The Meaning of Soma
The 2 models of therapy that I use are known as somatic therapies because they include the body of the person telling their story, listening to more than just the words. The term ‘somatic’ relates to the Greek word ‘soma,’ which represents how we experience the body from within ourselves. In the 1960s and ‘70s more and more people studying healing work were looking at how we humans related to our bodies. This included Thomas Hanna, who introduced the term Somatic, theorising that all our life experiences end up leaving patterns in our bodies and that the body is worthy of our closer attention.
BODYMIND
The most important foundation of Somatic Psychotherapy is that of the wholeness of the person. Our thoughts, emotions and bodily experiences are all linked into one BODYMIND. Paying attention and influencing one unavoidably influences the other. For example, if I slump forward with my head down I will notice instantly the lowering of my mood, my thoughts and feelings tending toward a downward spiral. On the other hand, when I lift my head and breathe into my lungs with a deep breath, I feel more expansive and it’s easier to smile. If this is something you want to try, see what happens inside when you slump forward compared to how it feels to sit up straight, head held tall. What did you notice?
What is the body saying?
This is what I love about this approach. Something we do every day, such as the way we hold our head at a certain angle, or the way our shoulders come up to our ears, becomes the clue we follow to access how we organise our lives. We often override these signals from our body, bulldozing through them to get through the day, get things done. With a somatic focus, we slow things down to a snail’s pace and pay attention to our bodies. What other information is there when my stomach clenches? I may call it ‘anxiety’ and keep barreling forward despite this sensation in order to avoid the discomfort. Or I can pause and listen to this feeling in my gut—what is it trying to tell me?
Many may see this as very strange—listening to my gut? The key is that we learn how to just be with ourselves. This is harder than it sounds, as most of us have been trained from day one that to be alive is to be doing! Being in this way includes the body, respecting its knowledge, and accepting what is already there.
I think of a story an older woman told me once. After the bush fires she just couldn’t stop crying. Nothing horrible had happened to her, she survived unscathed. Yet the tears kept coming, so confusing. Then she went to a therapist who helped her stay with the tears, just being with the pain there. Through staying in her body and being with what was present, rather than trying to stop or do something to the crying, they tracked it back to her being a little girl. She had been with her grandfather when his legs caught on fire, causing him to die soon after. She had carried this experience in her body for over 70 years! Her thinking mind couldn’t figure out what was wrong but her body remembered, knowing that it was time to grieve.
The first step towards learning from our bodies is to bring awareness—non-judgemental, accepting and open. I will write more on this soon! Please get in touch if you want to know more or book an appointment.
If you'd like to try an experiment around connecting to your body,
feel free to visit the
Client's Corner: Connect with Your Body
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