There is a lot of buzz around somatic work these days, and at first glance, you may be a skeptic.

I know I was.

When I first learned about somatic work a year or so ago, I was very skeptical. My mind didn’t really think it could make that much of a difference in my life. Sure, it may help me to relax a little bit, but is it really addressing the deeper layers?

There went my first lesson - using the thinking part of myself to make most of my decisions.

I initially sought out a somatic coach to work with my physical issues and imbalances, which I write about here.

I experienced results in a few sessions, and was blown away. It was then I decided I wanted to become trained in somatic work so I could help others (who may have been as skeptical as myself) as well. That was when I explored a few somatic practitioner certification programs and ultimately decided on the IWA Somatic Practitioner Certification (more information about my experiences here).

Since then, I’ve been able to integrate somatic work into my practice, and my clients have seen such beautiful results. It’s been truly amazing to see how much of an impact somatic work has made in their lives. Clients have reported feeling so much lighter, like a huge weight has been removed from their shoulders, they’ve felt so much more peace, their pains and aches have subsided or gone away, they have more energy, more optimism, and more joy in their lives.

It is truly an amazing thing, especially since we weren't taught this growing up. We weren’t taught that our minds, body, and spirits are so interconnected, and that our thoughts, emotions, and feelings directly impact our biology/physical health, and vice versa. If you take anything away from this post, it is that - that our mind and bodies are interconnected and everything works TOGETHER, not separately (like we used to believe).

Recently, I noticed that through the stressors and challenges of daily life, I was starting to feel more stressed, burnt out, overwhelmed, and irritable. I felt like I had too many tabs open, and that I was feeling heavy and operating much more in my masculine/doing energy (vs feminine/being energy). It felt exhausting and extremely draining.

I decided I needed to make some shifts, and that’s when I started incorporating more mindful somatic work into my daily life to help me in this area. Through consistent somatic work, I started to slowly feel shifts in my daily experience. I started to feel lighter, softer/in my feminine energy, and feel more pleasure in my life (and work). As I started to feel more in my feminine energy, everything else around me started to soften, including my relationship with others and myself. I started to feel more connected to others, more patient, more loving, and more pleasure in my day to day. It truly is amazing how consistent somatic work truly shifts things little by little, and then we start to notice major shifts in how we are FEELING. Incredible!

Through the IWA Somatic Practitioner Certification, I learned SO many somatic tools and techniques (and I’m constantly adding new ones to the toolkit). Some of the tools I’ve weaved into my daily life to feel lighter, softer, and more pleasure are below:

Grounding exercises - grounding your feet into nature, grounding your body into the space you’re inhabiting and taking a few mindful breaths to ground you into the here and now
Body scan - allowing you to build body intelligence and awareness (without judgment), and feeling where you’re holding tension
Softening and releasing tension in your body - noticing where you feel tension, tightening and releasing and softening and breathing into those parts to further create more space
Posture - especially noticing your posture (and correcting it) as you go about your day
Movement - either intuitive yoga, or moving and swaying your body to nature, or music (whichever feels good) and letting your body flow, thereby creating more space
Butterfly tapping and self-soothing hug - calming the nervous system and feeling sense of support and safety in the body
With more space, clarity, and softening - you’re able to tap into your desires more

I hope this blog post was helpful and inspiring! I truly believe that somatic work can be weaved into your daily life, and through consistent use, you will start to notice amazing shifts in your own life - whether physical, emotional, or spiritual!