What does this really mean?
“Somatic” stems from the word “soma”, which literally means “body” – therefore, “Somatic Healing” simply means healing through the body – it is a body-centric approach.
If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t just “think your way out” of something, this is because your body and your mind are in bi-lateral communication, meaning that they talk to each other constantly.
Have you ever noticed that when you begin to think negative thoughts about yourself, your posture changes?
Maybe your shoulders slump, and your back arches. When you’re stressed, your shoulders may rise, your stomach tightens, and your breath quickens.
This is your body responding to external and internal forces, and through these responses your body communicates with your brain so you can make sense of what’s going on around you.
When you take these short, shallow breaths, you’re telling your brain that you’re in danger. This cues cortisol and other stress hormones to be produced.
This is great when you’re actually in danger (like if a tiger was chasing you!) but is highly detrimental and dangerous when it happens on a regular basis – this is called chronic stress.
Your body records everything that happens to you, and your brain and nervous systems learn to respond in certain ways to keep you safe, depending on the events that happen to you.
This is a natural and necessary defense mechanism of your body.
Can you imagine having to manually think through each situation in your life, wondering if it was safe to be there or not?
You would be exhausted and get nothing else done – you wouldn’t be able to live your day to day life.
This is why if you’ve had an experience that was highly stressful, scary, and dysregulating, your body remembers this feeling and says to your body “We don’t ever want to feel this again” – it will do anything not to experience that again – this is helpful – until it’s not.
Some of those responses become “outdated” and what might have worked for you in the moment, becomes detrimental in the long run (i.e. You were bullied when you were younger, and in order to stay safe you become submissive, quiet, and a people pleaser – this works for a time, though if it continues into adulthood it can affect your life and relationships).
These types of experiences shape your nervous system and brain and in some ways, it controls how you act and what you do, until you heal and come back into safety.
How do you heal and begin to feel safe, calm, and connected?
Through your breath, and through your body.
Through Breathwork, you are using your body’s innate healing power to signal to your brain that you’re safe, which signals back to you’re body that you’re safe, shutting off those stress hormones and bringing your body into a state of rest, calm, and self-regulation.
In this state you’ll be able to think clearer, feel less stress and anxiety, and feel comfortable in your body and your life – this deep healing allows you to strengthen every part of your life, from relationships to your work.
If you’re interested in the research behind this, check out the Resources Page for the science.
