It’s common that I have an in-person bodywork session with someone who is visiting from out of state. Sometimes these are people who have heard of the work I offer and are visiting the area for only a short period of time, and other times these are participants of a Strozzi Institute for Somatics course and they are receiving bodywork as part of their course training. But commonly what I hear people say is that they wish they could get regular bodywork where they live. As it turns out, you can! It’s just going to be a bit different than in-person work.
Working remotely
The fact is that the majority of the bodywork points, breathwork, work with sound, and practices that I do with in-person clients can also be done with my clients online. From what I’ve seen, this style of work can actually be just as profound and helpful as in-person bodywork. Clients are surprised by how much they shift how they feel through simple practices that I guide them through. After years of working with people on Zoom, I believe that virtual somatic bodywork is a vitally important part of one’s somatic development.
But how does it work?
That we hold tension in our bodies is intuitive enough, but what is often overlooked is just how much we are actually holding at any given time and just how big of an effect that holding is having on our energy and general sense of relaxation and aliveness. Our psychology and our emotions are both affected by the tension in our body, and in fact it is difficult to change our thoughts and our mood without first shifting that tension. Let’s take a look at how this might work.
A simple somatic practice
Sit such that your feet are on the floor under your knees and you can feel your sit bones on the chair. Make sure you’ve got some length in your spine, and your belly is relaxed. Take a nice deep breath. Begin to get some energy in your hands by rubbing them together. Pause and feel your hands; feeling some heat or tingling or sensation in your hands will help you get present there.
Now, using the pads of your fingers, extend into the masseter muscle (the large jaw muscle under the cheek bones). To confirm you’re in the right spot, if you bite your teeth together this muscle will flex out. Relax your jaw as you continue to press your fingers in the belly of the muscle. Your teeth and lips should not be touching. From here, you can slowing open and close your mouth a few times. Slowly release the pressing into the muscle and then slowly press back into the muscle and hold for about 10 seconds. You can experiment with pressing into the muscle at slightly different locations to find those areas that feel more tender, using only the amount of pressure that feels right to you. While your fingers are extending into the muscle, keep your belly soft, breathe, and feel or imagine the tissue in your face relaxing.
Pause and feel your jaw. What feels different? Is there new sensation? What would it be like if you could feel this more of the time?
What many of us find, is that when our hands are doing the work of holding tension in the body, that specific area of holding can begin to relax in ways that trickle down throughout the rest of the nervous system. With practice, you can begin to embody this more relaxed state.
Somatic bodywork is about becoming more relaxed and alive
The general reason we do somatic bodywork is to help us feel what it’s like to be relaxed in our body and also alive with energy. There are points all over the body that can support you in opening on your own with just a little guidance and a willingness and a curiosity.
Have questions? Great! Send me a message or schedule an online somatic bodywork session today.