A Journey of Somatic Awakening
An old essay that nobody saw...
Dear Readers,
This is an essay I wrote in about 2017. It was written as a way for me to reflect on the previous 10ish years or so of very dedicated somatic learning, including three years of studying Release Technique and Sensory Awareness in Dartington, a two-year certification programme in Body-Mind Centering® and a bunch of Feldenkrais, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies, Authentic Movement and Continuum.
I’m not sure how I feel about these kinds of maps anymore, but I still like it as a piece of writing. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know your thoughts.
Lots of Love,
Sebastian
Before we begin: Strange Tools by Alva Noë
Thanks to the wonderful Alberto Cisello, who recommended and lent it to me, I’ve just started reading Strange Tools: Art and Human Nature by Alva Noë. HOLY MOLY, it’s good. I would write a proper review, but I need more time to digest it. However, if you’re feeling brave and interested in the topic (art and embodied cognition), I am confident in recommending it.
It’s very accessibly written. You feel like Noë is in the room with you, explaining something complicated, but in a way you can follow.
Anyway. Without further adieu…
A Journey of Somatic Awakening
This writing is based on my experience and observations of being both a participant and practitioner in somatic learning. It is based on a process that I believe is common when there is a sustained commitment to learning and developing embodied awareness. The common factor is the integrity of the student. Although having good teachers and guides can be invaluable, this process may manifest whether there is one, many, or no formal teacher.
What I present here is neither intended to be considered a universal nor a linear process. While these stages commonly appear in this sequence, it is a simplification. These stages overlap, spiral around, repeat, go backwards, skip forwards, and each stage is seen within all the others.
In writing this, I intend to provide a map within which to orient yourself and feel confident to freely explore whatever arises within your processes or learning relationship.
To be at home in the body is not a fixed state. It is a dynamic dialogue between our inner landscape and outer environment, our conscious awareness and unconscious integration.
Cultivating Awareness of the Body & Releasing Unnecessary Tension
In the first stage, we focus on becoming consciously aware of the body. We feel its shape, volume, density and structure. For many, this stage alone is a daunting process. We develop the beginnings of an awareness of our habitual patterns and the first inklings of the felt unity of body and mind. We begin, even momentarily, to switch off our psycho-physical “autopilot” and plant seeds for a new curiosity about ourselves.
As we do this, we become aware of patterns of holding and restriction held in the muscular system. With this awareness, we begin to soften and release this tension.
Breathing and other aspects of physiological self-regulation
Here, we become aware of how our breath constantly flows in and out of our bodies, with greater or lesser degrees of freedom and ease. We feel how our breath isn't limited to our lungs but is a rhythm of expansion and condensing encompassing the entire body. The metabolic exchange progresses from the lungs via the fluids, in and out of every cell.
As this happens more ease-fully and efficiently, other-body systems start to self-regulate more effectively. The Autonomic Nervous System (which governs all internal physiological processes and stress responses) begins to settle, lowering the level of stress hormones released into the bloodstream.
The body begins to repair and rejuvenate, creating a positive feedback loop of well-being and reducing the tendency to get caught in a feedback loop of stress. Health at this stage improves - sometimes gradually, sometimes dramatically.
Often, however, when we engage with the demands of our lives, we may revert to the familiar stress cycles. It takes time, practice and patience to deeply integrate new ways of being.
Movement and Posture
We are not inert beings but dynamic and moving. Our bodies, we have begun to notice, are constantly in motion, even when we appear to be still. We become curious about how we move — how we stand, walk, sit, work and play. We discover both our agency to move our bodies and the sensation of movement happening of itself - we find ourselves both “moving and being moved” [citation].
Movement becomes more soft and fluid, as well as more powerful and efficient. Here, we find that any discipline we practise requiring skilful use of the body — such as dance, yoga, sports, manual work, etc. — improves; we discover new layers of subtlety, and our performance is enhanced.
Just as we have habitual ways of holding tension and breathing, we also have habitual ways of moving. As we explore, we become aware of the origins and qualities of these patterns. We begin to open to new, unfamiliar ways of moving. We explore how we shape our bodies - how we align our postures with our bones, joints, muscles and organs in relation to the earth and gravity. We consciously or unconsciously explore new spatial pathways, movement qualities, and even early infant movement patterns, such as primitive reflexes and whole-body movement patterns like rolling and crawling.
Body-Mind Integration and Expression
As we expand our choices in how we move, breathe and hold ourselves, we naturally begin examining where this belongs in the broader context of our lives. As we start to feel our bodies more clearly and experience different qualities of motion, we naturally find ourselves inhabiting a broader spectrum of thinking and feeling.
We begin to ask questions about the relationship between our life choices, history, and state of embodiment. At this stage, we find ourselves exploring our new psychophysical repertoire in relation to our circumstances: what does it mean to centre and yield into a difficult conversation? What does it mean to expand and reach for a new goal or aspiration? How do we stand our ground in relation to an injustice? Etc.
We commonly find ourselves yearning for creative expression. Our homes and studios can become filled with oil pastels, creative writing and choreographies - sometimes bold, sometimes tentative.
Many let go of activities, attitudes, and even relationships which are no longer healthy for them. Some find themselves discovering buried dreams that they wish to revive. Others experience a desire to connect with a spiritual practice.
At this point, it is common to seek additional structures to ground and support this unfolding, including art and dance classes, recovery groups, spiritual or religious instruction, or the support of a psychotherapist or coach.
This stage frequently includes an emotional overlay of a mixture of celebration and mourning, as there is a transition from an old to a new way of being.
Embodiment
The learning is no longer new. What was once difficult and daunting now becomes second nature. We let go of tracking so that “when you eat, eat. When you sleep, sleep”. The focus becomes less about internal processes and more about how and who we are in the world. The questions become: What do I embody? What do I stand for? How do I maintain and take care of my embodiment and be present and available for others?
We increasingly find that embodiment is our natural state of being and a resource we can turn to in times of turmoil.
We select, devise and refine the practices that will ultimately anchor us as we continue along life’s path. Commonly, at this stage, our focus shifts towards our contribution to our families, communities and societies and how we can continue becoming more compassionate, loving and skinful in our words, actions and embodied presence.
Closing Thoughts
Finally, all the stages flow into each other and dissolve. The end of one cycle is the beginning of the next deeper cycle. We can awaken our embodied awareness consciously or let it support us unconsciously.
Fluidity and naturalness simply become part of who we are without the need for reference or justification in anything outside. As Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen put it - “the more skilful we are, the simpler we become.” [citation]
Consciously or unconsciously, we begin to pass this on to others. We do not have to do anything to make this happen. When we embody embodiment, we do not it; we are it.