Somatic Skills Basics
We can help our bodies feel safer.
An important part of helping our bodies to work through past traumas and patterns is for us to tune in to what is happening in us and around us. At this moment, just notice what is happening around you and in your body without judgment or trying to get rid of it. Can you notice the relative safety in your current environment? See what happens if you respond to what your body is communicating to you. If it feels okay, consider if you can even welcome the sensations.
GROUND YOUR BODY
Tune inward and notice where in your body you feel a sense of groundedness, weightedness, or solidity.
Put your attention on where you feel supported, connected, weighted: Feet, seat, back, legs, etc. Put pressure or shift in order to better feel that contact.
What do you notice in your body as you keep your attention on where you feel grounded or connected? What starts to happen next?
Notice how the chair or floor is supporting you, without you having to do anything to make that happen. There is support here. How is that for you to notice?
ORIENT TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Invite your eyes, head and neck to have a mind of their own. Use a soft gaze and allow your eyes to go where they want to go. What happens if you engage your shoulders and hips? What happens inside when you really take in the space around you?
Another way is to notice the sounds around you and name them in your mind.
A third way to orient is to notice and explore the textures around you that you feel drawn to and explore what they feel like.
It can be helpful to intentionally look behind you, and also notice where are the windows and doors. This can support awareness of the relative safety in the space.
BODY CONTACT / SUPPORT
Notice where one part of your body is touching another part of your body. It could be a hand on your heart; a hand on your other hand, one leg crossed on another.
Or deliberately choose to make physical contact and put your hand on your face, back of head, or elsewhere. Or invite or offer contact from trusted others.
Create vibration in your throat and chest by humming or make a voo as you exhale.
Notice what it’s like to be aware of that contact support. Be curious about it.
Does it seem like one part of your body is doing the touching/giving touch and the other part is receiving?
Or are they equally giving and receiving?
What happens in your body when you tune into this contact?
MOVE YOUR BODY
First, if you notice your body moving, allow it to continue. Rock back and forth, allow your body to sway, let your foot wiggle, your hands to move, etc. We have been conditioned that we are supposed to stay still. This is not helpful for our nervous system because that forced stillness indicates to your brain stem that you are trapped.
If your body is not moving, allow yourself to notice the subtle movements: your lungs expanding and contracting, your heart beating, your breath moving in and out your nostrils, your eyelashes fluttering, etc.
Decide to move in a conscious and deliberate fashion: systematically and mindfully move your joints, wiggle your toes, shift in your seat, move your hips and pelvis, etc.
If you notice an urge to rise, stand up.
Consider adding the thought, “I’m alive!” or “I can move if I want to.”
SIGNS OF SETTLING
Some of the signs of your body deactivating and settling may include:
Muscles relax Breath deepens Yawning Sighing Tears
Shivers or shaking Heat or warmth Chills Shoulders dropping
Sensation of shift downward Noticing your body presence Feeling alive
Tingling or energy Sense of aliveness Burping or digestion Impulse to move