Somatic & Movement
The body is not separate from the story. It's where the story lives.
We live in a culture that prizes thinking our way through things. And yet some of what we carry, grief, fear, trauma, chronic stress, doesn't respond to insight alone. It lives in the body, in the nervous system, in the places that tighten or collapse or go numb before we even know why.
What somatic therapy can address
Somatic approaches are particularly well-suited for:
Trauma and PTSD — especially when talk therapy alone feels incomplete
Anxiety, panic, and chronic stress held in the body
Grief and loss
Chronic pain or physical symptoms connected to emotional experience
Dissociation or feeling disconnected from your body
The aftermath of medical trauma, illness, or surgery
A general sense of being stuck, frozen, or unable to move forward
A somatic lens at Heart Stone
At HSC, we believe the body is always part of the conversation — even when it isn't the explicit focus. All of our clinicians are attuned to what the nervous system communicates: the shift in breath, the tension that arrives with a particular memory, the sudden urge to move or go still.
For some clients, this awareness stays in the background, quietly informing the work. For others, it becomes the primary doorway into healing.
Somatic therapy works with the body as a source of information and healing. Rather than talking about experience, we learn to notice what's happening within it — the sensations, impulses, and patterns that hold the imprint of everything we've been through.
This isn't about bypassing the mind. It's about bringing the whole self into the room.
“Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
Approaches we draw from:
Somatic Experiencing (SE) — developed by Peter Levine, SE works with the body's natural capacity to complete stress responses that were interrupted by overwhelming experience. Rather than revisiting trauma directly, SE works gently at the edges — tracking sensation, building capacity, and allowing the nervous system to find its way back to regulation.
Polyvagal Theory — developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory offers a map of the nervous system and how it responds to safety and threat. Understanding your own nervous system patterns can be profoundly orienting — and a foundation for lasting change.
Movement — for clients who are drawn to it, movement can be a powerful part of session work. This might look like gentle stretching, breath-led movement, or simply bringing awareness to the impulse to move. Our clinician Margo creates space for this in her practice, following the client's lead entirely.
Somatic Therapy might be a good fit if you:
Feel like you've processed something cognitively but it's still living in your body
Struggle with anxiety that shows up physically — tension, shallow breath, a racing heart
Have a hard time feeling present or connected to your body
Are drawn to approaches that go beyond talking
Want therapy that honors the whole self — not just the thinking mind
