that be? friend of foe?
The body is the first to respond, then the emotional self, and only then, the thinking brain.
So, if in therapy, we only address the thinking brain, we have left out the root response to whatever situation was stressful when we were little. If you come in with anxiety and all we do is talk ABOUT the anxiety, likely, you will feel more anxious after you leave than when you arrived. Conversely, if we begin to feel HOW anxiety is experienced in the body, then the mind can begin to regulate the intensity of the feeling and not get so wrapped up in the story of it.
Body awareness slows the whole process down. The key is not just paying attention to the body, its staying AWARE of what the body feels like when you are in a triggered state. Slowly over time, the intensity of the trigger can decrease. This happens through resourcing the body, understanding what the body is communicating, and re-wiring the body and the brain to respond to present moment circumstances. This rewiring is rooted in the present moment, not old patterns .
Innate Wisdom of the Body
As a child, you organized yourself as a means of survival. It was a brilliant survival strategy. Now its time to create new strategies that serve the adult you are today. But, we gotta start with knowing, loving and deepening our relationship with the survival strategies.
This is Why Somatic Psychotherapy works…
Often times, you know in your mind what you need to do, or how you need to be, but your body and emotions keep taking you to places or experiences that don’t serve you. This is body memory and it has a way of persisting through even the most insightful therapy.
Through paying attention to ‘how’ this programming happens, becoming mindful of what the triggers feel like inside, we can create pathways to change those patterns. Somatic psychotherapy gently helps free up those stuck patterns and invites in new healthier ways of living.