What To Expect From Your First Somatic Bodywork & Coaching Session

Somatic Bodyworker & Coach Lennon Molofsky Breaks Down What To Expect In Your First Somatic Session

One of most common questions I’m asked by people interested in scheduling a somatic bodywork and coaching session is, “what can I expect for a typical first session”? The field of Somatics - though it has grown significantly over the past decade alone (thanks to the growing research and testimony supporting its efficacy) is still relatively obscure. Adding to the lack of clarity is that there are multiple and varied somatic modalities, only some of which include hands-on bodywork.

The Strozzi Methodology

One of the strengths of the Strozzi methodology is that it combines hands-on soft tissue work, breath work, conversation and coaching, standing practices, and take-home practices designed to bolster your journey in becoming more embodied. For these reasons I often do a little of all of these during a first session with a client, simply in order to demonstrate the work that I offer. That said, the areas where we spend the most time (often either seated in conversation or bodywork on the massage table) will vary each session depending on what the client wants as well as what I’m assessing to be most supportive in that moment.

Starting The Session

Always in a first session we begin seated across from each other with a chat, during which we can each ask questions and get clear on the intention of our session. This time allows me to explain a bit about the work I provide, understand some relevant history (intake), and get clear on what the desired outcomes of our work together are. Equally important, it allows you time to ask any questions of me.

After our conversation we may then transition to some standing practices. The very act of standing up forces a reorganizing in the nervous system that can allow one to more easily feel their body. It also signals that we are moving away from the more familiar method of cerebral /  intellectual processing, and into a deeper (and evolutionarily older) method of relating which includes our felt sensations. The most common standing practice I invite a client into during our first session is a standing centering practice, in which I guide you to stand in a way that primes the body to be as physiologically present, open, and connected as possible.

Progressing Through The Session

Because my speciality is bodywork and I believe it is essential for somatic development, the majority of a first session (and most all sessions) is bodywork. Bodywork is done on a massage table and is fully clothed. It involves hands-on soft tissue work /connective tissue work and sometimes breath work, during which I guide you through a particular breathing pattern. Unlike massage therapy (which can be wonderful in its own right), the intention during this time is not to “zone out” but rather to stay present to the work by noticing sensations, moods, and stories that arise while you are on the table. How you are in your body (meaning where and how you relax and where and how you let energy move) is indistinguishable from how you are as a self. It is in this way that as a client becomes more expansive in a physiological sense, they also become a greater container as a person; a greater container to hold their cares, their concerns, their longings.

The End Of The Session

Typically after bodywork we will complete the session, however depending on how much time is available this can be a moment to sit back down and process some of what occurred during the bodywork. It can also be a time to review what practices (homework) will support you before our next session. I typically recommend sessions once a week or at least twice a month, however I’m always open to alternative schedules based on each client’s circumstances, needs and desires. Indeed, one of the most powerful aspects of an individual somatic bodywork session is that it can be completely tailored to your individuality. There is no one size fits all, but rather a multitude of ways of working somatically such that each person can move toward more liberation in a way that feels right for who they are in that moment.

If you’re interested in setting up your first somatic coaching session, please don’t hesitate to reach out.