Somatic Embodywork™
“Touch is as vital to our existence as food. It is the first sense we develop, our first and most primal communication, and the only sense without which we cannot survive.”
I am a trauma-trained bodyworker with 24 years of experience in the healing arts, including 16 years of practice as a bodyworker. I have over 1,500 hours of training in massage and bodywork, as well as advanced training in nervous system regulation and trauma healing through Somatic Experiencing International. I offer client-centered care, and creating a space of safety and agency for my clients is my top priority.
Somatic Embodywork™ is a modality I developed over almost 25 years of practice in the healing arts. This work is intuitive, slow, gentle, and purposeful, with a nervous system focus. The primary goal of Somatic Embodywork™ sessions is to assist my clients in cultivating a sense of safety, calm, ease, groundedness, and resilience in their nervous systems and bodies.
Attuned, therapeutic touch helps the nervous system recognize that it is no longer under threat.
In childhood, healthy physical contact from our caregivers supports a healthy emotional connection to ourselves and others, creating lifelong resilience.
When our development and ability to be resilient are thwarted by relational wounding or shock trauma, maladaptive patterns arise within our physiology. These maladaptive patterns may work for a while, seemingly with no side effects, but eventually the side effects become obvious. This is the point where many people seek healing support.
Attuned touch work is an important aspect of healing from chronic stress and trauma, and is achieved when the practitioner is present and receptive to the needs of the client. When someone is attuned to your needs, you feel a deep sense of safety and feel deeply seen and understood. Attuned physical touch supports the healing of physical, emotional, and physiological aspects of our being.
Attunement fosters co-regulation, meaning that the practitioner’s attuned, regulated nervous system helps the client’s nervous system to regulate more easily. The internal sense of safety that is created with this type of connection is the first vital step in healing from chronic emotional dysregulation, stress, and trauma.
Somatic Embodywork™ was designed to support the healing of body, mind, and spirit.
I utilize an integrative, multiple modality approach in my Somatic Embodywork™ sessions. In my sessions, I draw upon…
Somatic Experiencing, SE Touch work, CranioSacral Therapy, integrative massage (gentle Swedish/deep tissue/myofasical release/Trager approach), Integrated Energy Medicine, Reiki, mindfulness practices, archetypal and divine feminine healing, nature-based healing practices, parts work/parts integration, inner child healing, sound healing, soul retrieval, cord-cutting, and shamanic power retrieval.
*Sessions can have a foundation of integrative massage (unclothed and fully draped) or CranioSacral Therapy approach (clothed) according to your level of comfort.
On a physical level, my work is designed to alleviate the symptoms of chronic pain, stress, mobility issues, and muscle, joint, fascia, and visceral injuries. Emotionally, it aims to restore nervous system regulation, resilience, and the ability to cope with life's ups and downs with relative ease.
Somatic Embodywork™ sessions are helpful if you…
struggle with chronic stress
experience patterns of physical tension and pain
have migraines or TMJ
experience anxiety or panic attacks
struggle with depression
mobility issues
feel unmotivated or stuck
have insomnia, nightmares, or other sleep issues
are experiencing a major loss or life transition
feel a sense of despair or hopelessness
suffer from chronic health issues
have PTSD or CPTSD
feel disconnected, numb, or shut down
have an old or recent physical injury
have experienced a shock trauma (accident, attack, or natural disaster)
are exhausted, overwhelmed, or burned out
are navigating the peri/menopause transition
have an autoimmune condition, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, or some other complex, multi-layered syndrome
are healing from a surgery or medical procedure
feel challenged to feel good in your body
oscillate frequently between anxiety and shut down
desire a deeper level of healing than the usual bodywork offers
My approach is not one size fits all. I seek to listen, assess, and address my client’s needs each time we meet.
A somatic, nervous system focused approach allows for a deeper level of awareness and attunement to happen between the practitioner and client. In many ways, this connection mimics the physiological connection between an attuned caregiver and infant. This space fosters a sense of curiosity, openness, compassion, and acceptance, and encourages creative movement to happen. This is the space where deep healing can occur.
As we continue to expand and deepen our therapeutic relationship through our work together, your sense of safety and my sense of understanding of the unique needs of your body will deepen and expand in turn. This deepening will create a sense of greater attunement, leading you to an increased sense of feeling met, heard, understood, validated, and deeply cared for.
Some of the potential benefits of this work…
nervous system regulation
increased sense of calm and ability to relax
capacity to deal with the ups and downs of life without overwhelm
an internal sense of safety
alleviation of anxiety and depression
pain reduction
better sleep
deeper connection to and acceptance of your body
greater sense of agency and control over your life
alleviation of symptoms of chronic health issues
stress reduction
greater sense of trust in yourself and life
increased levels of self-confidence
restoration of health and homeostasis
return of focus and motivation
higher energy levels
alleviation of trauma symptoms
greater ability to accept life on life’s terms
return of flexibility and mobility
a sense of agency in your life
a grounded connection with your deeper self