What are Somatic Healing Sessions?

You may have seen the exciting news that Grounded Health is now offering Somatic Healing sessions!

Learn More Here

Recently, I shared my own somatic healing journey with you.

Today I'm giving a brief overview of what to expect in a Somatic Healing session.

What it DOESN'T include: people rolling on the ground screaming, dark rooms, scary noises, loud crashes, or any of the other crazy sh*t I've seen on social media.

What it DOES include: well... it depends!

Somatic Healing is very, very gentle work. It's powerful, it can feel emotionally intense- but from the outside, it's very gentle. It can be as simple as adjusting your posture.

It can be as simple as me coming to sit next to you instead of across from you.

These very subtle shifts impact our nervous system in a variety of ways. They help our nervous systems learn how to identify what it needs, seek it out, implement it (with support- that's what I'm there for!), and relax into the results.

The idea behind somatics is that our bodies are communicating how we think and feel in their own language. Essentially, our bodies are letting us know what's going on in the inside through movement, posture, expression, etc.

In this video, I give an example of a somatic intervention when we're feeling "off balance". As you can see- I'm interchangeably talking about feeling "off balance" emotionally as I am in terms of my body (literally leaning to the left).

In a session, we would start with a grounding activity or "warm up". This is typically breath-focused but it could be walking or light movement if that feels more comfortable to you.

Then: I notice what feels wonky or out of alignment in my body. In the video I notice that my left hip is feeling tight and pulling me that way and that my right calf is feeling sore and pulling me downwards.

If this were a session, we might explore what that brings up for you. Is there anything you notice in those sensations? Do any feelings arise?

I connect to my inhales and exhales and begin the intervention. In this case: crossing the arms across the midline of the body.

This intervention helps bring everything back into alignment so I can feel more solid. I notice afterwards that I feel the weight distributed more evenly through the lower half of my body. I feel more balanced.

How might having a solid base of support change things? Something to discuss or journal, eh?!

This is just one example of what a Somatic Healing session might look like. They're fully customized to you and where you are on your journey. I'll always explain what we're going to do and ask for consent.

If you're not interested, just say no! We can always find something else or put it to rest for the day.

Some people decide to head back to the couch to talk a bit more. Others opt for a weighted blanket meditation instead (and shoot, sometimes that is the intervention!).

The process is the purpose - learning to speak the language of your body is more important than any one exercise or outcome.