What Does a Somatic Intuitive Healing Bodywork Session Look Like?
Sessions may be virtual or in-person. We start with a general check-in to assess the state of your autonomic nervous system (ANS) and feel for what you’d like to focus on or what calls us. While the default for in-person is to lie on a table fully clothed, I’ve worked with folx with limited mobility as they reclined in a chair, laid in a medical bed, or laid down on a pad on the floor—whatever is most comfortable and accessible to you and your body.
- It’s not massage. The level of touch, when used, is light. Some folx liken the level of physical touch to Biodynamic CranialSacral Therapy or Reiki. Energetic touch may also be used in lieu of physical touch, as well as self-touch for anchoring.
- It’s not therapy. Our bodies hold emotions and memories. We hold space for allowing, witnessing, acknowledging, and appreciating all that arises and is. That can be powerful and ‘enough’ for a big emotion to pass like a wave. Crying, sighing, laughing, singing, breathing—release is OK. You are always at agency for how much/little story you want to bring in and share aloud. If you’ve recently experienced trauma and/or struggle with emotional regulation, I will require that you are also engaged with a licensed therapist if we choose to engage and will happily connect you with trusted professionals.
- It’s restful. How often do you treat yourself with an hour of the day that’s all about you, your comfort, and your brilliance? Your body is brilliant. It’s kept you alive, it keeps you safe, and it holds your desires, divinity, and love. Giving your body an hour to be witnessed and held can feel nourishing, spiritual, restful, and/or loaded with self-care.
- Healing and change are paradoxes: they require us to fully accept what is before receiving and experiencing what may be next—and that starts with awareness. With awareness, we can tap into our compassion, empathy, love, and gratitude—which can then release our current state, allowing it to continue its journey and freeing us up for what’s next. In the context of somatic bodywork, this can feel like gentle pressure to bring awareness to a physical space which can then invite acceptance and gratitude which then can release—but only if the intention is not to release or force change. This is how somatic focusing can yield liberation and change.