An introduction to Somatic Therapy or 'Ending the Tyranny of the Mind over the Body'
Picture this:
Your legs are aching, you are tired and thirsty, but there’s just one more load of washing to hang out and a ticking clock that says soon it’s time to pick the kids up.
Next to the clock is your to-do list, only half completed.
You swallow, in the hope of quenching your thirst, and you ignore your body’s signals to put your legs up and rest.
Instead, you get that load of washing out, before grabbing the keys and racing to the car.
Perhaps you run into a precious object - a family heirloom, and smash it - or perhaps you trip and fall flat on your face, or maybe you slam your finger in the door, but you don’t have time to stop and cry.
You get the key into the ignition and push the speed limit to make it to the kids’ school on time…or nearly on time.
Sound familiar? Do you recognise this story?
It’s an old story about the 'tyranny of the mind over the body' meaning that essentially in order to fit into cultural norms and be ‘productive’ in mainstream society we’ve been taught to suppress our natural urges and instincts.
The problem is, we’ve over-ridden it so much, that it is often unconscious now. We don’t even realise we’re doing it.
And yet, our bodies hold so much wisdom and can speak to us in profound and deep ways that our minds are not capable of.
Where our minds speak in binary, black and white tones; our bodies express through the whole rainbow and every shade imaginable.
While our minds only know black and white, our bodies inhabit and understand the grey as well.
Our intellect is often a tossed salad of some of our own ideas, but mostly other people’s ideas and stories that we have learned and been told. But our bodies are uniquely ours and ours alone. Any wisdom offered up from our own body is only for us.
Our minds think and our bodies feel. And we need both at different times… but we’ve spent so long listening to our minds and ignoring our bodies.
It’s time to revolt!
Our minds, as brilliant as they are, are sometimes not capable of thinking their way out of the messes they have constructed for themselves.
I love working somatically, with the body, because I’ve always had a rebellious nature and it feels like revolution!
I also love working somatically because it enables us to drop down below the surface into the deep great mystery below… sometimes there will be absolute treasure to be found.
Even when there is no treasure straight away, just the dive down is relaxing.
A somatic psychotherapy session might start by just taking some deep breaths and landing in the body – following the breath into the body and creating stability and safety.Â
From there… it’s an adventure that will be different for everyone in any given moment! It will generally involve scanning the landscape of the body – noticing without reacting what is there. Clearing space. And, then we might explore further and dive deeper. We might have a conversation with a part of the body or ask it what it needs. Or not.
As with any adventure, safety comes first and desire leads the way.Â
Sometimes there will be remarkable clarity and insight. Sometimes there will be release or a shift. And sometimes, it will just feel like a relaxing journey into stillness and spaciousness.
One thing that always happens is a movement from suppression to expression.
I dream of a future where we can all inhabit our bodies and live fully with open hearts and open minds. Where trusting our ‘gut’ and ‘knowing in our bones’ are just as important, even more important, than risk assessments and business cases.Â
If you would like to explore working somatically in an online therapy session, book in with Dahna, or any of our open-hearted therapists at the next Community Clinic.
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