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Writer's picturePriscilla Aguirre

Somatic Therapy and the Body

By: Priscilla Aguirre


How connected are you to your body?

Trauma, stress, depression, or repressed emotions can throw us off of our kilter and negatively impact our body more than we may think.

If you have been experiencing somatic symptoms like insomnia, irritability, chronic illness, digestive disorders, or any other physical or medical issue, this may be your body’s way of expressing to you that it needs some TLC.


We can’t heal our bodies and self with the mind alone.



Somatic therapies approach healing by utilizing the body and the mind simultaneously.

When we experience trauma our fight, flight or freeze response becomes triggered.


When we feel emotions that are “uncomfortable,” like sadness , grief, anger, shame, and fear, our body will react to those emotions physically by tensing up and causing shallow breathing, suppressing the full expression of the emotion.



What is E-Motion?

E-motion is energy in motion. The emotion starts within us and is yearning to be expressed however, due to the stigma around expressing emotions, rarely do we actually express the emotion effectively.


What do Somatic Therapists do?

Somatic Therapies can support moving that stagnant energy and repressed emotions out of the body.


Somatic Therapies can consist of modalities such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga, dance, massage work, breathwork and more. Tap into what your body needs to feel lighter.



Additional Resources:


Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox: 125 Worksheets and Exercises for Trauma and Stress

(125 Worksheets and Exercises to Treat Trauma and Stress)

From over 25 years of clinical experience, Manuela Mischke-Reeds, MA, LMFT, has created the go-to resource for mental health therapists who want to incorporate somatic techniques into their daily practice. Highly-effective for clients dealing with trauma and stress disorders, somatic psychotherapy is the future of healing the entire person-body and mind.Section-by-section, this toolbox guide the clinician through: - Targeted somatic interventions for trauma, stress and PTSD - Steps to incorporate the body into your current therapeutic approach - Mindfulness techniques and breath work - Starting guidelines, safety concerns and keys to success- Getting to know their own body to better use body work with

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