Healing takes listening

In recent years there has been much more focus on “being heard” and being “seen”, and for good reason. When we feel that someone actually hears us or actually sees us for who we are or what we are experiencing, it validates that experience or feeling. We feel relief with that validation, like yes someone is getting it!

Now lets flip this to our bodies. Our bodies are always talking to us, through all sorts of ways. It can be sore muscles when we have worked out, it can be tense shoulders when we are under too much stress, or tummy troubles when we are nervous for something. Our bodies speak and feel, but are we listening, or are we just brushing off what it says because we are too busy to deal with it? I would venture to guess we often treat our bodies as if it’s a nagging person- yeah yeah I heard you, I’ll get to it! But more often than not you don’t get to it, and the nagging gets louder, and then you are just annoyed by it more, and the cycle goes on.

Now imagine if you could listen to your body as if it were a child in need of care? If a child is hurt or needs help, we will often get quiet, get down on their level and listen to what the problem is. We want the child to feel heard and supported so that they will continue to trust us with their care.

This is somatic work. We learn tools to take the time to get quiet and listen to what our bodies are saying as if it’s a child. If we treat our bodies like the nagging person, our bodies don’t stop nagging, they just start talking louder which is often in the form of disease and injury. If we can treat our bodies like the innocent child in need of help, we listen and validate the feelings it expresses, our bodies will feel seen and heard. And when your body feels the relief of being seen and heard, that is called self healing, and it is beautiful.