What is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic Therapy: Healing Through the Wisdom of the Body
There’s something powerful about remembering that we are not just minds moving through the world, but whole beings: bodies, minds, and hearts working together. We carry stories in our muscles, wisdom in our bones, and signals of what we need in every breath. Somatic therapy invites you to come home to that truth, using the body itself as a path to healing.
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is about listening to the body and working with the nervous system to heal from the inside out. The word “somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, meaning the living body- not just the physical form, but the body as you experience it through sensation, movement, and feeling.
Stress, trauma, and even joy live in the body, not just the mind. A tight chest might hold unexpressed grief. Shallow breathing can be the body’s way of protecting you from overwhelm. Slumped shoulders may carry burdens that were never yours to begin with.
In somatic therapy, we recognize that talking alone isn’t always enough. Healing happens by restoring balance to the nervous system, helping you move from states of shutdown or overwhelm into steadiness and presence. This process develops “somatic awareness”- the ability to notice what’s happening in your body, and to use those sensations as pathways to healing.
The Somatic Body: A Shared Human Experience
Every person has a somatic body. Yours, mine, the person you passed on the street- we are all sensing, feeling, breathing beings moving through life with this inner wisdom.
Your body speaks through signals all the time: the flutter in your stomach when something feels off, the opening in your chest when you’re seen, the way you relax around someone safe. These aren’t mystical experiences- they’re the natural intelligence of your nervous system.
We are also wired to influence each other. You may notice that being near someone calm helps you settle, while tension in others can stir your own body. This is called co-regulation- our nervous systems attuning to one another.
Why It Matters
When you learn to listen to your body and follow its signals, you begin to reconnect with your wholeness. Somatic therapy opens the door to healing by bringing awareness, compassion, and presence to the body you live in every day.
Ready to Learn More?
This is just the beginning. In our next post, we’ll explore what a somatic therapy session actually looks like, so you can imagine yourself in the process.
Curious about somatic therapy now? Reach out to us here - we’d love to support you on this journey back to your body.
