Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers

Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers Combat Chronic Pain through Gentle, Effective Movement Work & Nervous System Education. Facebook pa

05/04/2026

The soma is living process - and always, necessarily embodied.

๐Ÿ”ฅBut that doesn't make working with 'the body' the same as working with the soma.

โšกAnd working with the soma is what creates truly somatic learning, and more lasting change.

It's not 'wrong' to say the soma is the body 'experienced from the inside'. But the problem remains, that that insight has been warped to mean that the person - the soma - is *reducible* to their body (or, as often assumed in recent years, is somehow reducible to their nervous system state).

That's not the case (as Tom Hanna, Eugene Gendlin and others made clear).

โœจ And it's not helpful. Because at its core, this way of thinking - and practising - maintains the very mind/body split that Somatics so effectively challenges.

๐Ÿ˜ฎ The talk therapy/somatic therapy dichotomy is reinforcing the mind/body dichotomy. And that's not okay!

Much of the work somatic practitioners are doing is fantastic, no doubt. It helps people.

BUT... when it starts to participate in the mind/body division it claims to overcome, cracks show: somas get settled, get regulated - but then... things shift back, changes don't stay, fluidity and adaptability don't always show up.

THAT is why it matters to work actively with the soma, and not the 'body'; to really think through what this 'person' is, that we work with.

That's a big part of what we do in my EMBODY Somatics programme for practitioners - alongside learning and interweaving somatic approaches (to sensing, moving and learning) to our own somas, and our clients.

โค๏ธ Visit somaticsamantha.com for more info (or DM me).

๐ŸŒธ A Supple Centre: Why Polyvagal Theory Supports what Clinical Somatics Always Knew ๐ŸŒธOne of the key insights of Stephen ...
05/04/2026

๐ŸŒธ A Supple Centre: Why Polyvagal Theory Supports what Clinical Somatics Always Knew ๐ŸŒธ

One of the key insights of Stephen Porgesโ€™ Polyvagal Theory is crucially important for anyone stuck in pain, anxiety, or discomfort:

๐Ÿ’ฅThe messages your body sends to your brain (especially from your gut) matter more to your emotional state, and your levels of stress and tension, than the thoughts sent from your brain to your body.

Why? Only 15โ€“20% of messages about your environment, and how safe it is, are controlled by your brain, while 80โ€“85% come from your gut and all the sensors in your body that inform your gut about your environment.

๐Ÿ”ฅ Why does this matter so very much, from the perspective of Clinical Somatics?

Well, it explains a lot!

It's why you can know you're safe (and tell yourself you're safe, repeatedly), but your nervous system keeps you stuck in survival mode โ€“ anxious and on edge, even long after any real threat has passed.

๐Ÿ”ฅ This supports a fundamental insight of Clincial Somatics โ€“ that muscular patterns of contraction don't just cause pain; they actively signal danger to your brain.

In particular, as Thomas Hanna (who developed Clinical Somatic Education) emphasised: โšกwhen the muscles in your centre (your โ€˜coreโ€™) are tight and braced, your brain interprets this as threat. โšก

โšกYour nervous system does not know the difference between your muscles being clenched tight into a stress pattern out of habit, and them clenching tight into a stress pattern because a sabre-toothed tiger just walked out in front of you!

๐Ÿ˜ฎ All it knows is that those clenched muscles mean youโ€™re under threat.

This is why humans can't simply โ€˜let goโ€™ of anxiety, trauma, fear, or chronic pain through willpower alone, nor through talk therapy or somatic sensing alone.

๐ŸฅฐThat's why my work focuses on creating a soft, flexible, supple somatic centre.

๐Ÿ‘‰Read full blog post at somaticsamantha.com: https://somaticsamantha.com/somaticsamantha-blogs/2025/8/16/a-supple-centre-why-polyvagal-theory-supports-what-clinical-somatics-always-knew

14/03/2026

Hello! Couple of March updates:

1. My new-format small-group programme for somatic practitioners is starting very soon now... If you'd like to join our small group at founding phase pricing, check out the details sooner rather than later: somaticsamantha.com/embody-info - or get in touch with me direct (hello AT somaticsamantha DOT com)

2. If you're more interested in Somatics for your *own* soma (chronic pain, stuck stress, etc), check out my free resources and also my short 4-day course as well as the more in-depth '28 SOMATIC STEPS TO FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC STRESS, DISCOMOFRT & PAIN': see somaticsamantha.com/somatics

(Yes I do 1:1 work, but there's a waiting list.)

07/03/2026

๐ŸŒŸ Working with the WHOLE nervous system (its neuromuscular parts too) in specific, stress-response-informed ways, is crucial for client results.

โœจ It's also essential to working with someone as not just a 'body', but as a whole soma - where the mind/body distinction is meaningless, because a soma is living process - and that's what matters. That living process - that unfolding of being in the world? THAT is what's dealing with pain, with stress, with trauma.

๐Ÿ’ซ EMBODY Somatics is a small-group practitioner programme that shifts somatic work beyond nervous-system regulation toward supporting the whole soma in reshaping patterns of experience, action, and participation in life.

Get in touch (hello@somaticsamantha.com, or here) for more info. โค๏ธ

โœจHere's what most somatic practitioners get wrong: They think 'body' and 'soma' are the same thing. But they're not. ๐Ÿค”An...
24/02/2026

โœจHere's what most somatic practitioners get wrong: They think 'body' and 'soma' are the same thing. But they're not. ๐Ÿค”

And if you don't understand this distinction? You're missing the most important insight Somatics has to offer.

Your client's body is the physical structure - muscles, bones, tissues. Observable. Measurable. And way too often misunderstood.

โœจYour client's soma is their whole self, experienced from the inside. It's them as-living-process - shaped by stress, trauma, and survival patterns, yes, but also by the whole of their lived experience and everything around them.

You can do all the body-based techniques you want - breathwork, sensing, tracking sensations, pendulation and more. Your clients might feel better... temporarily.

But if you're not working through the lens of truly somatic thinking - if you're not helping them learn to think somatically and work with their whole living system - those painful patterns will come back.

โœจBecause stress and trauma and pain? They don't live in 'the body.' They live in the soma - woven through your client's whole living system, showing up in their movements, their stress responses, their whole way of being.

๐ŸŽ‰To release stuck patterns of stress, trauma, and pain - stop working with 'the body', and start working with the soma.

I've created a free guide: Why Client Shifts Don't Last When You're Working With 'The Body' Instead of the Soma (And What Changes When You Understand the Difference).

Download it now: somaticsamantha.com/sep-soma-lm

01/01/2026

All the best for 2026... whatever it may bring ๐Ÿ’•

I wish you good health & a sense of genuine safety in your life - and to build on those foundations if you're able to do so.

(And let's see if my videos get any less blurry as the new year goes on, huh? ๐Ÿ˜†)

๐Ÿ˜ฎ ๐—ช๐—›๐—ฌ ๐—ฆ๐—ข๐—™๐—ง๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—จ๐—ฅ ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ก๐—š๐—ง๐—› โค๏ธ"๐˜š๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ. ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต. ๐˜š๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ.""๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ...
21/12/2025

๐Ÿ˜ฎ ๐—ช๐—›๐—ฌ ๐—ฆ๐—ข๐—™๐—ง๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐—ฌ๐—ข๐—จ๐—ฅ ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ก๐—š๐—ง๐—› โค๏ธ

"๐˜š๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ. ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต. ๐˜š๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ."
"๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ซ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ต."
"๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ด๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ! ๐˜Ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ."

๐— ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ โ€“ at school, at home, in a fitness class, or even from a well-meaning friend. ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ?

As a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator and Somatic Experiencingยฎ Practitioner, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต.

But ๐—œ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ, including from clients โ€“ whether they come from memories or are part of their current self-talk ๐Ÿ˜”

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜†โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ, ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ.
Wrapped up in ideas about health, beauty, and how we โ€œshouldโ€ behave and hold ourselves.

And ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜†โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น.

Thereโ€™s ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด of those words, for a start โ€“ and the pain caused by trying to live up to ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ around how we should look or move or eat.

๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป, ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜†: ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ โ€“ the area around your belly, lower back, and waist.

That centre? ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐™ข๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š. It needs to be free and responsive.

When itโ€™s not, ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—น๐˜†, ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป โ€“ ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น.

And no, thatโ€™s not an exaggeration.

Find out more via my free resources, online courses, & my blog. Or reach out in a message - and start releasing stress, tension, trauma and pain. From your centre โค๏ธ

23/11/2025

Hello! Mostly I'm on LinkedIn and my email list (and blog) - but I try to post in here sometimes too :)

In January I'm starting up my work with SE Practitioners and other somatic therapists in a small-group programme: I've run this previously in cohort groups, and it's always been great... but it's been hard to find start dates that work for everyone (and sometimes for me, too!) - so I'm making this shift to enable people to start any month, and still get all the content, including live sessions ๐Ÿฅฐ

What do you learn? Well...
๐–๐ก๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐šn SEP, a ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ #๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ who integrates work with the 'body', together we explore what really is and can do for you & your clients, ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž #๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐’๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž๐, ๐ž๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ˆ ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž AND ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’”๐’†๐’๐’”๐’† ๐’๐’‡ ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’๐’˜๐’ ๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’๐’…๐’Š๐’†๐’… ๐’ƒ๐’†๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ.

This does NOT mean changing your entire model & approach. Nor is it simply a set of tools or skills you can โ€˜add onโ€™ to your current practice.

Itโ€™s ๐š ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ง๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง in your client work, ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘“๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘  to facilitate change at a genuinely full-person level. (This is something that โ€˜justโ€™ somatic sensing & tracking wonโ€™t do, even though self-sensing is a crucial step.)

So: ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ (๐ž๐ฌ๐ฉ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ฅ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐๐ฒ ๐š ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ ๐จ๐ซ ๐›๐จ๐๐ฒ-๐Ÿ๐จ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ซ)?

๐ŸŒŸ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’Š๐’ ๐’“๐’†๐’‚๐’”๐’๐’๐’”:

โ€ข ๐“๐จ ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐š๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐š (esp during long days of client sessions & admin, and esp if you experience chronic pain).

โ€ข ๐“๐จ ๐›๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก โ€˜๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐จ๐๐ฒโ€™ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ ๐ž๐ง๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐œ, by incorporating even tiny movements that actively work with the nervous system via the neuromuscular system, & ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘๐‘˜ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  & ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘š๐‘Ž.

โ€ข ๐“๐จ ๐›๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐ฒ๐œ๐ฅ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  โ€˜๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฌโ€™ โ€“ ๐›๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ โ€“ ๐›๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ & ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐œ๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฌ that may have come from beneficial sensing, tracking & insight, but which donโ€™t last when neuromuscular patterns are left unresolved...

Learn more at somaticsamantha.com

I don't post on here much (perhaps I should?! But I'm on LinkedIn, sometimes IG, and my website is great! ;) somaticsama...
08/10/2025

I don't post on here much (perhaps I should?! But I'm on LinkedIn, sometimes IG, and my website is great! ;) somaticsamantha.com ) BUT someome liked a comment of mine from 2018, where I was 'reviewing' Essential Somatics, and I wanted to share my 2018 words here.

What I wrote then is still true today - Clinical Somatic Education radically improved my life (I've not had chronic pain since resolving it in 2016 or thereabouts, thanks to Essential Somatics) and I have spent the last decade helping others through Somatics :)

"Barely 18 months after I first discovered Essential Somatics, it was completely life-changing for not just me but my 85yo mother (after her debilitating trip to hospital last year)... After 10+ years of hip, shoulder and neck pain, and longer being told I had hip dysplasia & other 'structural' issues (and despite 25 years' practising gentle yoga), I'd tried and committed to a few approaches to try to address my hip & neck pain, & also the increasing lack of proprioception in my entire right arm & hand, and 'clawing' of my hand, too... Some of these helped (e.g. Bowen, Rolfing, and an excellent, thoughtful chiropractor, over time), but they only ever provided temporary and partial relief: it's only Essential Somatic Movement that *eradicated* my hip pain, leg length discrepancy & related so-called 'structural' issues, started to bring back feeling in my right arm and side, and - crucially - entirely banished my neck pain. It also makes me move more easily, and breathe more fully. It has done SO MUCH in a comparatively short time, yet is no 'miracle cure': it's an *educative* process, & requires commitment - even though it's comparatively easy to commit to something with such amazing results (which can work with as little as 5 mins per day)! I am now - a huge change for me (an erstwhile academic, lawyer, writer & editor!) - training as a Clinical Somatic Educator with Martha and her fantastic teaching team, to bring this incredible work and awareness to others. I started with her online videos, then read her book, got a download, and then attended a life-changing Fundamentals Immersion course - any and all of which I'd thoroughly recommend for anyone in pain, or wishing to improve their relationship with how they move through this world!"

๐ŸŒธ A Supple Centre:Why Polyvagal Theory Supports what Clinical Somatics Always Knew ๐ŸŒธOne of the key insights of Stephen P...
18/08/2025

๐ŸŒธ A Supple Centre:
Why Polyvagal Theory Supports what Clinical Somatics Always Knew ๐ŸŒธ

One of the key insights of Stephen Porgesโ€™ Polyvagal Theory is crucially important for anyone stuck in pain, anxiety, or discomfort:

๐Ÿ’ฅThe messages your body sends to your brain (especially from your gut) matter more to your emotional state, and your levels of stress and tension, than the thoughts sent from your brain to your body.

Why? Only 15โ€“20% of messages about your environment, and how safe it is, are controlled by your brain, while 80โ€“85% come from your gut and all the sensors in your body that inform your gut about your environment.

๐Ÿ”ฅ Why does this matter so very much, from the perspective of Clinical Somatics?

Well, it explains a lot!

It's why you can know you're safe (and tell yourself you're safe, repeatedly), but your nervous system keeps you stuck in survival mode โ€“ anxious and on edge, even long after any real threat has passed.

๐Ÿ”ฅ This supports a fundamental insight of Clincial Somatics โ€“ that muscular patterns of contraction don't just cause pain; they actively signal danger to your brain.

In particular, as Thomas Hanna (who developed Clinical Somatic Education) emphasised: โšกwhen the muscles in your centre (your โ€˜coreโ€™) are tight and braced, your brain interprets this as threat. โšก

โšกYour nervous system does not know the difference between your muscles being clenched tight into a stress pattern out of habit, and them clenching tight into a stress pattern because a sabre-toothed tiger just walked out in front of you!

๐Ÿ˜ฎ All it knows is that those clenched muscles mean youโ€™re under threat.

This is why humans can't simply โ€˜let goโ€™ of anxiety, trauma, fear, or chronic pain through willpower alone, nor through talk therapy or somatic sensing alone.

๐ŸฅฐThat's why my work focuses on creating a soft, flexible, supple somatic centre.

๐Ÿ‘‰Read full blog post at somaticsamantha.com - here: https://somaticsamantha.com/somaticsamantha-blogs/2025/8/16/a-supple-centre-why-polyvagal-theory-supports-what-clinical-somatics-always-knew

Youโ€™ve taken the right trainings. Your somatic work as a therapist is probably on point. Your clients are โ€˜doing the wor...
01/08/2025

Youโ€™ve taken the right trainings. Your somatic work as a therapist is probably on point. Your clients are โ€˜doing the workโ€™.
๐—ฆ๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น โ€˜๐˜€๐˜†๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ผ๐—บ๐˜€โ€™ (๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜†โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป)?..
Youโ€™re doing the somatic sensing and bodily awareness work well. Your clients are responsive and engaged.

Other trainings, your supervisor, your colleaguesโ€ฆ They might advise you to lean into what youโ€™re already doing, to find a therapeutic model that complements it more fully, or perhaps to make radical changes.

โœ‹ Thatโ€™s not what you need.

๐—ž๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€: however many more strategies you learn to get your clients sensing more deeply, becoming more aware of their bodies, and feeling their activation release through their frickinโ€™ fingertips..? However many therapeutic approaches you test out alongside your somatic skills, to โ€˜complementโ€™ them?

๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐—œ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ.

๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ด โ€˜๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆโ€™ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ด.

They ARE crucial, and they do work.

But ๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† โ€“ in your clientโ€™s muscles โ€“ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ, ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ.

Full-body patterns of muscle tightness are created by the brain โ€“ by ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜†๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—บ. And that system? ๐™„๐™ฉโ€™๐™จ ๐™ฅ๐™–๐™ง๐™ฉ ๐™ค๐™› ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™ง๐™ซ๐™ค๐™ช๐™จ ๐™จ๐™ฎ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข.

๐—ง๐—ผ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ, ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜†๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—บ, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ-๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—บ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€! ๐—˜๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผโ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐˜†๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ.

๐ŸŒธ Deal with the ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ person - integrate Clinical Somatics into your work.

Better empower your clients to get, and ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜บ, unstuck.

Get in touch or see my website for more info.

hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag

Address

Geddes
Nairn
IV125SB

Telephone

+447546666135

Website

https://www.peelingtheonion.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers:

Share