Have you ever noticed how your body reacts before your mind catches up? The tight chest… the heavy stomach… the jaw clenching… the nervous system buzzing even when nothing “big” is happening? This is the language of your body; and it’s at the heart of somatic healing.

Somatic healing recognises that your body isn’t just a vessel. It is a living memory system, holding stories, stress, emotions and experiences until they feel safe enough to release. In my Intuitive Energy Work Sessions, somatic practices blend seamlessly with Reiki and intuitive energetic guidance to bring the body, mind and energy system back into balance.

Let’s explore what somatic healing is, what the research says, and how it can support you.

What Is Somatic Healing?

Somatic healing is a body-based therapeutic approach that helps you process emotions, regulate your nervous system, and release experiences that have been held in your physical tissues and energy field.

It is grounded in the concept of interoception, your body’s ability to sense itself, and the understanding that the nervous system responds to stress even when the mind tries to move on.

This modality uses gentle techniques such as:

• breathwork
• intuitive touch
• guided awareness
• grounding exercises
• micro-movements
• energy balancing (including Reiki)

The goal is to help your body feel safe enough to let go.

It is not about reliving trauma or analysing your pain, it’s about creating safety, presence, and regulation within your system.

Why the Body Holds Stress & Emotions

Research in neuroscience and somatic psychology shows that unresolved or overwhelming experiences are not only processed through the brain; they influence the entire nervous system.

Scientific foundations include:

🧠  Polyvagal Theory (Dr. Stephen Porges)
This theory explains how the vagus nerve governs our sense of safety. When the nervous system feels threatened or overloaded, it shifts into survival states (fight, flight, freeze) and can remain stuck there. Somatic work helps guide the body back into regulation.

🧠  Somatic Memory
Studies suggest that the body can store emotional and sensory imprints, particularly during stress. This shows up physically as tension patterns, muscle guarding, chronic fatigue, or “shutdown” responses.

🧠  Interoception Research
Evidence shows that tuning into bodily sensations improves emotional processing, reduces stress, and helps rewire patterns of reactivity.

This scientific understanding aligns beautifully with energetic practices, because when the nervous system softens, the energy system opens.

Benefits of Somatic Healing

Everyone experiences somatic healing differently, but consistent benefits include:

✨  Nervous System Regulation

Feel calmer, more grounded, and less reactive.
Research shows that somatic techniques can shift the body out of stress states and into parasympathetic (rest-and-regulate) functioning.

✨  Release of Stored Tension & Emotions

Instead of pushing emotions down or analysing them endlessly, the body learns to naturally unwind and let go.

✨  Increased Emotional Resilience

When your system feels safe, you respond rather than react; leading to clearer communication, more patience, and steadier emotions.

✨  Improved Connection to Your Body

Somatic healing rebuilds trust between you and your physical self, strengthening intuition and self-awareness.

✨  Support During Stress, Burnout, or Transitions

A regulated body allows you to move through life with more ease.

✨  Enhanced Energy Alignment

When your body softens, your energy flows. This makes Reiki, intuitive energy work, and spiritual integration even deeper and more transformative.

How Somatic Healing Works in My Intuitive Energy Work Sessions

Your session may weave together:

• Somatic touch and grounding
• Reiki energy work
• Guided breath and nervous system resets
• Awareness practices
• Energetic clearing and balancing
• Intuitive insights or channelled guidance
• Emotional release techniques
• Support for the body's natural healing impulses

Each session is responsive, intuitive and led by what your body is communicating.

Clients often describe feeling:

• lighter
• deeply relaxed
• emotionally clear
• connected to themselves
• grounded and open
• more “in their body” than they have in years

This work meets you exactly where you are; no pressure, no force, no reliving old pain.

Who Somatic Healing Can Support

Somatic healing is supportive for anyone experiencing:

• stress or overwhelm
• anxiety or nervous system activation
• emotional heaviness
• difficulty switching off
• sensitivity or overthinking
• chronic tension or energetic exhaustion
• feeling disconnected from their body
• past experiences the body is still holding

It complements all my offerings, including kinesiology, intuitive healing consultations, and bodywork sessions.

If You’re Feeling the Pull Toward Somatic Healing…

Your body is already telling you it’s time.

My Intuitive Energy Work Sessions offer a safe, nurturing, and evidence-informed space to release, reconnect, and come home to yourself.

You can book online anytime, for in person and online sessions. I’d love to support you in experiencing more ease, clarity, and emotional freedom.

Renae x