Somatic Bodywork
What Is Somatics?
The body speaks to us through the language of sensation: tingling, tightness, pain, relaxation, numbness, temperature, etc. These sensations reflect the body’s intelligence and point to the essence of the mind-body connection, which is at the heart of somatics.
“Somatics” stems from the Greek word soma, which is a holistic, all-encompassing term for the body. In bodywork, coaching, and therapy, a somatic approach recognizes how bodily feelings and sensations influence—and are influenced by—thoughts, moods, and behaviors.
Somatic bodywork, in particular, provides a space and a context for you to “tune in” and listen to your internal self to better hear the messages being expressed. By feeling and then responding to these sensations in a healing way, we regain a sense of agency and free ourselves from being at the mercy of bad moods, and negative self-talk.
The History Of The Strozzi Method
Since the early twentieth century, there have been multiple modalities that have addressed the mind-body connection as a framework for better understanding how we think, feel, and behave. Specifically, somatic bodywork has risen in popularity since the 1970s, thanks in part to one of my teachers, Richard Strozzi, who is widely considered one of the foremost leaders in the field.
Blending aspects of Feldenkrais, Polarity Therapy, Rolfing, Aikido and other approaches, The Strozzi Method bridges cutting-edge neuroscientific concepts with mindful, holistic practices and action-oriented communication. According to this approach, embodied learning involves the whole of our experiences—how we think and feel, what is happening in our physical bodies, and the ways that we relate to our environments and the people around us. Those using The Strozzi Method often credit its effective, holistic framework for healing trauma and promoting self-development.
Is Somatic Bodywork Right For You?
As a somatic coach and bodyworker, I do not “treat” symptoms—I am not a clinician. Rather, I use The Strozzi Method and other “whole person” modalities to help guide each client to shift how they live in their body and, ultimately, shift their relationship with themself.
Some of the challenges that bring my clients to somatic bodywork are:
Ongoing anxiety and an inability to trust themselves
A history of trauma, including abuse, neglect, and systemic/generational trauma
Feelings of numbness, detachment, or trouble connecting with others
A desire to take up more space and enhance their personal and professional leadership
All of us have ways of holding tension in our bodies when we are under stress, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Somatic bodywork is designed to create more space, movement, and softening within the body so that we can live with less pain and more relaxation, aliveness, and ease.
What To Expect In A Bodywork Session
When we are holding tension in our body (either consciously or unconsciously), it is much harder to hear our own authentic voice, our own internal wisdom.
My approach to somatic bodywork is hands-on, fully clothed, and done on a massage table. Beginning with consent to make physical contact, I will often start with connective tissue work on your legs, arms, torso, neck, and face. Commonly, I will also invite you into a particular breath pattern or invite you to make a particular sound on your exhale. All of this is designed to help soften the armoring and tightness in your body and increase your felt sense of aliveness and resiliency. As the body softens and lets go, this makes space for new sensations and therefore a new experience of yourself and what is possible.
For some people, bodywork produces a strong emotional release. For others, old memories, images, self-narratives, or actual physical movement in the body may spontaneously arise. This is all welcome—there is no “correct” or expected response. Some may feel a great sense of relief or relaxation; others might connect with an old fear they want to turn and face. Regardless, bodywork is something we do as a partnership—not something I do to you—and we will move at a pace that is appropriate.
Ultimately, bodywork is an invitation to feel in your body how you can be open, present, alive, and relaxed. After all, in order to create the changes you want for yourself, you need a body that can be spacious, invitational, receptive, and vulnerable.
More About My Background In Somatics
My own experience with somatic bodywork is what led me to become a practitioner. Through this modality, I was able to actually facilitate change in my life. Therapy helped me understand intellectually why I am the way I am, but it wasn’t until I began receiving somatic bodywork that I learned how I am the way I am. Somatic bodywork taught me how (often in very practical ways) to relax my body and relax my mind.
My personal experiences with somatic bodywork inspired me to begin formally studying at The Strozzi Institute in 2017, where I now work as an on-site bodyworker for participants at the Institute. I have studied with many bodywork mentors and seen again and again, both personally and in the lives of my clients, just how healing and transformative a somatic approach can be.
Somatic Practice Teaches You How To Support Yourself By Shifting Sensations In Your Body
If you struggle with anxiety, feel disconnected from yourself or others, or simply want a greater leadership presence, it is essential that you learn to live in your body. Somatic bodywork and breathwork are some of the most powerful ways to feel what’s happening in your body so that you can interrupt old patterns and reclaim your agency.
For more information about how I can help, schedule a free consultation with me today.
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