Hi Jane! I resonate with this post, and thanks for sharing it.
I agree that chasing positive somatic experiences, putting embodiment on a pedestal or fantasizing that the body will be an oracle is problematic or 'out of balance.'
I also agree that an integrated 'body-mind' is key, and that we have to face and deal with our problems and challenges and not bypass them to evolve our lives.
However, I do value the current trend and explorations around nervous system regulation. That is, I think that IN ORDER to follow through on actions we need to take in our lives, it can be so, so helpful to have greater capacity to stay regulated and grounded in our bodies, especially to tolerate the stress of change, growth and healing.
So, in my view, it's less about elevating the body... but rather, developing new levels of internal, embodied stability to do the very problem-addressing or change-making I see you pointing at and valuing.
Thanks for sharing, Nicola. Being able to stabilize our states and build egoic capacity to face our shadow is always a first step in my work. We need a strong ego to do shadow work and to not be overwhelm by the unconscious. I appreciate your reflections.
I really resonated with the point you make “we still
have to change the way we think”. So often I hear certain “somatic apologists” almost deify the body, much in the same way some white westerners idealize or pedestalize indigenous cultures. Like the body is some savage savant and “all we need to do” to return to some long-lost home is have an ecstatic merging with the body and then no more difficulty, no more suffering.
Thanks a million for this Jane, it's incredibly affirming for my own lived experience. I trained in a number of somatic modalities including feminine embodiment coaching, which pushed me deeper into the feminine that then led to enantiodromia. The last year and half of analysis has been particularly brutal as the masculine smashed through my psyche and floored me for about six months, I'm only really integrating now but feeling so much more balanced. It was the Hermes energy or who I would see in the Irish tradition as Mannanán Mac Lir who guided me out for which I am ever grateful. I really value your wisdom and insight here, so illuminating!
Thank you Jane. In my own therapy and work as a clinical psychologist I worked psychodynamically and had very little focus on somatics. At some point in my own process (and I felt this when working with people too) I could not “move” with my intellect anymore. I found my way to somatic experiencing which opened up a lot for me and it now makes sense to me that it gave me access to more unconscious information which I wasn’t able to access through my intellect.
I really appreciate this distinction you made between sensations as information to process consciously rather than moving through the sensations as the end of the process and it remaining sort of an unconscious experience overall that doesn’t necessarily have a lasting impact. The somatic experience could have the same dead end effect that I experienced with the focus on the intellect previously.
Your post has given me some direction as to what it might possibly look like to integrate somatics in my work as a clinical psychologist in the future without needing to throw out the psychodynamic part completely or neglect the wisdom of the body again.
Hmmmm…. Yes…. This really resonates. Uncomfortably! I’d love to hear more about the integration and keeping it conscious, that is where it gets slippery.
Hi Jane! I resonate with this post, and thanks for sharing it.
I agree that chasing positive somatic experiences, putting embodiment on a pedestal or fantasizing that the body will be an oracle is problematic or 'out of balance.'
I also agree that an integrated 'body-mind' is key, and that we have to face and deal with our problems and challenges and not bypass them to evolve our lives.
However, I do value the current trend and explorations around nervous system regulation. That is, I think that IN ORDER to follow through on actions we need to take in our lives, it can be so, so helpful to have greater capacity to stay regulated and grounded in our bodies, especially to tolerate the stress of change, growth and healing.
So, in my view, it's less about elevating the body... but rather, developing new levels of internal, embodied stability to do the very problem-addressing or change-making I see you pointing at and valuing.
Thanks for sharing, Nicola. Being able to stabilize our states and build egoic capacity to face our shadow is always a first step in my work. We need a strong ego to do shadow work and to not be overwhelm by the unconscious. I appreciate your reflections.
I think we're on the same page :) - and your foundation-building sounds so crucial, responsible and thoughtful. Thanks for responding!
☺️
I really resonated with the point you make “we still
have to change the way we think”. So often I hear certain “somatic apologists” almost deify the body, much in the same way some white westerners idealize or pedestalize indigenous cultures. Like the body is some savage savant and “all we need to do” to return to some long-lost home is have an ecstatic merging with the body and then no more difficulty, no more suffering.
Damn, Kristy. Those are wise and clear words. I haven't heard it expressed quite that way. It really lands. Wow.
Thank you, Jane!
Thanks a million for this Jane, it's incredibly affirming for my own lived experience. I trained in a number of somatic modalities including feminine embodiment coaching, which pushed me deeper into the feminine that then led to enantiodromia. The last year and half of analysis has been particularly brutal as the masculine smashed through my psyche and floored me for about six months, I'm only really integrating now but feeling so much more balanced. It was the Hermes energy or who I would see in the Irish tradition as Mannanán Mac Lir who guided me out for which I am ever grateful. I really value your wisdom and insight here, so illuminating!
Thank you Jane. In my own therapy and work as a clinical psychologist I worked psychodynamically and had very little focus on somatics. At some point in my own process (and I felt this when working with people too) I could not “move” with my intellect anymore. I found my way to somatic experiencing which opened up a lot for me and it now makes sense to me that it gave me access to more unconscious information which I wasn’t able to access through my intellect.
I really appreciate this distinction you made between sensations as information to process consciously rather than moving through the sensations as the end of the process and it remaining sort of an unconscious experience overall that doesn’t necessarily have a lasting impact. The somatic experience could have the same dead end effect that I experienced with the focus on the intellect previously.
Your post has given me some direction as to what it might possibly look like to integrate somatics in my work as a clinical psychologist in the future without needing to throw out the psychodynamic part completely or neglect the wisdom of the body again.
So well said, Yeshe. Lovely to connect with you on this.
Wise words. 'Guruzing' the body limits integration. The capacity to endure suffering is such an important and necessary part of life.
Hmmmm…. Yes…. This really resonates. Uncomfortably! I’d love to hear more about the integration and keeping it conscious, that is where it gets slippery.
Pleeeeease do a video on cathartis! It’s snake oil of the white wellbeing industrial complex.