Fall into Somatics

Written by: Justine Allen

🕗 Short & sweet

What is Somatics?

Somatic is defined as that which relates to the soma or the body. In a therapeutic context, it refers to body-oriented forms of therapy that look at the mind-body connection. Today, it is a multidisciplinary field with increasing substantiated research. However, it’s important to acknowledge through a decolonizing lens that many somatic therapies are rooted in ancient embodiment practices, which many cultures around the world have engaged in for centuries.

Body-oriented approaches can provide a valuable source of information in the therapeutic process because our bodies hold the story of our lived experience. Somatic modalities allow us to access this information while safely processing emotions & traumatic experiences. The process itself reminds me of alchemy, as there’s something about the element of transmutation that resonates, in terms of somatic work’s ability to transform our embodied experience.

Somatic Prompt for the Fall Season

We can begin to explore somatics this season by tracking our internal landscape as we shift externally from Summer to Fall.

What do you notice during this transition? Do you feel energized by the cooler, sweater weather? Does it feel like part of you shuts down or turns inward as the hours of daylight decrease? Once we tune in to what’s going on in our internal landscape, we can explore what might feel supportive in meeting our system’s arising needs. Maybe it’s sitting near a window to soak up more natural light, engaging in a little movement, or indulging in a warm, sensory-rich bath to soothe the nervous system. Tuning into our bodies & sensations can serve as a foundation for this exploration.

Engaging in this practice also offers an opportunity to become more attuned to the different ways in which our bodies communicate with us & is just the beginning of our ability to connect more deeply to ourselves with somatics.

With care 🍂