Somatic Aliveness

    For anyone who might be new to the body-inclusive psychotherapy method, below you will find a summary of a case that shows the effectiveness of this approach. This case also reveals how, as a licensed Marriage and Family therapist, my psychotherapy practice is inspired by my training in Somatic Experiencing® (SE), which was founded by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. His curiosity about animals in the wild getting exposed to life-threating situations without getting PTSD while humans frequently succumb to this disorder was the start of SE’s development. SE is a body first approach that helps people discover where they are stuck in the fight, flight, or freeze responses, and how they can “resolve these fixated physiological states.” SE is a powerful trauma  healing  medium that includes working with sensations, movements, postures, and gestures as a way of deepening resilience and to reset the nervous system. According to Dr. Levine, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) can...

For many seekers on a spiritual path, the body can become a sacred vessel, home to mystical experiences, and a container for love. Many spiritual seekers value the contribution of the body in deepening mystical practices. By noticing their bodily “felt sense” during prayer or meditation, they can embody such spiritual practices.   Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a Sufi teacher, described spiritual life as a “love affair.” Sufis are in love with the Beloved, a Sufi term for God. This love story between the lover and the Beloved unfolds inside one’s heart, and it can touch different energy centers within the body. Rumi describes this Sufi love story as follows, “The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing How blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” The bodily “felt sense” of this love story can be experienced in many ways including a sense of aliveness and energetic vibration...