My Journey to Somatic’s
In 2018 I was in a car accident on the highway where I was rear ended by a car going 80mph. Gratefully I was able to still walk but that accident ended up restricting the movement in my body and my ability to move my body as a professional dancer, instructor and coach. I had pain in my body in ways I didn’t know were possible I lost access to my ability to spin and turn, which is something I was very proficient in. Not being able to do the things that I had always been able to do with no problem was really scary. As a professional dancer I had experienced targeted injuries in specific places in my body before but this was all encompassing. Being a professional dancer I needed my body to work properly for me in every way. Thru this process I saw 2 different physical therapist who were trying to help me rehab but were giving me things that I could do easily but I needed more mobility and less pain and they weren’t fixing this. Thankfully a friend recommended someone who was a PT and a somatic practitioner. This is where it all changed for me, and not only helped me to find a pain free existence for myself but they also helped me learn to connect to my body and to listen to the language of my body. Somatic at its root word soma in greek means of the body. (SOMA - the body as distinct from the soul, mind, or psyche ) I learned that I had been abusing and forcing my body to push thru so many things and had not built trust with my self in honoring my own needs and boundaries. Being a professional athlete or dancer or even a student of these things, you learn to not stop just cause you are in pain your coaches teach you to push thru to keep going. Or if you feel something is off it shouldn’t matter your brain is supposed to be in control. A big saying we heard all the time growing up is “Its 90% mental” this meant to me that I just had to make the change with sheer will and power thru any physical limitations. This is a very patriarchal and colonialist point of view to have in my humble opinion. The process and practice of tuning in to your body is a way to buck the system of oppression its a way to turn back to our inner organic wisdom and learning about our own intuition and knowledge about what is actually good for us. Not just letting others tell us what to do or how to do it. Our bodies have intrinsic intelligence and I am so grateful I have learned how to speak this language and to hear my own bodies needs, wants and desire and to be able to show others how they to can learn to trust their bodies and listen to their own inner wisdom thru the experience of working with a somatic facilitator like me.
