How body work can unlock healing
by Juliet Lam Kuehnle
If you’ve ever felt skeptical about certain mental wellness practices, you’re not alone. Many people hesitate to try approaches that seem unconventional or outside their comfort zone. In a world where we’re often socialized amid stigma to value logic and self-reliance, it can feel strange to explore methods that don’t align with the “just figure it out on your own” mindset.
As helpers and healers, we understand this hesitation — but we know that some of these so-called “woo-woo” interventions can lead to profound healing, growth, balance and connection. Most people are familiar with talk therapy — the kind where you share your thoughts and feelings and work through challenges verbally. But there’s another powerful approach to healing that considers the whole person: bodywork, or somatics.
Body work is learning to listen to the connection between the body and the mind and to pay attention to the body’s emotional experience. We have physical manifestations of emotions held in our bodies, our nervous systems, even in the way we move. Think about kids who complain of a tummy ache before going to school: It’s actually nervousness or anxiety. As we get older, we tend to condition ourselves to disconnect from our mind/body awareness and not listen to what our body might be telling us. We like to stay in our heads because we believe we can think our way to a solution or we may not feel safe being in our bodies. For those of us who have been traumatized, for example, we may not want to have awareness of what’s going on in our bodies. And yet, it’s there. As the Dutch psychiatrist and trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk said: The body keeps the score.
“One of the biggest gifts we can give ourselves is to bring compassion to the parts of ourselves that hold tension, heaviness or even numbness.”
Juliet Kuehnle, therapist
Learning to listen to your body’s signals can be incredibly empowering. Your body acts as an alarm system, offering clues as to what’s happening emotionally beneath the surface. I often teach clients to approach these physical sensations with curiosity. Ask yourself: “What is this feeling trying to tell me?”or “What triggered this sensation?” Once we have this awareness, we can use coping skills to soothe physical feelings, we can address and release trauma held in the body, we can work on reframing thoughts that lead to particular physical somatizations, and so much more. There’s no one-size-fits-all path, but the key is recognizing that your body holds wisdom.
One of the biggest gifts we can give ourselves is to bring compassion to the parts of ourselves that hold tension, heaviness or even numbness. If you’re willing to explore the connection between your body and mind, you might find a profound sense of wholeness and understanding. The body piece isn’t separate from the cognitive piece; it’s part of what makes you fully human.
Juliet spoke with Laura Phoenix, who specializes in yoga and bodywork for trauma recovery. Below are excerpts from their interview, lightly edited.
How do you define somatic experiencing (SE)?
In my practice and experience, the biggest part of holding an SE “container” is “felt sense.” Felt sense is uncomfortable emotional sensation that tells us that something is or was wrong. A lot of folks, having gone to lots of different types of therapy, are used to talking about things and have a great analysis of what their problems are and what has happened to them. And this often doesn’t get at the heart of it. Some of my most powerful time with clients is when we slow down and get to felt sense, and often we’re not saying anything at all.
Talk therapy is obviously valuable, and it’s important to find permission to also bring in the body piece. The combination
is everything.
We’re whole beings. The cognitive parts of our brain that can think and explain and understand are valid and welcome. They also shouldn’t be driving the bus 100% of the time.
What does bodywork look like, outside of learning to soothe physical somatizations?
We can use movement as a tool to broaden our awareness. I can choose to move my body in a way that helps me settle. We don’t have to say a lot about it for the work to do its magic. There’s an invitation: Can we turn toward what’s happening in our body?
Can someone access bodywork before talk therapy?
They can absolutely access the body first. I’m a big believer in letting the person, to some degree, dictate their own healing journey. Go toward what feels right for you. Find a clinician you trust, because the medicine is in when both the therapist and client bring their humanness into the room. SP
Juliet Kuehnle is the owner and a therapist at Sun Counseling and Wellness. The full interview featuring Laura Phoenix can be found on Instagram @YepIGoToTherapy or wherever you stream podcasts.
