Five somatic practices to support you in therapy.
Movement is medicine
Your body knows what do, sometimes we just need to get out of the way…
So often during our therapeutic journey & process the body is forgotten about entirely. There is a big focus on our minds and thoughts and of course the mind is deeply important. It’s where we can cognitively understand our patterns & behaviours, it’s where we can breakdown beliefs that no longer serve us and it’s also where we can make different choices.
This is all wonderful but without the body, our Soma being a part of the process we quite often find ourselves becoming aware of what is not working for us but completely stuck on actually being able to change our patterns. The body is the mind and the mind is the body, they aren’t actually separate, during therapy we want to be looking to understand and reclaim both.
For people with trauma, particularly complex trauma cognitive types of therapy can just mean frustration as quite often our mind will protect us from certain events or there were too many traumatic events that have completely overwhelmed the entire body. This can mean a lifetime of pain and dissociation.
The beauty is… our body actually knows how to heal itself, it’s a deeply intelligent and also mysterious system that has evolved over millions of years. Our body knows how to process trauma, we just get stuck. Body based practices (which btw can seem very simplistic) can be an opportunity for us to get out of the way and let the body move what needs to move. This is potentially tending to and healing our nervous systems.
The key here and especially with trauma, is to understand that this can take a while, perhaps even a lifetime. We want to go slowly, going to quickly can mean we risk becoming re-traumatised. Courage & compassion are key during our journeys and patience. A body that has been holding trauma for decades needs time to understand that they are now safe enough to let things move and start to find relaxation. It’s also always important to acknowledge that we aren’t trying to fix anything, we are not broken, our tension and coping strategies are all protective tools that we developed because we didn’t know anything else.
I also feel it’s important to note that we live under violent & traumatising systems of oppression. Our bodies also know this and it needs to be acknowledged in our process that individual healing can not happen without collective healing. So these tools can also be seen as a way of supporting ourselves during this time and and expanding our window of tolerance.
When I work with my clients we will spend time learning about the nervous system, reflecting on what is alive for them in their bodies and exploring different movement practices that can be accessible on a daily basis, more often than not it’s more than one practice that gets used and due to the fact that consistency can be really challenging have more than one tool is really important.
So I thought I would share some of the practices that I love for myself and share with others.
RELAXED MUSCLE BODY
This is a great practice for starting to create somatic awareness around where we hold tension throughout our bodies, as we develop this skill we can maybe start to be able to consciously soften. You can do this practice anywhere and for any length of time.
Find a quiet spot, ideally lying down but can be sitting and adapted for anywhere.
Shut down the eyes or soften the gaze.
Start to notice your breathe, the weight of your body.
Lengthen your exhale and see if you can let yourself feel heavier.
Bring awareness to anywhere you feel tension or gripping.
Spend sometime breathing into these areas and see if you can soften on the exhale. Stay with this for a few minutes.
Journal prompts: Where do you experience tension in your body? How did it feel to try to soften these parts? Did any memories, visuals or emotions arise?
STRETCH, SHAKE & SIGH
This is one of my favourites. Our fascia, the connective tissue that supports our entire body stays hydrated and happy through creative & dynamic movement. The muscles love patterns while the fascia likes everything to be a little more fluid. So things like intuitive stretching & shaking can really help with loosening rigidity both in our body & mind. You make this practice as long or as short as you like. I lean towards 10mins when I wake up and just before I go to bed.
Start on the floor, lying down or all fours.
Tune into anywhere you feel tense or gripping and just start to intuitively stretch and move your body.
Gently & dynamically start to rise, taking time to feel and stretch your way upwards until you get to standing.
Then let yourself shake, whole body & limbs.
Lastly, three deep breathes with some nice big sighs.
Take a moment to notice how you feel.
Here is a reel of me demonstrating this if it might be helpful: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C83wW7wMtHv/?igsh=ZnNqMm1xM3JnOWpk
Get out into nature
Our bodies are of nature. We hold the same minerals in our skin, bones & blood as the land and the sea. Being in nature is an opportunity to return to and be held by the collective body. This is deeply healing and also incredibly joyful. And there are so many ways to engage.
It can be as simple as taking a moment to say hello and touch the tree outside your house. It can be a swim in the sea or another body of water. It can be taking your shoes off and feeling the earth under your feet for a minute. It can be a walk in the woods with a friend. It can be growing food or looking after house plants. It can be hunting for a Hagstone (make sure to ask first before taking). It can be noticing the beauty of dew drops on leaves. It can be waking up for the sunrise or walking at sunset. It can be living alongside the moon cycle or going for night walks to admire the stars.
Take your pick. And then there is always room to sit in gratitude. To be grateful to be alive and be able to witness the astounding mystery & miracle of life.
Rocking
This is an incredibly accessible practice and one that I suggest to clients who are really struggling. There is a reason we rock babies to soothe them, it’s incredibly resourcing for our nervous systems. When we can’t do anything else, rocking would be my suggestion. You can rock on the floor, on your side, sitting down, in bed, in the shower, literally anywhere. I would suggest lying down on your side or seated though.
And then it’s super simple, just let yourself rock however feels easiest. You might feel strange or silly but I encourage you to stay with it. Eventually there maybe a softening or relaxation and there can also be an emotional release like crying. Rock for as long as you can/need to. Take time to notice any sensations or thoughts that come up.
Dancing
This is probably one of the most powerful things you can do. Firstly, we have a deeply intimate relationship with sound and music, it’s incredibly powerful in how it can impact our bodies and emotions. Music is transcendental and our bodies know how to move to music. We have danced for millennia, it was one the first languages alongside touch. It’s deeply liberating.
Studies have shown that dance and free movement are the number one practises to help with depression & anxiety. It can be a space for expression & release, allowing everything to move. Through dance we can work with our emotions and what is alive in this moment. This can feel challenging and overwhelming if we are stuck in a sympathetic or dorsal response. We also live with a lot of oppression in our bodies, so be patient if it feels sticky or silly.
15mins of dance everyday can be massively beneficial for our bodies and our liberation.
Make a playlist that gets you moving and just be curious.
You don’t have to be attractive, it can be ugly and furious, just let yourself see what wants to move and express.
And here some links to playlists I have created for dance if you would like some inspiration.
A 30min playlist for anger: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1tuw7x6WW8IrJAYGOJ9vrC?si=d6bc7d496c7c4840
A 30min playlist for embodying your heart: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yXwOdB5eRwDQOmLSDAhEi?si=0dd8a3ffcb274839