Will Somatic Bodywork Help Me Release Stuck Emotions?
The short answer is yes, but you’re the one who has to do it. I can’t do it for you.
It’s not uncommon that people seek out somatic bodywork because they have a sense they are holding onto something. Without a doubt, we can keep our bodies contracted or numb in order to keep ourselves from feeling an emotion, a grief, a pain, or a fear that has previously overwhelmed us. Bodywork and breathwork can absolutely support you in all sorts of discharge, which can include tears, laughter, trembling, shaking, screaming, etc.
Bodywork will not fix you
It’s easy to think that bodywork, or that your bodyworker, will fix whatever it is that you sense you are holding onto. Often, these clients are looking for a “quick fix”. More specifically, they want me to fix them. However, unlike medical procedures and unlike traditional massage, somatic bodywork is not designed to be a passive practice where you just show up and receive. If you are holding onto a contraction in your body as a protection, you have to be the one to allow that holding to soften. Yes, I can support you and be with you and guide you, but ultimately you are the one who decides what you do and don’t let go of. You are the only one who can “fix” yourself.
Fixing yourself
This desire for someone else to fix us is one of the primary obstacles to personal development. It can be confusing because there are times when you might experience intense, acute moments of transformation and release. Whether on the massage table during bodywork, outside connecting with nature, or during any number of ceremonies or rituals, you might come into contact with an entirely new way of being in the world that feels exactly like what you have been waiting for. These moments are powerful and should be cherished, and they are also distinct from lasting, embodied transformation.
Practices to support you in letting go of what you are holding onto
While bodywork is perhaps the most direct way of exploring how you hold contractions (including physical tightness and emotions) in your body, you can also be in regular practices to increase your awareness of areas of holding. Having a solid mindful awareness practice can help you integrate any spontaneous moments of discharge during a bodywork session.
Noticing stories
Make a list of any self-narratives or stories you carry that keep you from fully expressing yourself. For many of my clients, this can sound like: “showing emotion is weak”, “if I show emotion, I’ll be abandoned”, or “if I let myself feel this emotion, it will never go away”. It can be helpful to identify the stories that keep us from expressing in the ways we might want to, because then we can properly challenge this thinking and invite in new stories that better serve us.
Noticing moods
What are the predominant emotions you feel and what is the predominant mood that you walk around in? How does this mood serve you? To support yourself in letting go, what mood(s) would be helpful to cultivate? Can you shift your mood to be more open and curious, and if so, how do you do this?
Noting your body
Often times clients on the table will notice when they start to suppress some emotion or hold back from opening up more. The question to ask then is: how do you do that? How do you pull back or tighten up in that way? You can ask yourself this same question and notice and feel in your body what you do. We want to get to know how you do it, not why you do it. For example, do you tighten around your forehead? Do you hold your breath? Do you have an image of pulling back or pulling in? The more you understand how you contain yourself, the more choice you give yourself in letting go of that containment and releasing whatever you are ready to let go of.
Schedule a free consultation to explore somatic bodywork either in person or on zoom!