“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” ~ Rumi
As one of my clients recently told me – “I now have time to invest in myself, I’m taking this time to notice what I’ve been ignoring in my body, thoughts and relationships – and hopefully rewire my nervous system and unconscious body holding patterns, to create a refreshed way of being from deep within myself.”
But what if you don’t know HOW to listen to your body?
Or, when you start getting its messages, you don’t know what to do with them?
I can help you understand your body’s messages – and know your somatic self – learn to turn towards yourself, even when it feels overwhelming, painful and difficult.
Our bodies might be experiencing more pain, overwhelm or shutdown right now – and this can be difficult.
And it can be scary.
But, with lots of specific attention to the body, all of our symptoms can began to shift.
My work is focused on the premise that your body is wise. That its adaptations are not only reasonable, but often predictable.
You learn how to listen to your body and how to respond.
It’s essential that we regain trust with our bodies and ourselves.
You will learn to build body-based resources for regulation, notice and shift nervous system responses (attach, fight, flight, freeze, submit/collapse and feign death), and become compassionately curious about all the parts of yourself.
Emotions have an effect on the body’s health, and the effects of long-term, repressed emotions and traumatic memories are the root of chronic pain and illness.
Chronic, intense emotions can result in physical symptoms. Under stress, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight response, which results in physiological changes like dizziness, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, nausea and stomach concerns.
When someone remains in fight-or-flight mode in the long term, physical pain may result, she says. In states of chronic or severe stress, the nervous system often ‘recruits’ other bodily systems, like the immune system or digestive system, which can result in pain. Theoretically, if we don’t move out of this state, chronic stress could result in chronic pain.
Whole Body Health Somatic Practice keeps you connected to what your body needs and why in a completely natural way. has helped me to create more balance and better health and wellbeing in life.
Unresolved patterns are bound to repeat themselves even in the face of our best intentions. You can’t cheat the unconscious even if you try very hard.
Getting in touch with the fluid nature and alive energy of your body – allow your energy to move and flow – even during difficult times. As long as we take precautions as outlined to us by our government, we must live and feel alive now, regardless of the circumstances.
When you find yourself bracing against an invisible threat – tight anxious uncertain or afraid, turn towards yourself with acceptance and compassion.
Stress-related disease is on the rise, and now, we’re experiencing a pandemic. Here are some important facts we should all know – especially people living with pain or illness or chronic anxiety, low mood or depression.
Your body is hard-wired to respond to stress for survival. When you encounter a perceived threat, a surge of hormones release, including adrenaline and cortisol. This response creates substantial changes in the body. The reproductive, digestive, growth and tissue repair functions shut down – ensuring all reserves are available for action.
The “fight-or-flight” (sympathetic) response – allows us to stand our ground, readying to fight or flee. It translates into a high-energy boost. We’ve all experienced it – hyper-alert, increased blood pressure, rapid breathing, dry mouth, sweaty palms.
Our bodies are not designed for prolonged or compounded exposure to stress. Inevitably our Musculoskeletal, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Gastrointestinal, Reproductive and Nervous Systems are all compromised. Add to this an unresolved trauma or a major life transition – such as the pandemic, loss of a job or losing a loved one – and it isn’t long before the body begins to break down.
Even though we may seem to be ok – surviving, adapting – our resilience is low, our immune system fragile, our adrenals fatigued. So when stress does hit – and it will inevitably strike – we no longer have the reserves to meet it with the resilience, stamina or grace required.
Survival is our most primitive instinct – stemming from our reptilian brain. However, when we get locked in survival patterns as a way of life, then life becomes very hard. We begin to feel stuck. You aren’t able to feel joy, and somewhere along the way, it starts to show up in your body – in your energy goes down, your posture and cognitive capacities suffer. Perhaps you develop insomnia, headaches, food allergies, chronic pain, anxiety or overwhelm, mood swings, relationship issues, eating disorders, irritability, turning to drugs or alcohol, memory loss, high blood pressure, frequent colds, depression, procrastination – or other more debilitating and serious diseases.
Unfortunately most people override the early signals of stress, only beginning to pay attention after things get pretty serious. I want to help you wake up to what’s happening in your body.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a whole body approach that focuses on the body responses that occur when someone experiences or remembers an overwhelming or traumatic event. The therapy helps to reset the nervous system, re-establishing the natural flow between mind and body. The therapist will gently guide the client to feel bodily sensations or to complete self-protective motor responses. This facilitates a release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms.
We must listen to ourselves first. Listen to ourselves and attune and notice. Put your hand on your heart – check in with the support of your hand. Track and attune to your nervous system – and resonance – what if anything you might be noticing anything in your feet or breath or legs – learn to trust the resonance within yourself and notice what is happening for you.
If you’ve felt vulnerable a good portion of time in your life, it might make you feel weak and hurt and we don’t like this feeling. So we begin to avoid all feelings of vulnerability and begin to build defensive accommodation structures in our ways of being – which can keep feelings and people out from getting close to us and allowing us to be seen fully.
We may have learned and received much praise and feelings of connection by being certain ways in our lives. Often, we’re busy doing things for others and when we need to slow down or stop we may feel lost or cast adrift – because we don’t know how to just BE – but only to DO DO DO. I can help.
Great things happen when we’re parasympathetically dominant (relaxed). Our breath is full, slow, and deep. Our sleep is sound. We’re less busy in our minds, less ‘wired’ in our nervous system. The adrenals are plump, our digestive system works well, inflammation reduces, tissue mends, hormones balance and pain decreases. We become more resilient so we’re more resilient.
The immune system works well. There’s more space and calm around things, so we can regulate and bounce back with ease after stress and illness. We have more energy during each day and feel more present and alive, aligned. Our relationships and self expression flourish. There is more ease in your life. We stay juicy as we age and experience deep cellular repair.
Somatic. You learn it by embodying it, living it.
So it changes us at the deepest level.
The way you recognize and tend to your own needs.
The way you pay attention to the signals of your body.
The way you rest, move, the way you breathe, the way you live, work and love.
Invest in yourself – in safety, rest and ease.
The good news is that real and lasting change is possible. Your body has the capacity to recover fully from where you are. This integrative approach is a unique fusion of Somatic Experiencing (SE),Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma, Restorative Somatic Practice, Mindful Embodiment, Body-Mind Centering, Somatic Movement and Re-Patterning – for profound nervous system repair. The work draws on various processes to create the conditions necessary for your nervous system to move effortlessly out of the stress response (sympathetic state) into the relaxation response (para-sympathetic). This process combines optimal conditions for your nervous system to process fast tracking cellular repair.
An evolutionary and potent remedy for modern life, all degenerative & stress related conditions including hormonal and emotional imbalances, anxiety, chronic pain, digestive disorders, motor vehicle accidents, sleep problems, fatigue, fibromyalagia and a host of other illnesses.
By complementing the body’s natural healing processes, Integrative Somatic Nervous System Therapeutic Healing Work, done in-person and online, is also a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster your immune system and is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including:
-Chronic Pain
-Migraine Headaches
-Motor-Coordination Impairments
-Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries
-Chronic Emotional Concerns such as: Anxiety, Depression and Panic
-Chronic Stress and Tension
-Fibromyalgia and other Connective-Tissue Disorders
-Digestive Concerns and Disorders
-Neurovascular or Immune Disorders
-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
-Post-Surgical Dysfunction
-Chronic Fatigue and Sleeplessness
-Relationship Struggles
-Improved Relaxation Response Necessary for Cellular Repair
-Increased Awareness and Capacity for Stillness
-Hormone Regulation
-Improved Digestion and Elimination
-Fluid Body Activation to Increase Mobility, Ease and Suppleness
What Happens in a Whole Body Health Somatic Practice session?
During a one-on-one session, you can choose to be either sitting on the couch in front of me, lying on the couch in front of me with pillows supporting you or on Zoom call, from your own home, we join together and listen to what is happening in your autonomic nervous system, your thoughts, as well as other systems in your body, including: your fluid body, connective tissue, breath, bones and skin.
We take time to notice moment to moment what your body and mind are telling us. Then we make adjustments to enhance emotional and physical somatic wellness. The autonomic nervous system communicates in sensation, emotion, images, and thoughts, as well as through subtle movements and gestures. It is through the vehicle of your nervous system that we find the tools we need to create balance and healing. This is a process of noticing threat and ease in your nervous system – along with witnessing and pausing for sensing what is happening in the here and now.
Whole Body Health Somatic Practice & Somatic Experiencing (SE) generates a body–wide experience of easing out of rigidity (excess sympathetic or dorsal tone) and into the flowing ease of the ventral parasympathetic nervous system.
We are setting the conditions for flow to happen again in your nervous system. We have to encourage it with placing our attention into the present moment. There is a rhythm to the timing of the session, so I may ask you to pause and notice what is happening in the here and now, even when you are telling a story. This doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear what you have to say – I am listening to the language of your nervous system, and sometimes that means we need to pause to return to the present.
Sometimes we have old attempts at self-protection stuck in our physiology – and we may feel chronically shut down, stuck or frozen – if this is you, there is also a way to increase the capacity for the energetic “doing” part of the system. The practice of mindful awareness is at the heart of embodied healing, so as we re-encounter feelings and a sense of aliveness, we return to the vital presence that is at the core of being human.
This is deeply attuned work that is highly specialized for you. I want to help you learn about the messages held in your body and how your nervous system responds to stress and trauma. I will also help your body and mind feel safe at the level of the nervous system, during this time and always.
This is not the time to ignore yourself. Allow yourself to feel support and some relief from the sense of threat that is currently in our awareness now.
Even if you are self-isolating at home, you don’t have to go it alone. Allow yourself to be supported at this time. I’m here with you.
The provincial government has deemed psychotherapy as an essential service, and to that end, I’m offering in-person sessions for those who aren’t able to work online – and who don’t have symptoms and have not traveled within the last 14 days. I am also offering online sessions for those who feel more comfortable doing so.
Get in touch – and let’s talk about your experience now and how I can support you – and I will answer any questions you may have about working together.
with love from my heart, Kim xoxoxo
[email protected] / www.s3p.d51.myftpupload.com
Whole Body Health & Well-Being from the Inside Out.
Deep healing at the level of the nervous system enables you to explore and expand your inner landscape where self – confidence and inner agency reside. When you heal your nervous system, you can more readily access deeper ways of knowing and being that include intuition, imagination, sensuality, and the subtle body of emotions. Get in touch to learn more about working with me – [email protected]
What to Expect During a Session
For true emotional and physical healing, I know that we can’t leave our body and how it feels and responds, out of the process. Each person needs something very specific in their healing journey, which is why it is so important to have a customized approach with sessions that are specifically tailored for you – a combination of emotionally-focused psychotherapy and body-focused Co-Regulating Touch work for trauma.
Get in touch to learn more about Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma, Family Systems Imprint Sessions & Individual Body-Focused Therapy Sessions – The Anxiety, Stress & Trauma Restorative Clinic – in-person, online or a mix of one or more of these sessions – and to set up a time to work together: [email protected]
Creating Well-Being Through Nervous System Regulation.
Heal Relational Trauma – Break the Cycle of Inherited Family Trauma.
Nurturing Connection, Restoration & Building Resilience.
Easing the Body ~ Calming the Mind ~ Opening the Heart.
Somatic Experiencing ~ Somatic Practices ~ Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma ~ Movement Practices ~ Whole Body Systems Approach for Healing Inflammation.
Somatic work can be done effectively online, as well as in person – online sessions are available for those who travel regularly, have a busy schedule, live far away from the office, or prefer to work from your own home – [email protected]
