Somatic Healing Tools To Use for Chronic Pain
Somatic Healing Tools To Use for Chronic Pain
Somatic Healing Tools To Use for Chronic Pain
Somatic Experiencing and its Role in Healing
Somatic Experiencing and its Role in Healing
Somatic Experiencing and its Role in Healing
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
July 1, 2024
Chronic pain and tension can take a toll on your nervous system and impact so many elements of your life. My name is Sara Moskowitz, and I am a trauma therapist specializing in a modality called Somatic Experiencing (SE). Somatic Experiencing is a gentle and powerful tool to help you learn the language of your body. This article will explain three ways to connect to your body daily to release unnecessary tension and rediscover the resilience within you. By using somatic healing tools throughout your days, you will feel more ease and less reactive to stressors.
Think of taking care of your stress similarly to having to do the dishes – you’re going to have to tend to it eventually, and doing them a few times a day (or at least once a day) is much less daunting than waiting a whole week to let them pile up.
Somatic Healing Tool #1: Orient to the Present Moment
The why: Orienting in Somatic Experiencing is the process of scanning the environment to decide if there is danger or safety. Imagine that you’re walking in the woods and hear a rustle in the trees. Your body uses orienting to decide if the sound is a threat (a bear!) or something non-remarkable (a bird). Simple as it may sound, orienting is one of the first steps of a stress response and if it is interrupted, we are constantly on edge. Some folks describe it as the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The how: You may already “know” in your logical mind that you’re safe, but your body needs time and very specific input to catch up with your brain. First, scan the room like you’ve never been in it before. If you can move around, touch some furniture and sense the texture on your skin. Use your neck muscles to turn your head, use your peripheral vision, and listen to the sounds around you. Finally, notice where in your body you sense any greater ease.
Somatic Healing Tool #2: Finding a Resource
The why: Unlike traditional therapies that often focus on verbal expression, Somatic Experiencing zeros in on the sensations and physical responses in your body. Your body (and the stresses it holds) does not speak English – it whispers in sensations, movements, and rhythms. When we can translate thoughts of safety into the language your body understands, regulation is much faster and more effective.
The how: First, find something pleasant – ideally something happening in/on your body, but it can be a nice piece of art or something in your environment too. If everything is awful inside and you’re in an aesthetically unappealing place (hey, it happens), finding something neutral works too. For example: my shirt is soft on my skin, or my feet feel firm on the ground. Track (or pay attention to) the sensation that emerges from the thing you’ve chosen to focus on. Perhaps your breath gets a bit deeper or your muscles relax. Ta da! You’ve down-regulated your nervous system.
Somatic Healing Tool #3: Move Through a Stress Response
The why: Imagine the residual tension you have at the end of a workday or a long day of trying not to explode at your kids. Somatic Experiencing uses the term “incomplete stress responses” to describe the buildup of tension and stress in the body that doesn’t get to release throughout the day. It can take a toll on the body if you reach the end of the day (or go months, or years..) without expressing the raw stress responses you’ve built up. AND, we can’t be yelling at everyone who makes us angry or running away from everything we find stressful. Enter tool #3: moving through the response.
The how: As with everything in SE, you’ve got options. Here is a popular option (and if it doesn’t work for you, no worries – reach out and we can come up with what does): notice the point of your body where you’re experiencing tension. Say, for example, your neck is tight. Instead of stretching it out, try going with the tension pattern and turning in the direction it’s already taking you. Do it slowly to help your body realize it happened. See if you can satisfy whatever impulse your body is having to return further to your baseline.
Each of these somatic healing tools are portable and can be done discretely. Try experimenting with a few each day and see what happens for your body. If you’d like to customize a plan, reach out today and we can make one for you!
Chronic pain and tension can take a toll on your nervous system and impact so many elements of your life. My name is Sara Moskowitz, and I am a trauma therapist specializing in a modality called Somatic Experiencing (SE). Somatic Experiencing is a gentle and powerful tool to help you learn the language of your body. This article will explain three ways to connect to your body daily to release unnecessary tension and rediscover the resilience within you. By using somatic healing tools throughout your days, you will feel more ease and less reactive to stressors.
Think of taking care of your stress similarly to having to do the dishes – you’re going to have to tend to it eventually, and doing them a few times a day (or at least once a day) is much less daunting than waiting a whole week to let them pile up.
Somatic Healing Tool #1: Orient to the Present Moment
The why: Orienting in Somatic Experiencing is the process of scanning the environment to decide if there is danger or safety. Imagine that you’re walking in the woods and hear a rustle in the trees. Your body uses orienting to decide if the sound is a threat (a bear!) or something non-remarkable (a bird). Simple as it may sound, orienting is one of the first steps of a stress response and if it is interrupted, we are constantly on edge. Some folks describe it as the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The how: You may already “know” in your logical mind that you’re safe, but your body needs time and very specific input to catch up with your brain. First, scan the room like you’ve never been in it before. If you can move around, touch some furniture and sense the texture on your skin. Use your neck muscles to turn your head, use your peripheral vision, and listen to the sounds around you. Finally, notice where in your body you sense any greater ease.
Somatic Healing Tool #2: Finding a Resource
The why: Unlike traditional therapies that often focus on verbal expression, Somatic Experiencing zeros in on the sensations and physical responses in your body. Your body (and the stresses it holds) does not speak English – it whispers in sensations, movements, and rhythms. When we can translate thoughts of safety into the language your body understands, regulation is much faster and more effective.
The how: First, find something pleasant – ideally something happening in/on your body, but it can be a nice piece of art or something in your environment too. If everything is awful inside and you’re in an aesthetically unappealing place (hey, it happens), finding something neutral works too. For example: my shirt is soft on my skin, or my feet feel firm on the ground. Track (or pay attention to) the sensation that emerges from the thing you’ve chosen to focus on. Perhaps your breath gets a bit deeper or your muscles relax. Ta da! You’ve down-regulated your nervous system.
Somatic Healing Tool #3: Move Through a Stress Response
The why: Imagine the residual tension you have at the end of a workday or a long day of trying not to explode at your kids. Somatic Experiencing uses the term “incomplete stress responses” to describe the buildup of tension and stress in the body that doesn’t get to release throughout the day. It can take a toll on the body if you reach the end of the day (or go months, or years..) without expressing the raw stress responses you’ve built up. AND, we can’t be yelling at everyone who makes us angry or running away from everything we find stressful. Enter tool #3: moving through the response.
The how: As with everything in SE, you’ve got options. Here is a popular option (and if it doesn’t work for you, no worries – reach out and we can come up with what does): notice the point of your body where you’re experiencing tension. Say, for example, your neck is tight. Instead of stretching it out, try going with the tension pattern and turning in the direction it’s already taking you. Do it slowly to help your body realize it happened. See if you can satisfy whatever impulse your body is having to return further to your baseline.
Each of these somatic healing tools are portable and can be done discretely. Try experimenting with a few each day and see what happens for your body. If you’d like to customize a plan, reach out today and we can make one for you!
Chronic pain and tension can take a toll on your nervous system and impact so many elements of your life. My name is Sara Moskowitz, and I am a trauma therapist specializing in a modality called Somatic Experiencing (SE). Somatic Experiencing is a gentle and powerful tool to help you learn the language of your body. This article will explain three ways to connect to your body daily to release unnecessary tension and rediscover the resilience within you. By using somatic healing tools throughout your days, you will feel more ease and less reactive to stressors.
Think of taking care of your stress similarly to having to do the dishes – you’re going to have to tend to it eventually, and doing them a few times a day (or at least once a day) is much less daunting than waiting a whole week to let them pile up.
Somatic Healing Tool #1: Orient to the Present Moment
The why: Orienting in Somatic Experiencing is the process of scanning the environment to decide if there is danger or safety. Imagine that you’re walking in the woods and hear a rustle in the trees. Your body uses orienting to decide if the sound is a threat (a bear!) or something non-remarkable (a bird). Simple as it may sound, orienting is one of the first steps of a stress response and if it is interrupted, we are constantly on edge. Some folks describe it as the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The how: You may already “know” in your logical mind that you’re safe, but your body needs time and very specific input to catch up with your brain. First, scan the room like you’ve never been in it before. If you can move around, touch some furniture and sense the texture on your skin. Use your neck muscles to turn your head, use your peripheral vision, and listen to the sounds around you. Finally, notice where in your body you sense any greater ease.
Somatic Healing Tool #2: Finding a Resource
The why: Unlike traditional therapies that often focus on verbal expression, Somatic Experiencing zeros in on the sensations and physical responses in your body. Your body (and the stresses it holds) does not speak English – it whispers in sensations, movements, and rhythms. When we can translate thoughts of safety into the language your body understands, regulation is much faster and more effective.
The how: First, find something pleasant – ideally something happening in/on your body, but it can be a nice piece of art or something in your environment too. If everything is awful inside and you’re in an aesthetically unappealing place (hey, it happens), finding something neutral works too. For example: my shirt is soft on my skin, or my feet feel firm on the ground. Track (or pay attention to) the sensation that emerges from the thing you’ve chosen to focus on. Perhaps your breath gets a bit deeper or your muscles relax. Ta da! You’ve down-regulated your nervous system.
Somatic Healing Tool #3: Move Through a Stress Response
The why: Imagine the residual tension you have at the end of a workday or a long day of trying not to explode at your kids. Somatic Experiencing uses the term “incomplete stress responses” to describe the buildup of tension and stress in the body that doesn’t get to release throughout the day. It can take a toll on the body if you reach the end of the day (or go months, or years..) without expressing the raw stress responses you’ve built up. AND, we can’t be yelling at everyone who makes us angry or running away from everything we find stressful. Enter tool #3: moving through the response.
The how: As with everything in SE, you’ve got options. Here is a popular option (and if it doesn’t work for you, no worries – reach out and we can come up with what does): notice the point of your body where you’re experiencing tension. Say, for example, your neck is tight. Instead of stretching it out, try going with the tension pattern and turning in the direction it’s already taking you. Do it slowly to help your body realize it happened. See if you can satisfy whatever impulse your body is having to return further to your baseline.
Each of these somatic healing tools are portable and can be done discretely. Try experimenting with a few each day and see what happens for your body. If you’d like to customize a plan, reach out today and we can make one for you!
Sara Moskowitz
Sara Moskowitz
Sara Moskowitz
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Explore more reflections, guidance, and practical tools to support your growth and well-being.
Explore more reflections, guidance, and practical tools to support your growth and well-being.
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with fixing things. From quick-fix workouts to “miracle” pain solutions, we’re surrounded by messages that say: If something hurts, something must be wrong. And if something’s wrong… you must be broken. But what if that’s not true? What if pain isn’t proof of damage… but a call for attention, compassion, and understanding?
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with fixing things. From quick-fix workouts to “miracle” pain solutions, we’re surrounded by messages that say: If something hurts, something must be wrong. And if something’s wrong… you must be broken. But what if that’s not true? What if pain isn’t proof of damage… but a call for attention, compassion, and understanding?
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with fixing things. From quick-fix workouts to “miracle” pain solutions, we’re surrounded by messages that say: If something hurts, something must be wrong. And if something’s wrong… you must be broken. But what if that’s not true? What if pain isn’t proof of damage… but a call for attention, compassion, and understanding?
Did Cavepeople need to do their 3 sets of 10? Or were they versatile enough to handle all that life threw their way?
Did Cavepeople need to do their 3 sets of 10? Or were they versatile enough to handle all that life threw their way?
Did Cavepeople need to do their 3 sets of 10? Or were they versatile enough to handle all that life threw their way?
Your questions.
Answered.
Not sure what to expect? These answers might help you feel more confident as you begin.
Didn’t find your answer? Send us a message — we’ll respond with care and clarity.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
What can I expect from the first session?
What can I expect from the first session?
The first session is all about getting a thorough background, comprehensive analysis of your strength, flexibility, and mobility, and understanding your history with pain. You’ll talk with your PT about what brings you here, what's held you back in the past, and where you'd like to go.
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Yes. Whether you prefer meeting face-to-face or from the comfort of home, we offer flexible options to meet you where you are.
What treatment strategies do you employ?
What treatment strategies do you employ?
Some of the skills which we will discuss and develop are listed below.
Graded and meaningful progression into safe movement and exercise based on your initial evaluation.
Education on Pain Neuroscience and how our understanding of pain and our nervous system plays a large role in our experience of pain.
Developing Mindfulness Meditation skills as a tool to calm the nervous system, relate to your pain differently, create a deeper understanding of your thoughts, emotions, and sensations to provide a fuller experience of daily life and deepen your presence.
Identifying and developing a plan surrounding your personal values which you would like to lead life by.
Other things which we will address are adequate sleep hygiene, appropriate aerobic exercise, working with acceptance of what is, and much more.
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Depending on where you want to go in your therapy, Mindfulness Meditation can act as any number of things for you and your life. Let's start with some definitions.
Mindfulness is the purposeful ability to observe one's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without judgment, and to be fully present in the current moment
Meditation is the tool which we use to cultivate mindfulness in our daily lives.
Okay... so why mindfulness meditation for my recovery?
The implications of practicing Mindfulness Meditation with patience and persistence can be profound to your recovery from injury or pain. It can also have an impact to your contact to the present moment, your relationships to yourself and your thoughts, to your loved ones, and the world. You can learn to deal with stress, hardships, and the ups and downs of life with more equanimity.
We're taking your body to the gym by doing the exercises we prescribe. Why not also take your mind to the gym and help create lasting habits which can improve your quality of life.
Your questions.
Answered.
Not sure what to expect? These answers might help you feel more confident as you begin.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
What can I expect from the first session?
What can I expect from the first session?
The first session is all about getting a thorough background, comprehensive analysis of your strength, flexibility, and mobility, and understanding your history with pain. You’ll talk with your PT about what brings you here, what's held you back in the past, and where you'd like to go.
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Yes. Whether you prefer meeting face-to-face or from the comfort of home, we offer flexible options to meet you where you are.
What treatment strategies do you employ?
What treatment strategies do you employ?
Some of the skills which we will discuss and develop are listed below.
Graded and meaningful progression into safe movement and exercise based on your initial evaluation.
Education on Pain Neuroscience and how our understanding of pain and our nervous system plays a large role in our experience of pain.
Developing Mindfulness Meditation skills as a tool to calm the nervous system, relate to your pain differently, create a deeper understanding of your thoughts, emotions, and sensations to provide a fuller experience of daily life and deepen your presence.
Identifying and developing a plan surrounding your personal values which you would like to lead life by.
Other things which we will address are adequate sleep hygiene, appropriate aerobic exercise, working with acceptance of what is, and much more.
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Depending on where you want to go in your therapy, Mindfulness Meditation can act as any number of things for you and your life. Let's start with some definitions.
Mindfulness is the purposeful ability to observe one's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without judgment, and to be fully present in the current moment
Meditation is the tool which we use to cultivate mindfulness in our daily lives.
Okay... so why mindfulness meditation for my recovery?
The implications of practicing Mindfulness Meditation with patience and persistence can be profound to your recovery from injury or pain. It can also have an impact to your contact to the present moment, your relationships to yourself and your thoughts, to your loved ones, and the world. You can learn to deal with stress, hardships, and the ups and downs of life with more equanimity.
We're taking your body to the gym by doing the exercises we prescribe. Why not also take your mind to the gym and help create lasting habits which can improve your quality of life.
Didn’t find your answer? Send us a message — we’ll respond with care and clarity.
Your questions.
Answered.
Not sure what to expect? These answers might help you feel more confident as you begin.
Didn’t find your answer? Send us a message — we’ll respond with care and clarity.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
How is this different than other physical therapy practices?
We don’t just chase symptoms, we help you understand them and find the root cause. Most PT clinics will give you a list of exercises, send you home, and hope for the best. At Mindful Motion, we slow things down. We start by listening to your story, digging into the “why” behind your pain, and creating a plan that works for your life.
What can I expect from the first session?
What can I expect from the first session?
The first session is all about getting a thorough background, comprehensive analysis of your strength, flexibility, and mobility, and understanding your history with pain. You’ll talk with your PT about what brings you here, what's held you back in the past, and where you'd like to go.
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Do you offer both online and in-person sessions?
Yes. Whether you prefer meeting face-to-face or from the comfort of home, we offer flexible options to meet you where you are.
What treatment strategies do you employ?
What treatment strategies do you employ?
Some of the skills which we will discuss and develop are listed below.
Graded and meaningful progression into safe movement and exercise based on your initial evaluation.
Education on Pain Neuroscience and how our understanding of pain and our nervous system plays a large role in our experience of pain.
Developing Mindfulness Meditation skills as a tool to calm the nervous system, relate to your pain differently, create a deeper understanding of your thoughts, emotions, and sensations to provide a fuller experience of daily life and deepen your presence.
Identifying and developing a plan surrounding your personal values which you would like to lead life by.
Other things which we will address are adequate sleep hygiene, appropriate aerobic exercise, working with acceptance of what is, and much more.
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Why Mindfulness Meditation?
Depending on where you want to go in your therapy, Mindfulness Meditation can act as any number of things for you and your life. Let's start with some definitions.
Mindfulness is the purposeful ability to observe one's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations without judgment, and to be fully present in the current moment
Meditation is the tool which we use to cultivate mindfulness in our daily lives.
Okay... so why mindfulness meditation for my recovery?
The implications of practicing Mindfulness Meditation with patience and persistence can be profound to your recovery from injury or pain. It can also have an impact to your contact to the present moment, your relationships to yourself and your thoughts, to your loved ones, and the world. You can learn to deal with stress, hardships, and the ups and downs of life with more equanimity.
We're taking your body to the gym by doing the exercises we prescribe. Why not also take your mind to the gym and help create lasting habits which can improve your quality of life.