The true essence of being human is the ability to pay attention, feel into our bodies and express ourselves fully – our mind, emotions and nervous system physiology – for optimal emotional & physical health.
Attuning to ourselves with kindness softens our heart. It takes time, because we’ve developed defenses to resist feelings and to judge ourselves harshly. It is a practice to notice and intentionally stop – allowing kindness and compassion to have some space to enter and grow.
When our pattern is to ignore and suppress our feelings, it makes sense that we are somewhat skeptical when we suddenly want to know “what’s up?” And yet we long for that intimate attention.
Before I started to notice my body, mind and heart, I had no idea of how compulsive and unhealthy my mind was. I see now that most of the time I was following random thoughts or distracted by pain somewhere in my body.
Does that sound familiar? Your shoulders feel like cement. Your head or stomach aches. Your body is unknown territory. You have very few tools to calm, relax and be present. You can learn how to get to know your inner world gradually to fully appreciate and love yourself.
Many of us believe that the stressful thoughts, feelings or sensations we feel, are automatic and completely out of our control. Your stress response is patterned in your body, and it can also can be repatterned.
I enjoy helping clients learn about embodiment – being in and learning about their bodies – how they work and how they effect their psyche, emotions, feelings and relationships. I help others understand their emotions, minds, bodies, and often, their souls. In Relational Somatic Psychotherapy, we sometimes set aside your story for a time, and begin to pay attention to your ‘felt sense,’ ‘sensations,’ or ‘movement impulses.’
Why do you want to pay attention to your body?
Because what you’re experiencing is not just in your head, is it in your whole body.
There are many connections between your head & body – including veins, muscles, bones, nerves, arteries and many others.
The vagus nerve is an important nerve that travels from your brain stem, winding its way through your body and down to your abdominal cavity. Research tells us that the vagus nerve is involved with depression and many of our mood states.
Your brain isn’t the only part of your body telling your body what to do – your body does a lot of talking to the brain.
Solely working with the mind and a cognitive approach may not be sufficient for the treatment of early developmental and relational trauma.
Nervous system dysregulation travels between the brain and the body – so we need to address both a mind-focused approach and a somatic/body-focused approach.
People become alienated from their bodies because they have experienced emotional or physical pain – they become stuck in a pattern of avoidance, denial or a freeze response. We are very resilient, and we have the mechanisms we need to heal.
I will help you learn to reclaim, activate and balance your bodies’ mechanisms – to be more fully alive.
Many people discover the sheer joy of being in their bodies, maybe for the first time. It may take some time to repattern your nervous system and approach this way of living and being – but with kind attention, it can happen.
I offer a sincere intention to witness, and provide gentle presence and encouragement, so that you can reconnect to your own innate body-mind wisdom.
I bring a spirit of curiosity, openness and creativity to my work with clients – integrating relational understanding with a somatic (body-focused) approach. This includes reflection on all aspects of the whole person – body, mind and heart.
Creating and being held within a safe space, you will feel supported. I work with people who are experiencing stress, exhaustion, trauma, relationship concerns, anxiety, chronic illness or pain, depression, eating disorders,and life and career transitions.
An integrative approach leads to both short-term understanding and long-term nervous system resilience and change. Over time, as you learn to trust your innate wisdom, you will evolve, thrive, and lead the lives you aspire to.
Your body knows how to heal; you just need a skilled guide. We work together to renegotiate old emotional and physical patterns that aren’t serving you well. Healing is felt as increased attention to and sensation in your body – increased presence in your life, deeper connections with ourselves, your loved ones, and with world.
During our time together, you will move toward:
- Better self-regulation – reacting to what life serves up with less overwhelm, anxiety or shut down; and
- Improved resiliency – stronger ability to rebound from discouragements or difficulties, small to large.
It can feel restorative to spend body-focused time on what has been happening in your mind and body – and moving towards the feeling of safety, acceptance and calm – the safe space – helps you to find the courage you need to move to a new way of seeing and being.
As we age, and live within the stresses of our world, there is a loss of fluidity and circulation in the tissues of the body, and a loss of activation within the fluids themselves – making us feel tired, achy, stiff, or depressed.
We will practice breath and movements that are common in nature; spirals, waves, undulations. By taking on these movements we align ourselves with the natural world in a way that not only assists unwinding the constraints of the body, but places us in a felt resonance with the larger, fluid world—working to restore the active fluids within the body, which is the key to thriving.
I know this work helps to change our somatic and emotional landscape – and allows us to find the deep rest we’re been searching for. We can break the cycle of anxiety, depression, chronic stress, anger or pain – because I’ve witnessed it many times. I look forward to holding this space for you – and for letting in the subtle or profound emotional shifts that you are hoping for into your life.
Welcome. I look forward to being with you.
love Kim, xo
Offerings – In-person & online sessions for Individuals & Couples – an invitation to feel present in your body, to unwind patterns of anxiety, depression, anger, hopelessness, chronic stress & pain, to cultivate trust in your moment-to-moment experience, your naturally wise heart, and your capacity to connect to yourself, those you love and the love that surrounds us.
When we can feel ourselves, we are able to detect and understand the sensations and emotions our bodies signal to us – and we can connect with ourselves and others from a place of felt honesty and sensitivity, set better boundaries, and make clearer decisions about our interactions.
Our first meeting happens in person or online (using Zoom or Skype), and we will talk about what is bringing you in and how you are hoping our work together will help. Our first meeting is about getting to know you, discovering your energy, how you want to work together, and asking any questions you have about the process.
I have 3 new openings for clients now – working online – beginning in June, July & August.
Get in touch to learn more about individual sessions, workshops or programs – and to set up a time to work together: [email protected]
TWO New Offerings:
6-Month Online Mentorship Program – Move Beyond Fear-Based Conditioned Patterns – Live with Pleasure & Wild Abandon.
When you find yourself caught in conditioned patterns – running on fear-based automatic programming—feeling anxious & overwhelmed – you’re not available to love, or get in touch with the deepest, most authentic and truthful parts of yourself.
I’m blending my 20+ years of expertise & wisdom to help YOU accelerate momentum on your journey of healing, move beyond conditioned, fear-based patterns, uncover and bring your specific gifts into the world, rewrite your restrictive beliefs, get into your body, let go of perfection, and what others want for you, forge a new future for yourself – beyond your family patterns – and learn to live with pleasure and recognize the power of your own presence.
The journey involves meeting monthly on Skype as well as homework assignments and check-in emails to facilitate your specific journey. I’ll guide you in discovering your own medicine and gifts, and support you in using that as your foundation to manifest what only YOU can bring into being.
Here are some clues for us to notice when fear is in charge:
- You feel separate from others and your own experience.
- You feel disconnected from your body, feel that you are falling short in some way in your life & haven’t been paying attention to your heart or your dreams.
- Your nervous mind is preoccupied by keeping you safe in a world that feels confusing and out of control.
- With your body in knots, you compulsively try to figure out how to get what you want, feel better and make everything okay.
- You find yourself feeling chronically stuck – unable to move or do what your heart is calling you to do – worried about what your parents, significant other or friends have to say about the changes you would like to make in your life.
Get in touch to learn more about this program & get started this summer – [email protected]
4-WEEK Mindful Somatic Program for Separation & Divorce
This program is for everyone who is going through or has gone through a separation or divorce. You can start anytime, and the session times are customized to fit your schedule.
Going through separation and divorce is hard. Our resources are diminished and we’re in pain. We become less present and more reactive. We struggle to enjoy parts of life that once fulfilled us. We may lose connection with our children, our friends, our work or our physical environment. We may make choices that undermine our health and well-being.
Through this focused, one-on-one program, I will help you develop a consistent mindfulness somatic practice, providing a gentle and straightforward way to meet the intensity of this time in your life. I will support you to develop skills that lower your reactivity and create the space to be in your life, moment-to-moment.
We will work together to enable you to respond to life from a place of wisdom and compassion, tolerate difficult emotions, make good decisions based on your values and goals, and break patterns of stress, anger, anxiety and self-harm.
This program will help you:
- Understand the conditions that create suffering in your life, so you can live more fully
- Learn how to process difficult experiences in order to move through what you’re struggling with
- Cultivate the ability to accept intense feelings without being controlled by them
- React differently to challenging thoughts and feelings
- Live a life aligned with who you are now and who you are becoming
- Learn the foundations of a mindful somatic practice as a tool to meet suffering with compassion
With our willingness to turn toward our suffering, we slowly acknowledge, integrate, and accept the truth of our challenges and losses. In so doing, we open our hearts and experience deep connection to the most precious parts of our lives.
I look forward to walking this path with you.
You can start anytime, and the session times are customized to fit your schedule – offered online and in-person.
If you are curious about this 4-week program, please get in touch to learn more – [email protected].
www.s3p.d51.myftpupload.com
Creating Well-Being Through Nervous System Regulation.
Nurturing Connection, Restoration & Building Resilience.
Easing the Body ~ Calming the Mind ~ Opening the Heart.
Somatic Experiencing ~ Body-Mind Centering ~ Breathwork ~ Movement.
