What is Soma?

In the context of somatic therapy or somatic experiencing, “soma” refers to the body as a whole, emphasizing the importance of bodily sensations, experiences, and wisdom in the healing process. Soma is where unprocessed emotions and traumas are held, and also where integration and transformation take place. Rather than treating the body as a passive container, somatic inquiry engages it as an active, intelligent participant in healing.

What is Somatic Inquiry?

Somatic Inquiry, a body-based healing practice, is a specific approach to asking the body questions. Whereas the mind might answer a question with reason and logic, the body answers with physical sensation. The body won’t lie.

What is Inquiry?

Inquiry involves critically examining and questioning the beliefs, identities, and perspectives that sustain our suffering and keep our repression mechanisms out of conscious awareness.

What are repressed emotions?

Repressed emotion refers to feelings or emotional responses that have been unconsciously pushed out of conscious awareness because they are considered too painful, overwhelming, or unacceptable to deal with. Instead of being fully experienced or expressed, these emotions are suppressed and stored in the subconscious, often leading to psychological or physical tension, emotional numbness, or behavioral patterns that reflect unresolved inner conflicts. Over time, repressed emotions can contribute to mental health challenges or manifest as physical symptoms.

What does the process of Inquiry look like?

In Repression Inquiry, we both engage with repression and challenge it. It's a dynamic process where we go as far as embodying the repression itself. When done effectively, the repressed energies have no place to hide, becoming fully exposed, felt, and expressed. Transmuted, in other words.

The speed of this process varies for each individual and largely depends on two factors: the client's willingness to follow the facilitator's guidance and the facilitator's skill in recognizing potential pitfalls and avoidance patterns during the inquiry.