Being Present: The Double Bind
The Body Can Only Dwell in the Present
The Present Moment is Where the Self Lives
Trauma Changes Everything
The Double Bind
A Somatic Approach Can Help
What Does Being in the Present Feel Like?
If this speaks to you, I would love to connect for a consultation if you want to learn more. If you’re ready to begin, I look forward to our first session together.
Salt City Bodyworks Will Soon Be “Salt City Somatics”
Why the Name Change?
Why the name change? When I started my private practice in 2010, I was a recently licensed massage therapist. I only offered bodywork and massage therapy but I wasn’t educated or trained in somatics yet. I used the word “bodywork” in my title because it is a general term that encompasses traditional massage but other forms of body-centered therapies as well (e.g., craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage, Thai Yoga massage, etc.). That word reflected the range of services I offered at the time.
Enter Somatics
Then my focus started to change. I started a graduate program in somatic depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2012. From 2015-2021 I trained to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and NARM Master Practitioner. During that time I gradually incorporated somatic sessions into my private practice. I still offered massage therapy and bodywork but less and less as time passed. Over the years, my attention and interest became increasingly focused on somatic work to the point that I eventually stopped offering massage and bodywork all together. The only services I currently offer are Somatic Sessions in person or via Zoom and Somatic Bodywork. Anymore, all the continuing education and training I engage in is only somatic. It was a natural transition, therefore, to go from using the word “Bodywork” in my business name to “Somatics”. That is the sole focus of the work I offer.
Does Anything Change Besides the Name?
No. I have only been offering somatic services for more than a year now. If you’ve been with me during that time, you won’t notice anything is different. However, if you have any questions or feel unsure about what the name change means, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Is A Somatic Approach Right for You?
If you’ve been considering a somatic approach to your health, now may be the time to find out if it’s right for you. Let’s connect! I offer 25 minute consultations via Zoom and would love to meet with you.
What Does a Typical Session Look Like? Part 1
This is probably the most common question I get from new clients. Somatics is still an emerging field and is practiced in many different ways. It makes sense that you’d want to know what my approach is and what to expect from a session together.
The truth is there is no “typical” session since each one is tailored to your individual needs, capacity and desired results. Your nervous system has its own characteristics and history which are all taken into consideration as we customize our approach.
Having said that, what I’ve written below will describe how I work and the central philosophies that inform my perspectives. For a more comprehensive context, read my other posts “What Does Somatic Mean?” and “What Does Somatic Mean? Part Two”.
The First Session
Our first session together will mostly involve deep listening on my part so I understand what you want from our time together.
I may ask you some of the following questions:
• “What do you hope to get out of somatics that you haven’t been able to experience with other healing modalities?”
• “How would your life be different day-to-day if somatics works for you the way you hope it will?”
• “How do you want to feel as a result of taking a somatic approach to your well-being?”
• “If you could wave a magic wand, what changes would you make to your life?”
• “Even if it’s not realistic, what would you hope to gain as a result of our work together?”
Discovering the answers to these questions will create the framework for our work. It sets the “north star”, so to speak. Every session thereafter will unfold within the context of your goals and intentions.
Subsequent Sessions
If you are coming to see me, it’s likely something is off in your mind-body connection. You’re tired from having to use techniques and practices to calm yourself. You wish you didn’t have to work so hard to manage triggers. You just want your nervous system to operate smoothly in the background so you can get on with living. You want your mind and body to work smoothly without having to try so hard.
The good news is that’s also the kind of relationship your mind and body want to have. They are biologically wired to work together seamlessly. More good news: that know-how is already in you. In other words, your nervous system comes with its own operational intelligence. A mechanical blueporint, if you will. That being the case, our job is to discover what is getting in the way of your mind-body doing what it already knows how to do. This forms the philosophical foundation to my work.
Why is That Important To Know?
For two reasons. First, it means that we will be looking to you for your answers and not the other way around. I don’t see myself as the authority you consult for the answers. You need to know this up front to decide whether or not we’re a match. If you’re in an urgent situation and need answers or solutions fast, I am not the somatic professional best-suited to support you.
Second, in order to uncover the answers in your mind-body, we will need to get to know its own unique language (more on this later). In each session we will engage in deep listening to learn where the disconnects are.
As they come to light, a reorganization in your nervous system happens. The gaps in are bridged and your system moves towards greater connection and efficiency. This happens organically and spontaneously. They don’t come about by me telling you to move, breathe, tap, stretch, think or effort in any particular way. The mind-body’s know-how is responsible.
When these moments occur, you might observe, “I feel more solid”, “I notice I’m more settled now”, “I feel lighter”, “I’m more like myself” or “I’m not as worried”. Your life haven’t suddenly changed but when your mind and body are integrated, you are more resourced to handle life.
So how do we get there? Read on in Part 2 to find out.
Summary
While there is no “typical” session, I work in reliable ways that are informed by my knowledge of the nervous system and certain philosophical principles. I believe your mind and body innately know how work together. The know-how is in you. Our work involves listening to your mind-body and learning its language so we know what it’s telling you. By following its instructions, we can discover where the disconnects are to support spontaneous reorganization toward wholeness. You will know in real time when this is happening by how you feel: lighter, less afraid, more solid and settled.
How I Got Into Somatics
Most “helping professionals” come into their careers by searching for answers to their own issues. I’m no exception. I grew up in a religious culture that put me at odds with my body. So when I had my first massage, a new world opened to me. I connected to my physical self through touch in a way that felt safe, healthy, and nourishing. From then on I was hooked. I enrolled in massage therapy school but through life’s twists and turns, I didn’t actually get licensed for ten more years.
Massage Therapy
As a massage therapist, it wasn’t long before I became aware of the different kinds of pain my clients experienced in their bodies. Some of it was straight forward. I could link it to things like repetitive use, postural misalignment or injury rehabilitation. Quite often, however, my clients had physical pain with no apparent cause. Moreover, they reported feeling the pain in their muscles yet it remained elusive to pinpoint. I believed their experiences were real, so then where was this pain coming from?
I didn’t know it then, but that question ultimately led me into the field of somatic (or “body”) psychology. Its focus is on how psychological, emotional or spiritual experience manifests in the physical body. A common example that showed up on my massage table were tight shoulders from chronic stress.
Somatic Psychology
I started Pacifica Graduate Institute’s graduate program in somatic psychology in the fall of 2012. I chose this unique program because I wouldn’t come out on the other side as a licensed mental health care professional. This was perfect for me. I didn’t want to become a psychotherapist—I wanted to be a somatic practitioner. That meant I could keep the emphasis of my work on the body, not the mind. I knew I was taking a chance because (as is true today) there is no licensure tract to become a somatic therapist. There would be no guaranteed work placement come graduation. I followed my heart anyway and graduated in 2014.
To make a long story short, it was during my studies that I figured out the most likely source of my massage clients’ pain: accumulated stress and unresolved trauma. Both cause dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system. Dysregulation generates all sorts of physical issues—chronic muscle tension being just one.
Somatic Trauma Healing
After grad school, I decided to get more specific training in somatic trauma healing. In 2017 I became a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and in 2019, a professional in the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM). My private practice slowly grew from offering only massage therapy to what I do today: somatic trauma healing. To learn more or to find out if a somatic approach is right for you, click here to schedule a consultation.