As a new trendy term that is used across therapeutic practices and the wellness industry at large, what does somatic actually mean?
Somatics is often used as an umbrella term which describes ancient practices such as mindfulness, meditation and yoga as well as more recent and formalised therapeutic interventions, such as somatic experiencing, the Hakomi method and embodied movement. Many high-profile medical professionals such as Dr Peter Levine, Bessel Van der Kolk and Gabor Mate continue to advocate for the adoption of a somatic approach within therapeutic interventions. As the fields of Neuroscience and Psychiatry continue to advance, we are better able to understand trauma and it’s impact on the body, namely the nervous system. In response, many medical institutions have begun incorporating somatic interventions when treating trauma; TRE (Trauma release exercises) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) being two of the most popular and effective treatment options.
Somatic practitioners believe the mind and body are intimately related; thoughts, sensations and emotions are interconnected and influence one another. In somatic work, a person’s body is invited into the space and is considered as important as their thoughts or cognitive understanding of themselves and their lived experience. Somatic practitioners may make use of mind-body exercises and other physical techniques to support a client’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Individuals can deepen their self-awareness by learning to track signals, experiences and feedback from their body, which may offer insights about their internal state and needs. Feedback from the body can come in the form of noticing patterns and changes in facial expressions, gaze, breathing and emotions.
Somatic work can sometimes help transcend the limitations and obstacles of talk therapies, and many individuals have actually turned to somatics upon feeling ‘stuck’ with other interventions. They may have an intuitive sense that their body holds a type of intelligence and wisdom they want to better understand and utilise. For many people, furthering their cognitive or conceptual understanding of historical experiences and challenges may help them to make sense or meaning of the past, but these narratives do not help them to feel better right now. Their ability to restore a sense of safety and healthy functioning of the nervous system may remain impaired. Developing the capacity to self-regulate or self-soothe when triggered requires us to be connected to our bodies and this part of the process cannot be bypassed. Somatic work honours and facilitates this.
A somatic coaching session includes many aspects of traditional coaching (which aim to develop conceptual self-awareness) as well as a combination of somatic techniques, practices and exercises. This could be breath work, mindfulness, intuitive or rhythmic movement, embodiment practices, exploration through creative and artistic mediums or utilisation of imagination and play. It is an experiential, holistic and collaborative process. Explore somatic coaching with curiosity and open-mindedness and you are likely to be pleasantly surprised at how transformational it can be.