The Integrative Somatic Inquiry Process
I call this work Integrative Somatic Inquiry because the process is one of inquiring moment by moment into your present, felt experience. We attend to your sensations, feelings, thoughts, relationships, and spirit in order to hear and understand who you are now on the deepest possible level, and to develop new resources and ways of being. This leads to more effective action in the world. The work is Integrative because it includes and joins together all of your experience - not just your body sensations, but also your emotions, beliefs, and connection to others.
I place an emphasis on the body (soma) not to exclude the mind and spirit, but because in our culture it is the forgotten aspect of our experience and therefore the most unconscious. It is our blind spot. At the same time, it is the most direct and transparent vehicle of of meaning and connection to ourselves. Everything you experience involves your body - your relationships, your spirituality, all of it. This is because,in a very real sense, you are your body. You are not just your body, but while you are here on earth you live in and through your body. Including the body facilitates your unfolding into a deeper and deeper integration of your true self. For this reason I believe that including the body is the key to freeing your capacity to live a full life.
My approach is gentle, respectful, interactive, experiential, and collaborative. When we work together I help you inquire into your experience. As you do this, you may notice areas of tension, where emotion is blocked, or where you hold yourself back from expression, action, and connection. Or, we may find areas of your body-self that you have gone asleep to - qualities and abilities that you gave up because they were not welcomed and supported by your caregivers or your culture. We work to understand and release areas of holding, and to energize and develop capacities you gave up.
Practices
There is a truism in spiritual circles: You are what you practice. Just as a piano student must practice scales to embody fluidity in performance, we must take on new practices in order to embody change. In addition to inquiring into your experience, I suggest practices and exercises designed to develop specific resources that are nascent within you. Somatic practices cultivate in you an “embodied presence,” so that this way of being can take hold.
As you learn to open to your physical being you begin to experience the deep support that contact with the ground provides.
It becomes easier to literally “stand up for yourself.” Feeling your back helps you to feel “backed”, making it easier to express opinions with confidence, accept input openly, and treat yourself and others with compassion and dignity.
It becomes easier to literally “stand up for yourself.” Feeling your back helps you to feel “backed”, making it easier to express opinions with confidence, accept input openly, and treat yourself and others with compassion and dignity.
Relaxation in your shoulders helps you to drop a sense of burden and a sense of freedom can arise. Softening in your chest you learn to feel your heart and your capacity to love and be loved increases. You may find that your head clears, and with it, your vision for what matters. A natural wisdom emerges, and with it the ability to act in accordance with what is most important – to you, your relationships and to the world.
As you learn to embrace your experience you become more intimate with yourself. This self-intimacy naturally evokes true self-compassion – as you accept your experience, you accept yourself. Your inner critic relaxes, and so do you. You stop trying to fix yourself. Parts of yourself that once felt difficult become less problematic and you become less reactive. Your weaknesses and vulnerabilities become less threatening because, paradoxically, as you face into them you become less identified with them. You recognize them as just parts of yourself. You learn to be with your experience without holding onto it. This creates a sense of internal spaciousness that you can feel tangibly in your body.
Find peace in the mystery.
Truly embracing your experience means being open to not knowing exactly where you are heading. This willingness to step into the unknown with curiosity and openness can support the deep unfolding of your self even further. When you stop trying to fix yourself by "figuring things out," paradoxically a deep knowing can arise in your body-self. Possibilities you may not have recognized become visible and tangible. And, wonderfully, life's beauty begins to reveal itself. Creativity, inner beauty, true strength, self-compassion -- these are just a few of the discoveries we make when we stop seeing ourselves as a problem to fix ourselves and open to who we truly are.
The journey can be spectacular!
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"Laura is a great coach. Our work together was extremely valuable. Her use of somatic coaching techniques helped me break through many long standing patterns and allows me to lead a more effective and fulfilling life. I found our work on increasing my leadership effectiveness especially valuable and saw immediate changes in how I showed up as a leader at work."
-- Harry Gilling, Agile Coach, ScrumMaster |
"Laura was my mentor during my time with New Ventures West as I was going through their Life Coaching Program. She was able to provide me with insights into my practices that helped me move forward. She asked me powerful questions when I was "stuck". Her presence in conversation was attuned to my whole self - mind, body and heart. I have been inspired."
-- Theresa Pak, New Ventures West Graduate Coach and Nurse Manager |