The Power of Somatic Work: Unlocking the Body-Mind Connection
What is somatic work?
What if I told you that you could balance your emotions with greater ease—and with far less anxiety?
During my year‑long coaching certification training at the Institute for Coaching Mastery, I received in-depth instruction in somatics, learning how to support emotional resilience through mindful awareness of the body and its signals.
If you're not familiar with the term somatic work, it's likely because the word "somatic" has a medical connotation. In fact, somatic work is quite different from traditional medical treatments and is used to address physical and emotional pain for people of all ages.
Somatic work is a type of body-based psychotherapy that uses mindfulness and emotional awareness to help people explore their physical sensations, emotional experiences, and thought patterns. It can be used to address issues such as pain management, anxiety, or depression
While there are many types of somatic work available today, this article will focus on body-oriented therapies that use touch in order to help people relax and heal themselves on an emotional level.
Currently, stress, anxiety, and chronic pain are common issues that many individuals face. It is a holistic approach to healing and personal development that emphasises the importance of the body-mind connection. The term "somatic" is derived from the Greek word "soma," meaning "the living body." Somatic work recognises that our mental, emotional, and physical experiences are interconnected and that addressing one aspect can have profound effects on others.
Somatic work offers an approach to self-awareness, healing, and personal growth that focuses on the intricate connection between the body and the mind. This holistic practice encompasses a range of methods designed to help people gain a better understanding of their physical sensations, emotional experiences, and thought patterns. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of somatic work, its various forms, and the numerous benefits it offers for overall well-being.
Somatic therapists employ a variety of techniques including movement exercises (such as yoga), touch therapy (massage), art therapy techniques such as painting or sculpting with clay; writing exercises like journaling or poetry composition; role-playing scenarios where clients act out different characters within their lives until they find one that feels right; breathing exercises focusing on inhaling through each nostril separately so you're aware not just of how much air goes into each lung but also where exactly it goes inside our bodies."
What Are the Benefits of Somatic Work?
Somatic work is rooted in the belief that our bodies hold the key to understanding our past traumas, emotional patterns, and belief systems. By tuning into our bodily sensations and becoming aware of how our emotions manifest physically, we can unlock the potential for deeper self-awareness, healing, and growth.
Somatic work is a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. It can help you become aware of your body, emotions, and thought patterns in the present moment. This awareness can lead to greater self-care as well as a deeper connection between the mind and body.
The benefits of somatic therapy include:
Awareness of your body, emotions, and thought patterns
Connection between the mind/body connection
Healing from trauma or stressors
Somatic work can also help improve physical sensations (like pain), emotional experiences (such as anxiety), and thought patterns that contribute to stressors in our lives (like perfectionism).
Somatic work offers numerous benefits for mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Some key advantages of engaging in somatic practices include:
Stress Reduction: Somatic work can help individuals develop greater self-awareness and more effective stress management techniques. By learning to recognize and respond to bodily sensations, one can better identify triggers and implement coping strategies to alleviate stress.
Emotional Regulation: By tuning into the body's physical sensations, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of their emotional experiences. Somatic work allows for the identification and release of stored emotions, leading to improved emotional regulation and resilience.
Trauma Resolution: Trauma can manifest as chronic tension, pain, and emotional distress. Somatic work provides a safe space to process and release trauma stored in the body, fostering healing and personal growth.
Improved Body Awareness: Somatic practices help individuals become more aware of their bodies, allowing for better recognition of physical sensations, tension patterns, and areas of discomfort. This heightened body awareness can lead to improved posture, movement, and overall physical health.
Enhanced Mindfulness: Somatic work encourages mindfulness by focusing on the present moment and the body's sensations. This increased mindfulness can improve mental clarity, focus, and overall well-being.
Pain Management: By addressing the underlying causes of chronic pain and tension, somatic work can help alleviate discomfort and improve overall physical function. Techniques such as gentle movement, breathwork, and touch can release tension and promote relaxation.
Increased Flexibility and Mobility: Somatic practices can improve flexibility and mobility by releasing muscle tension, enhancing joint function, and promoting more efficient movement patterns.
Enhanced Self-Expression: Through somatic work, individuals can learn to express themselves more authentically by connecting with their emotions and physical sensations. This can lead to increased self-confidence and a greater sense of personal identity.
Strengthened Body-Mind Connection: Somatic work helps to reinforce the connection between the body and the mind, leading to a more integrated sense of self and a deeper understanding of one's emotions, thoughts, and physical experiences.
Personal Growth and Development: By addressing and releasing stored emotions, somatic work can facilitate personal growth and self-discovery. This process of exploration can lead to a greater understanding of one's values, beliefs, and patterns, ultimately promoting positive change and growth.
Forms of Somatic Work
Somatic work encompasses various modalities and practices, each with its unique approach to addressing the body-mind connection. Some common forms of somatic work include:
Somatic Experiencing (SE): Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, SE is a therapeutic approach that helps individuals release trauma stored in the body. Through focused awareness on bodily sensations, clients learn to identify and release tension, fostering emotional regulation and healing.
Body-Mind Centering (BMC): Founded by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, BMC is an integrative approach to movement, bodywork, and consciousness that incorporates touch, movement, and visualization techniques to promote self-awareness and embodiment.
Feldenkrais Method: Created by Moshe Feldenkrais, this method uses gentle movement and guided attention to improve self-awareness, flexibility, and coordination. It helps individuals develop a more efficient and comfortable way of moving, reducing pain and tension.
Hakomi: Developed by Ron Kurtz, Hakomi is a form of body-centered psychotherapy that combines mindfulness, touch, and movement to explore the mind-body connection and promote self-discovery, healing, and growth.
Bioenergetics: This therapeutic approach, founded by Alexander Lowen, focuses on the relationship between the body's energy and emotions. Through movement, breathwork, and expressive exercises, clients learn to release blocked emotions and improve their emotional well-being.
Is It for You?
If you're interested in exploring your body, mind, and emotions and want to learn more about their connection with somatic work then this may be for you.
If you want to learn more about how your body interacts with the world around it through movement, posture and breathing then somatic work is definitely something worth exploring.
In my coaching container I create a safe space to explore your body's relationship to emotion, trauma, and stress. We will utilise breath work, mindfulness practices, and movement exercises that can help you become more in touch with your body and mind.
Who Can Benefit From Somatic Work?
Somatic work can benefit anyone who is interested in learning more about their body, mind and emotions. It's a great way to improve your health and wellbeing, as well as deal with stress.
If you have experienced trauma or abuse, somatic work may be especially helpful for you because it helps the body heal from these experiences through the process of self-care. That said, when a client moves beyond their comfort zone and their response is trauma-related, I always guide them back to a place of safety first. I believe deeply in creating a supportive space, but I also honour my scope of practice. I’m not a licensed psychologist, so when deeper trauma surfaces, I refer clients to a trusted mental health professional. Healing is not a race, and sometimes the bravest thing we can do is ask for more support.
Overall, somatic work offers a holistic approach to healing and personal development, emphasising the importance of the body-mind connection and addressing the interconnected nature of our mental, emotional, and physical experiences. If you want to learn more about your body, mind, and emotions, somatic work can help.
Somatic work is a way of learning more about the body, mind and emotions. It can help you to understand your body, mind and emotions better. For example:
If you have trouble sleeping or staying asleep, somatic work may help you understand what is causing this problem.
If there are situations in which you feel very tense or anxious (for example during an argument with someone), somatic work can help identify why this happens and how to deal with it differently next time around.
If there are times when something triggers strong feelings such as anger or sadness but they don't seem connected with anything specific happening right now--and perhaps they even seem irrational--somatic work may provide some insight into why these feelings arise from time-to-time regardless of whether anything specific happens around them
Somatic work is a great way to learn more about yourself. The benefits of somatic work are many and varied, but they all center around the idea of getting in touch with your body, mind and emotions in new ways. If you're interested in trying somatic work for yourself, we encourage you to check out our other articles on the subject!
Many women pull back when I mention that I use somatic work in coaching. Not because it doesn’t resonate—but because deep down, they’re afraid of what they might feel. One woman told me honestly, “I don’t want to feel.” And I get it. Feeling can be terrifying when we’ve spent a lifetime avoiding what hurts.
But here’s the truth: the feelings you avoid are the ones holding you hostage. What most don’t realise is that on the other side of those emotions is a kind of freedom they’ve been aching for—freedom from the old stories, the stuckness, the invisible weight they’ve been carrying. When we gently meet what’s been buried, we don’t become overwhelmed—we become whole.
How My F.O.R.T.E. Framework Deepens the Somatic Journey
In my coaching practice, somatic work isn’t a standalone technique. It’s woven into every part of the F.O.R.T.E. framework I use to guide women back to themselves.
Each letter represents a stage of transformation, and each one meets the body where it’s at:
F – Find Uncover what you truly want, beneath the noise, the roles you’ve been assigned, and the expectations you’ve absorbed. This is where clarity begins.
O – Obstacles Identify the hidden patterns, limiting beliefs, and emotional blocks that quietly keep you stuck or playing small. What’s in the way often isn’t what you think.
R – Reality Come home to the unfiltered truth of who you are, without apology or performance. This is where personal power lives: in radical self-honesty.
T – Techniques Choose tools and practices that support your whole self, not just your productivity. We integrate mindset, nervous system care, and somatic practices to nourish every part of you.
E – Execution Turn insight into aligned action. Move forward with clarity, courage, and devotion to the life you actually want, not the one you’ve been taught to settle for.
The beauty of somatic work is that it allows you to bypass the inner critic and connect with a deeper wisdom. When paired with a clear framework like F.O.R.T.E., that wisdom becomes a guide—not just in sessions, but in life.
