The Breath Letter #13
Dear Breather,
“Yes, I’ve been to therapy and can make sense of many things which is helpful, but I still find it difficult to truly feel.”
Let’s talk about somatics and somatic therapy…
You might have seen it somewhere online or heard me mention it in a session. But what does it actually mean?
The word coming from Ancient Greek (soma = body), it’s referring to any practice that works with your internal, physical, perception and experience.
In other words, all bodywork and every movement exercise is in some way shape or form a somatic practice.
And that includes breathwork.
Now, why is this important?
Because breathwork might not be what you need or what resonates with you, which might mean we need to find an alternative entry point into the body.
None of the practices that I work with are goals on their own, they are simply alternative routes to insights.
Routes into the body, to get closer to what is alive in you and potentially is ready to be processed.
So next time you feel stuck, want to understand something or feel stressed, rather than going into the head here’s a little challenge:
What if your body would let your body be in charge of what would help you most right now, what would you do?
Hint: jump, shake, sit, dance, voice, breathe, wiggle, shower?
For those of you interested, on the 16th of November there’ll be a Somatics and Breathwork session in Hackney Wick. Check it out here.
The Breath
Fascial Coffee
One of my favourite exercises which gets you into the body and energised.
So maybe try this one in the morning to help you wake up or after a boring meeting.
This exercise wakes up the fascia, an incredible tissue that runs all throughout the body, from the skin all the way to each and every cell of the body.
Instructions
For this exercise you use your own hands. You’re basically going to do the equivalent of a body scan, but instead of using your mind's eye and attention you are going to use your own touch.
Start with the forehead and use some light pressure as gently move the skin of the forehead over your skull.
Give yourself the amount of pressure your body is asking for, be gentle but firm.
Move down to the cheeks, and around the eyes, the jaws and eventually give the whole face a gentle rub.
From there cover the rest of the cranium, keep moving the skin gently over bone.
Then move on to the neck, front and back until you get to the shoulders.
Make your way down until you eventually get to the tips of the toes.
As a rule of thumb, give every body part at least three strokes, squeezes or any other form of touch.
Remember this is quite and active process so you might notice your temperature change or your body wanting to move a little. Both are completely fine and part of the process.
Once you’re done, give your body a final pat down and a little shake
The Insights
Sign up to an improv course.
At the last Soul Kitchen retreat someone asked me what has been an important step in the somatics journey. It took me a little while to answer this question; was it breathwork? Yoga? Movement workshops? Voice activation? Ecstatic dance?
Until, to my own surprise, I said “signing up to an improv course”.
See, somatics is about allowing things to come through, no matter how messy it is, and working with it in the present moment.
But when we’ve never done this before, it can be a bridge too far. And that’s where the improv comes in!
In improv, you still engage with the head on some level, but it does teach you to follow your intuition and not get caught up in the “what if” thoughts, because you simply don't have time.
It teaches you to follow your gut and heart impulse and trust that it’ll work out.
It also allows the nervous system to experience that it’s safe to be with whatever comes up, and that it’s safe to do so.
Guess which one is me?
In this workshop I connected to a persona/mask I called “Kevin”, which represented a part of me which was deeply sad, lonely, and found soothing in the colour purple which reminded him of lavender fields in the south of France.
Let go of the “Doer”
When you do breathwork, you aren’t doing breathwork.
When you do yoga, you are not doing yoga.
When you do meditation, you are not meditating.
This took me a while to get to grips with and it’s not how I’ve been brought up.
I’m supposed to “do”, right?
Go forward, make progress, more, better etc.
Who am I without my doing?
Well, that’s actually an excellent question and what somatics are all about!
Again, all practices are, in the end, routes to insight. Ways to engage with whatever is present, the practice is simply the entry point.
So in a way it doesn’t matter what you do, and at the same time nothing that you “do” is going to do it for you.
Highly annoying and frustrating and yet true.
Unless, you get clear on the why of your practice any or no practice will be helpful.
“Well I might as well, jump on one leg and whilst trying to build a sand castle” (A sentence from an actual, recent, conversation)
And the answer:
Well yes! Try it, be with the experience, notice what happens in the body and allow yourself to be amazed with everything that’s coming up. Can you simply let it be?
The Content
Free Online Shaking Event
Shake it off! Shake it off!
Who would’ve guessed I’d be inspired by Taylor Swift. But, just like the entire animal kingdom, she is right!
Shaking is an incredibly powerful tool and very fun when you allow it to happen. Besides that it’s also an effective way to allow stress to leave the system.
Ilan is a very interesting lady and offers free shaking events in English so give it a go!
The connection between emotions and the body
A very interesting Huberman Lab podcast episode. All about how emotions actually work and their connections to the body.
It talks about the difference between arousal, it being a sign of uncertainty and a need for more information, and anxiety which is a fight/flight response.
Another sentence I loved was “get your butterflies flying in formation” - an excellent example of working with what is rather than suppression or overwhelm.
DanceBreath
No better somatic practice than dance!
Not the kind of dance after 8 drinks in a club, nor the tango or any other choreography.
But true, free, movement, fully guided by the body.
Call it Tandava, Ecstatic Dance or fascial unwinding or motion. Whichever word works for you - but let the body move it wants to move and see if you can be surprised by what it does.
This link is to a playlist we recently used for a free movement session.
May it inspire you!
The Experiences
3th of November @ Fire + Alchemy - Shoreditch - Breathwork Class
For this session we’ll do a deep-dive into the world of breathing - with a specific focus on Self Esteem. Did you know there are multiple types of self-esteem; some more resilient some more fragile?
Through the breath we’ll see if we can get a little closer to ourselves and strengthen our sense of self.
Tickets here
11th of November @ Oru Space - East Dulwich - Breathwork Class
Happy to be coming back to South-London! I really enjoy these sessions for multiple reasons.
It’s a lovely space, it has incredible Sri Lankan food and great coffee and it allows me to connect to people who live all across town.
Tickets here
16th of November @ Akasa - Hackney Wick - Breathwork & Somatic Practices
The first edition of an evening I’m organising which combines breathwork and other somatic practices. Perfect for those who want to deepen their experience of themselves.
Akasa is a fantastic location with loads of space to explore.
Really looking forward to this one!
Tickets Here
21st of November @ Bless - Breathwork Class - London - Stoke Newington
The most intimate session of them all. Max 6 people in a cosy space.
Perfect for those who want to explore group breathwork in a safe container.
You also get a free Breathe. Card Deck with this one!
Tickets here
