I'm being asked this question more and more lately - what are somatic practices, are they helpful, and what do I think of them? Should we be doing them?
Somatic practices, first of all, refer to experiences that use our breath and/or our body to access ('release') emotions. For example, holotropic breath work.
It's true, our body does keep the score.
Our experiences can be stored in our tissues. But how does this happen?
Well, we've been experiencing the world way before we had words to make sense of any of it. Before we learned to talk, even before we were born.
This type of information is stored in our 'implicit' memory - often as sensations, emotions etc. but often without any accompanying words.
I also do believe we are wired biologically to heal.
When we experience something that was too much for us at the time, without a compassionate witness, it's not processed at the time and 'locked away' until such a time that we are ready to process it. I often liked it to needing a wee - if we ignore it, at some point it's going to trickle, and then eventually gush out. This is what can happen with trauma, we move on and effectively ignore it (although we also might not even have an awareness there's anything there), and then often years and years later it resurfaces and 'gushes' out! This can be in emotions, flashbacks, 'break downs', physical symptoms etc. And this stuff comes back up again because it's ready to be healed, and pushing it away further means the trickle and then the gush is going to happen.
There's a lot of talk online about somatic practices which involve using the body, and often breath, to 'release trauma'.
So can the body be the way back to healing?
Yes... and no.
The body and breath absolutely has a role to play, and sometimes parts of us need to share their story through our bodies. But I have at least two main questions/considerations around general somatic practices:
Where's the consent? That stuff was locked away for a reason (because it was too much at the time) and that means parts of us protect it. In IFS, we always ask for permission from these parts of us before we access anything more vulnerable. Without these consents, people often experience large reactions afterwards (in IFS, we call this backlash) which can range from small amounts of anger that is easily repaired, to extreme behaviours that can be harmful.
Where's the compassionate witness? Remember, the whole reason why some of these emotions were stored in the body is because they were too much or not safe enough to be processed at the time. With some somatic practices to 'release stored trauma' are we setting up the safety and trust to witness these emotions? Because, believe me, accessing these emotions without an internal and external compassionate witness simply is often re-traumatising. That's not a release. Catharsis isn't emotionally processing. It's just living the emotion again as though it were happening now.
In IFS there's a careful process that updates us to the present (so we're not back there reliving), creates safety and trust so there is a present witness to the emotions/experience, and then works via the neuroscience of memory reconsolidation to process the experience.
How do I know all of this?
Because I've experienced it all myself.
Because I facilitate this often for others.
So I wouldn't say no, don't do somatic practices. I'm saying know what they are - and what they are not.
And from that can come an informed choice.
Interested in how IFS can help you? Check out here for what IFS can help with.
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