What is Somatic Therapy?

Lately, I’ve had many people reach out—whether for one-to-one sessions or about our breathwork training at OBI—because they’re looking for somatic therapy, somatic breathwork, or somatic bodywork. Often, they admit they’re not entirely sure what those terms mean. A friend or another service provider may have recommended it, or they simply sense it’s something important for their healing journey, even if they don’t yet fully understand why.

So let’s dive into what somatic therapy really means—and how it compares to somatic breathwork and somatic bodywork.

The Roots of “Soma”

To understand somatic therapy, we first need to look at the root of the word itself. The word soma comes from the ancient Greek, meaning simply “body.” But in its original use, it didn’t describe the body as a machine of parts—arms, legs, muscles, bones—separated from the rest of who we are. Soma referred to the living, breathing body, infused with life, inseparable from experience.

In contrast, the word psyche described the soul, spirit, or mind. Over time, Western culture developed a habit of splitting these two apart—body on one side, mind on the other. The medical model reinforced this divide: physical symptoms were treated by doctors, while emotions and thoughts were handled by psychologists.

But in truth, the ancients saw soma and psyche as interconnected, two aspects of one being. Body and mind were never meant to be separated.

Today, when we say somatic, we are pointing back to this holistic truth: that healing is not just a mental process, and not just a physical one. It happens through the body, in the body, and with the body—in relationship with our whole selves.

What Somatic Therapy Really Means

At its heart, somatic therapy is an approach to healing that directly involves the body. It is based on the understanding that our lived experiences—especially those that are overwhelming or traumatic—are not just stored as memories in the mind. They are also held in the body.

When something is “too much, too fast, or too soon” for the nervous system to process, it can leave behind an imprint. That imprint might show up as chronic tension in the shoulders, a tightness in the chest, a heaviness in the gut, or a sense of shutting down in certain situations. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel connected to a story we consciously remember, but the body is carrying it nonetheless.

This is why people often say: the body remembers what the mind forgets.

Somatic therapy creates a safe space to engage with these body-held experiences—through breath, movement, sound, or gentle touch—and allow what was once “stuck” to move again. It isn’t about re-living trauma, but about offering the body new possibilities for release, integration, and connection.

But the body doesn’t only hold pain. It also holds encoded wisdom. When we attune to the body, we discover resilience, intuition, and clarity that cannot be accessed by thinking alone. The same nervous system that stored the imprint of survival also carries the blueprint for thriving.

When we begin to truly trust our intuition and feel safe enough to live authentically, we remember something deeper: that we were not meant to live in constant fear, stress, or striving. We hold within us the blueprint for a life that is happy, connected, and abundant. And I believe this is not just a possibility—it is our birthright.

The Body as a Holder of Both Wounds and Wisdom

One of the most powerful truths I’ve witnessed in my own life and in my work with clients is this: the body holds everything. It carries not only the unprocessed pain of the past, but also the wisdom and capacity to heal.

• Our nervous system records every experience we have, shaping patterns of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
• Our fascia—the connective tissue web that runs throughout the entire body—stores physical and emotional memory.
• Our energetic body communicates through subtle sensations, intuition, and felt sense.
  

Science is catching up to what ancient traditions have long known. Epigenetics shows that trauma can be passed down through generations. We don’t just carry our own experiences—we carry the imprints of those who came before us. And we also carry their strengths, resilience, and wisdom. In this sense, every healing journey is both personal and ancestral.

For some, the body even reveals stories that feel older than their family line—memories or patterns that emerge like echoes of past lives. Whether taken symbolically or literally, these experiences can help us understand ourselves more fully and release what no longer serves.

All of this reminds us that healing is never only about the present moment. The body is a vast archive, storing wounds and wisdom across time. Somatic therapy invites us to meet these layers with curiosity and compassion—not to force them open, but to allow what is ready to surface to move, integrate, and transform.

Somatic Breathwork vs. Somatic Bodywork

In the One Breath Method™, somatic breathwork does somatic bodywork. Through the breath, we invite movement and sound to arise naturally—shaking, stretching, rocking, humming, crying, or laughter. These spontaneous expressions are the body’s way of unwinding tension and reorganizing itself toward balance and health.

Somatic bodywork is often thought of only in terms of receiving hands-on touch, and touch can indeed be profoundly healing. It can regulate the nervous system, dissolve chronic holding patterns, and bring comfort, presence, and relief.

But it’s important to remember that bodywork isn’t limited to professional touch. Movement and self-touch—placing your hand on your heart, rocking your body, or stretching into sensation—are also powerful forms of somatic bodywork. These practices remind us that healing is not something only given to us by another, but something we can participate in directly.

And just as powerful as receiving touch is the choice of not receiving it. Somatic therapy honors the full spectrum of consent: the ability to say yes, the ability to say no, and the freedom to change your mind at any moment. Consent is not an add-on; it is central to healing.

Too often, people hand their power over to a practitioner they believe is the “expert.” But true somatic therapy doesn’t require giving away your authority. At One Breath Institute, we emphasize that the body itself is the expert. Practitioners can guide and support, but your soma always has the final say.

This is what sets our approach apart. Somatic therapy is not about someone else “fixing” you. It is about reconnecting with your own truth, your own body, and your own wisdom.

Embodiment: Beyond “Listening to the Body”

To really understand somatic therapy, we also need to look at what it means to be embodied. Many people use the phrase “listening to the body,” and while the intention is good, it can unintentionally reinforce the idea that we are separate from our bodies—as though there is a “you” on one side of the wall and “your body” on the other.

I appreciate how author Philip Shepherd describes it:

“Embodiment isn’t about quieting the thoughts in the head and noticing the sensations of the body from there—it’s about bringing the abstract intelligence of the head into relationship with the body’s intelligence… Embodiment isn’t about sitting in the head and paying attention to the part of you we call the body—it’s about fully inhabiting the intelligence of the body and attuning to the world through it. It’s about listening to the world through the body. It’s about feeling the world through the breath.” (Shepherd, 2018)

This points to a state many of us have glimpsed: where we “become the breath.” In those moments, we are not observing or analyzing—we are simply present, immersed in the here-and-now sensations of breath, body, and life itself. Time softens, worries fade, and we enter what’s often described as a flow state.

Embodiment, then, isn’t about technique. It’s not about watching the breath or noticing the body. It’s about inhabiting your whole being—the thoughts of the mind, the sensations of the body, the awareness of the moment—as one coherent, living unity.

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From Concept to Practice

What Philip Shepherd describes so beautifully is not just a philosophy—it’s something we can directly experience. This is exactly what somatic therapy makes possible.

Through practices like breathwork, movement, sound, and self-touch, we begin to dissolve the illusion of separation between “me” and “my body.” These practices invite us out of the role of observer and into direct participation with life as it unfolds through us.

And here’s the nuance: it’s not about the technique itself. You could focus on “doing breathwork right” or “getting the movement correct,” but that approach keeps you in the head, analyzing and evaluating. The real power comes when you allow yourself to surrender into the experience—when you stop observing your breath and instead become the breath, when you let the movement move you, when sound emerges not from effort but from release.

In those moments, healing isn’t something you “make happen.” It arises naturally as you inhabit your soma more fully. You might call this a flow state—a place where the sense of separation dissolves, time softens, and you discover yourself as a coherent unity of mind, body, and presence.

This is why somatic therapy is so transformative. It doesn’t just help us process old wounds; it helps us reclaim our wholeness, not as an abstract idea, but as a direct, lived experience.

Coming Home to Your Soma

Somatic therapy isn’t about someone else fixing you, or even about “listening to your body” as though it were separate from who you are. It’s about coming home to yourself—to the living, breathing, intelligent being you already are.

Your soma holds everything: the pain you’ve carried, the wisdom encoded in your cells, the resilience of your ancestors, and the quiet truth of your intuition. It carries the survival patterns that once kept you safe, but it also carries the blueprint for your authentic, abundant life.

Healing happens when we stop giving our power away to external experts and start trusting what the body knows. Sometimes that means breath opening into movement and sound. Sometimes it means the supportive presence of touch—or the empowering choice to decline it. Sometimes it means shaking, crying, laughing, or simply being still. Every one of these is somatic therapy, because every one of these choices is an expression of your body’s truth.

This is the foundation of the One Breath Method™: a trauma-informed, client-led approach that honors consent, authenticity, and embodiment. We don’t position ourselves as the ones with the answers. Instead, we help you reconnect with your soma so you can remember that you are not separate from your body—you are your body, your breath, your presence, your life.

If you’ve been curious about somatic therapy, I invite you to experience it for yourself. You can explore this work through a private session, join a breathwork circle, or step into our professional training at One Breath Institute. However you begin, the journey is the same: a path of coming home to your soma, reclaiming your wholeness, and living the life that has always been your birthright.

Final Thoughts

‍Somatic therapy reminds us that healing is not about fixing from the outside, but about returning to our bodies, reclaiming our wisdom, and remembering that wholeness has always been our birthright.

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By Lisa McNett, Founder