Arriving to What Is Here [An audio guided somatic practice]
How the beginning stage of Somatic Psychotherapy prepares us to be curious about what we want relief from + (A guided audio somatic-informed exercisE)
Coming into therapy, or considering any sort of healing journey, is typically motivated by some form of distress and a sense of urgency or longing for relief.
While desire for relief is understandable, my invitation is that we hold that desire lightly while also considering the following:
What if discomfort or pain needs us to be with it?
Some forms of therapy are rooted in logically exploring, analyzing, and finding pragmatic solutions. You might sit with the therapist and talk about what has happened in your week, with the therapist helping you to unpack where you might be influenced by less-than-helpful thoughts or cognitive distortions.
Other therapy frameworks, such as relational and somatic-informed care, ask us to drop deeper into our experiences beyond the level of rational analysis, to tune into information that the body holds, which could be inaccessible to the rational mind.
Arriving to this moment
When we begin a therapy session that is more experiential and somatic-informed, we start by noticing what is present for us in the moment. The intention might be to begin cultivating the capacity to be curious and observant, where otherwise we might run on autopilot and be reactive.
We take in the environment and notice what we’re naturally drawn to, its impact on how we’re feeling. We begin to feel into the degree to which we feel relatively supported and, also, perhaps more activated and amped up.
There are countless ways we can begin to "arrive” to both the environment, others, and our own body. The goal is not to force an experience, such as complete relaxation. Neither do we white-knuckle our way through if we encounter strong surges of discomfort.
In a somatic psychotherapy session, the impulse is to work with what is tolerable (notice this is not the same as “completely comfortable” or “easy”). If an experience creates a sense of overwhelm or a floaty-numb flavour of dissociation or shut down, the therapist’s job is to guide the process back to the client’s window of tolerance. Over time and with practice, we expand that window, and therefore our capacity to stay with our experience.
Arrival, or finding a sense of being settled-enough, could be thought of as “Part One.” In future articles, I’ll share what else you might experience in the context of somatic informed psychotherapy.
Below is a brief guided exercise you might try with the intention of just witnessing what is present for you.
Disclaimer: Exercises and resources are offered for general wellness and are not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care or crisis support. Use does not constitute a therapeutic relationship with Tera-Sundri Biddle, RP. Results and experiences cannot be guaranteed. Users are encouraged to use resources at their own discretion and pace.