Somatic Therapy
in Oakland and online across California
Find healing and liberation by
coming back home to your body.
What stories does your body tell?
Does your body whisper with a slight tension on your shoulders or a mild sense of fatigue?
Or does it speaks a little louder with an unsettled stomach or a clenched jaw?
Perhaps at times it screams with heart racing panic or it feels stuck filled with confusion?
Are your chest and shoulders softer and relaxed when you feel the support of a loved one?
Do you sense a smile and your eyes brighten when you feel excited about something?
Are you curious to try a holistic form of therapy that includes the experience of body in your healing journey?
Somatic therapy is a holistic approach that understands the mind and the body are interconnected and that our bodies complete the story of our experience using the language of sensations, tensions, and movements.
Unlike talk therapy, in somatic therapy we invite experiences like breath, movement, sensations, and mindfulness as we dance between the story the mind wants to tell and the one the body feels. This approach works in helping to release stress, tension, and trauma.
Healing from the impact of anxiety, stress and/or trauma is possible with somatic therapy. This work can help you feel more present, understand your needs and access more freedom and flow in your life.
Somatic therapy can help you tap into the your body’s wisdom and capacity to support your healing.
Somatic Therapy & the Nervous System
Do any of these feel familiar?
You feel a sense of urgency and constant stress. Everything needs to be done now, maybe perfectly. You can’t stop thinking about stressful things. It’s very difficult to rest or sleep. Your body feels tense, your muscles contracted.
It feels ready to go and… fight the problem!
Perhaps on the other hand, stress is overwhelming and you avoid tending things. It feels anxious.
You fantasize about taking a flight somewhere far.
Other times you feel tired. Your physical and emotional energies feel drained. Maybe there’s helplessness or hopelessness.
It feels numb, and all you want is to curl in or shutdown.
And there are times when you feel life is manageable. You can access creativity and flow. It’s easy to be playful. Your body feels open and grounded.
You feel connected to others and the world around you.
These experiences correspond to different states of the Nervous System. These states of our nervous system tell us about our sense of safety and our capacity to meet life challenges.
My approach to somatic therapy includes understanding and working with the nervous system as a rightful ally in your healing.
Together we will listen to your body and decode the messages it is trying to communicate through stress, overwhelm and anxiety.
So much is possible when we do this! It opens the door for you to feel relief and support to know you what you need in your healing.
Each of our bodies hold our unique identities and histories.
They are a site of wisdom.
Being aware of the body experience is a practice.
Our postures, breath, sensations, and movements tell our histories. Sometimes these can feel overwhelming and make us move our attention away from the body. Through life we learn what movements and sensations feel right, keep us protected, and help us feel we belong. We can find ourselves tense, disconnected, numb, shrinking, or overwhelmed as our body helps us deal with trauma, pain, suffering, loss, isolation and oppression. Yes, patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism are traumas that live in the body too.
But our bodies also carry our histories of strength, healing and resilience.
Accessing the wisdom inherent in your body… Coming back to this site of knowledge is a rebellious act against the oppressive forces that push you into rushing, overdoing, overthinking, and disconnecting.
In my somatic therapy, I describe the work we often do as a healing process that involves practicing the following:
Slowing down
Paying attention
Feeling
Liberating
These are not linear steps to follow but a mindfulness process of making space for what’s present, listening, uncovering and tending.
Are you curious about what healing is possible when you make space for the experience of your body?
If you’re looking to…
1
Slow down and have more capacity to feel without overwhelm
2
Practice mindfulness and feel more connected to the present moment
3
Nourish trust instead of self-doubt
4
Find the flow you need to move from what keeps you stuck
5
Listen to the stories that live in your body and discover what they need to heal
…then let’s connect.
Your body has wisdom to help you heal.
Let’s uncover it together!
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There’s no need for previous experience with somatics. As we begin to pay attention to the body experience it is common to not have words to name what we feel. With practice you will find the experience of the body becomes more available and it will be easier to tap into.
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This makes so much sense. The body holds emotions and stories about our lives. Sometimes when we slow down they all are felt all at once. If this is the case, we will work to increase the capacity to be with these feelings so that they feel less overwhelming. We don’t have to feel everything at once. We can take the time it’s needed.
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As part of our work, I may invite you into trying a specific somatic practice during our sessions. I may share resources for you to try you outside of sessions. They will be connected to what is coming up in the session and what you are wanting to focus on your healing. I believe it’s important to have a set of practices that consistently support us to heal from chronic stress and anxiety. Having said that, my style is less about teaching general practices for stress and anxiety but helping you practice to pay attention to the present moment and, as a result, help you discover what practices feel right for you.
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I consider myself a long-term passionate student and practitioner of somatics. My work understanding the relationship between the mind and the body started when I became bodyworker in Puerto Rico in 2003. Since then I’ve completed a masters degree in Somatic Psychology as well as training in Somatic Experiencing, generative somatics, polyvagal theory and neuroscience, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, as well as many other trauma treatment modalities. Please visit my About Me page for additional information about my credentials.
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Contact me to schedule a free phone consultation. I can answer your questions and help you figure out if I can be of support to you.