There are many ways to differentiate between somatic therapy and somatic coaching. Some of these are relatively subtle distinctions, and others differentiate the two as very different modalities indeed. In fact, even within the fields of somatic coaching and somatic bodywork, there can be vastly different approaches among practitioners. Let’s review what I feel are two of the most important distinguishing features of the somatic work that I offer.
Somatic bodywork
Very few therapists offer bodywork, which I believe to be essential to somatic development. The bodywork I offer is hands-on work, done fully clothed on a massage table. It often involves some work with breath (breathwork) or work with making sounds. As a client, you are always in choice about any of the practices that I offer while on the table, and you can decline any breath patterns or sounds or bodywork that doesn’t work for you.
The bodywork is one of the quickest ways to support you in feeling how you can allow for more relaxation or more energy and aliveness in your body. For example, if I am holding a contraction around your shoulder, it sends the message to your body that someone else or something else is doing the work, and that is what allows the body to let go. Because we hold so much in our bodies unconsciously, it is often not until the practitioner is doing the holding themself that you then become able to let go of that holding.
Ultimately it is this letting go that allows us to feel our body in a new way. Memories, narratives, images, emotions, or physical movement may arise as we allow ourselves to soften around contractions in the body. In the case of breathwork or work with sound, we may feel our throat, neck, or face open and relax in a new way, we may feel a discharge of energy, or we may invite a new level of releasing (this could be physical, emotional, or psychological) that was previously held.
Standing somatic practices
Unlike in therapy, I prefer to limit the amount of time I spend seated with my clients in conversation. In part, this is because somatics is all about getting out of our thinking selves and into our feeling and sensing bodies. When we stand, it can be easier to feel our legs. As we engage in standing practices together in the room, it can be easier to feel how we might contract our body and our energy during these relational interactions. This is vitally important to experience and feel so that we can practice doing it differently and practice building our somatic awareness and developing more skillful action.
For example, a common standing practice I might suggest to a client is the request practice. After all, how many of us have a challenging time asking for support for fear that we will be rejected or that we will place too much burden on others? In the practice, I will have you extend your hand toward me as you approach and rest your hand on my chest as you speak the request you want to practice saying. This isn’t just a simulation or “role play”; the body will always show us where and how you struggle with the practice. Many of my clients will initially turn their hips and shoulders away from me during the contact, suggesting a discomfort with facing the request head on. Alternatively, they may push too hard against my chest, suggesting that they are not really attuned to the person who they are asking to connect with. Learning to make adjustments here supports you in building a body that can be appropriately grounded, centered, and extended while making requests of others.
If somatic coaching or bodywork is of interest, or if you’d like to explore deeper the difference between somatic therapy and the work I offer, I suggest scheduling a free consultation. Sessions are available online on Zoom or in person in Petaluma, Ca.