What is Somatic Coaching and how can it help me?

Somatic coaching is a field that is growing. But what is somatic coaching, and what does it involve that could benefit you and your life?

Somatic coaching is based on the idea that the mind and body are interconnected. When something is bothering us mentally, it often shows up in our bodies as physical symptoms - even before the brain realises. It's happened to us all at some point, however sometimes describing the bodily sensations with words does not do it justice to what you actually feel....but I'll try below:

• The wave of terror that ripples through your body when you see someone you have negative feelings about and want to avoid....

• The hot flush of your cheeks when someone embarrasses you.

• The sickness in the pit of your stomach you feel when you're driving home after dropping your kids at school.

• The grip of fear in your body when you see an animal that gives you the willies.

• The tightness in your throat when your finger hovers over the 'Go Live' button.

• When your boss asks to see you....you know….that feeling....

Sometimes you know what's going on.

But sometimes you think 'what the hell is that all about?!!'.

And then sometimes...you just ignore it.

Your body is so much more than just a state-of-the-art Tesla transporting your brain around from A to B. Your body-mind is constantly working, cells are communicating, neurons firing, all trying to keep you balanced. The idea behind somatic coaching is that everything about you is valid, you are naturally creative and whole and if you can get out of your thinking mind, you've got this body that can give you clarity, direction and answers.

When you start listening to your body you become way more compassionate with yourself, treat yourself with a lot more care and start to see yourself as creative, resourceful and whole.

But what does this look like in real life?

Before writing this blog, I was sitting at my computer, messing around for probably about an hour, pissing about with my website, not really getting anything of any note done, totally unfocussed. I thought the day was a write off. When I asked, I got a sense that my body wanted to lie on my bed and stare out the window at the blue sky and the clouds. So I did.

While I was there, I tuned into my body, trialling out a few ways I could create different sensations in my feet that I could notice all with a view of 'getting out of my mind'. One thing included attempting to click my toes together at different speeds (it's really fuking hard to do!!) which had me all of a sudden laughing at how ridiculous it would look to an outsider.

Now in case you're thinking 'dang girl, have you lost the plot?'.....guess what happened my friend....within 7 mins (if that), I had the idea for this blog. The sections were clearly mapped out in my head and a few hours later it was published, here on my website for you to read for all eternity.

If I've lost the plot then I'm cool with that because I was hella productive after checking in with my body compared to what I was like beforehand! 😂

Soma-what?

The word 'Soma' is from the ancient Greek language meaning vibrant, living body and encompasses your entire organism, not just the skin and bone, but it's full aliveness.

'Somatics is the study of the self from the perspective on one's lived experience, encompassing the dimensions of body, psyche and spirit' ~ Thomas Hanna

Thomas Hanna was the first person to use the phrase 'Somatics' in the 70's, but this was not the origin of somatic practices. 'Somatics' is used to cover all the methodologies that recognise your brain and the rest of your body as a dynamic system working together to maintain balance and wellbeing.

If we are only focussing on the mind then we are missing out a massive part of our lived experience. When you focus on the body new choices might come to you (like this blog did for me!) or you might feel like there are new possibilities relating to an important decision. It gives you an experiential way of learning and transforming and for me has created shifts that have meant I can move forward with stuff I didn't feel good about before.

One methodology that I’ve enjoyed using and had results with in my coaching practice is Focusing.

Someone wanted to interview me and I had a full body wave of terror reaction when I got the voice note asking about this; which was out of the blue. I'd worked on stuff to do with getting myself out there in the past and had used EFT to release emotions - I honestly thought that was off the list of shit I had to worry about. Ha! Clearly not.

So I took this feeling to a Focusing session. By paying attention to what was going on in my body, I was able to move the energy relating to this situation. My throat closed up and I found it hard to swallow, then my cheek was shaking like crazy on the left side of my face and eventually a wave of tears came over me and I cried for about five minutes. I wasn't sad, but the tears flowed. Two days later I did the interview with ZERO terrified/nervous feelings happening anywhere in my body.

So bloody powerful!

I've had clients who were blocked or stuck about certain things who have had similar experiences when I’ve done a Focusing session with them. They've said they feel 'lighter' or that 'something has shifted' in the days after and feel less bodily feelings about whatever they worked on.

Somatic coaching can help you create sustainable change by providing a safe, supportive coaching environment where your bodily wisdom is waiting for you to discover the insights it has.