This is a somatic thing

I realized the other day that at 53 years old, I still have almost an entire lifetime to live all over again. My people tend to live until their 90s, so I’ve got from toddlerhood until now to do again. In the past this would have caused me unbelievable dread. I remember once when I was in my late 30s saying to my sister, “I’m almost 40, which means I’ve only got 20 years until I’m 60, and then I’ll be practically dead!” I said it with such enthusiasm and relief. But now that I’ve got so much time, I’m considering doing a bunch of things that I had decided not to focus on years ago, like taking a blacksmithing class. Doing this substack. Making a shade garden.

There is an expansiveness and calmness in thinking I have all the time to do all the things, without urgency, even if the world is dying. The last few years have been humbling on a global scale, but grounding on a personal level, partially because I love being a therapist. 

I love the synthesis of taking all the things I’ve read and experienced, my own personal therapy, things I learned in workshops and classes, and pulling it all together in the service of others. It’s such a creative act, and I marvel at all the unique ways people become vulnerable, hold their discomfort and pain, shift within that, and become more themselves.

I particularly love doing somatic work, and I’ll be talking about this a lot more in coming newsletters. Somatics means “of the body.” The type of somatic work I do is not just sensing into the body and becoming mindful or seeing what’s there, but rather it is connecting with the body in a gentle but directed way, helping the tension and trauma patterns that have been stuck find completion so they can reset and release.

I first became interested in somatics when a therapist I had at the rape-crisis center had me push my feet into the ground, one and then the other, like a slow motion run, whenever I started to feel panic rising. It was bizarrely helpful in a way that talking about what had happened wasn’t. She said “this is a somatic thing,” and I was like “Someday, when I’m a therapist, that’s what I’m going to study!”

So if you want, try this now. If you’re not feeling stressed, just imagine you’re in a meeting with your boss or collective members, lol. Take a breath, with your feet on the ground, and bring your awareness inside, however much feels tolerable, which may just be like 5%, it doesn’t really matter. Then push one foot into the ground, and then the other, one and then the other. Imagine running or walking out the door, into a field or city street, whatever your jam is. 

And if you didn’t feel anything, no big deal. Good job! See you next week.