We need to be grounded in the safety of the present moment in order to heal.

A facilitator, therapist or good friend can help us with that. They notice we’re holding our breath or we sound scared. Their presence and their voice brings us back. We realize I am no longer back in that situation where I felt overwhelmed and scared. I am here now. That danger is in the past.

We can be that grounded mindful presence for ourselves. We develop a habit of noticing when we clench our teeth or gut, or when our shoulders and upper back tighten up, bracing for trouble.

We cultivate unconditional acceptance and being on our own side.

We notice when we’re shaming ourselves. We start to see how our experiences in life led us to falsely believe we are unlovable or broken. Our defense mechanisms begin to soften as we feel safer. We welcome ourselves wholeheartedly into our awareness.

This series of questions and guided practices are a way to support yourself in your ongoing somatic mindfulness inquiry. You can use one or more on the fly, or settle in to an inquiry session.

We begin with relaxing our physical body and resting with a smooth, continuous breath to allow our mind to settle.

Click the picture to listen

Bring your awareness to your whole body, head to toes

Soften your forehead and eyebrows

Release tension from your jaw

Let your shoulders relax

Once you are “in” your body, we can begin.

Keep some of your attention on your body and breath throughout the inquiry. This will alert you if you start to slip into traumatic memory, and you can come back into this moment.

Become familiar with these grounding and orienting practices so they are readily available to you. When you are calm, try several and make a list of what is particularly helpful for you.

Somatic Inquiry is when we tune in and listen to the sensations and energy in our body

Our body tells us what’s up

Trauma is stored in our body as sensations and energy with associated memories and thoughts.

When something happens that is scary or overwhelming, our system helps us to avoid feeling hurt and powerless. This is what happens for everyone. It’s how our system works.

As adults, we have agency and different resources than a child has. We also have a nervous system that is highly committed to protecting us.

Most of the disturbing thoughts in our mind are generated by hypervigilance in our nervous system. Click the picture.

We can become proficient with tapping, tracing, and taking a different perspective with thoughts. We can look into the evidence for our beliefs. We can lessen the intensity of compulsive thoughts and rewire our neural networks.

Catastrophic thinking is unhealthy for the brain

I want to truly welcome what is here …

Trauma stored in our body comes into our awareness as sensations, feelings and energy

Sometimes we have explicit visual memories and other times it’s more a feeling of dread or danger

Sensations might be moving or still, sharply painful, a feeling of heaviness in our throat or chest

Notice the space around the energy

Is this here to hurt me? This type of energy is here to protect or warn us. It us trying to help.

Why is this energy here?
What does it want me to know?

Use the grounding and orienting tools like tapping, tracing, focus shifting, and visual cues of safety to remain in the present moment as you inquire

This is a 20 minute guided inquiry

With your hand on your heart, say these welcome phrases

I am so glad to connect I am listening

You are not alone anymore

I am an adult now

You can count on me

It is safe for you to let me know more

I love you and I want to know you

You are so welcome to be here

These are a good foundation for inquiry and healing trauma

  • Somatic: we are present in our own body, familiar with its energies and feelings

  • Safety: we realize through experience that it is safe to feel what is here and to inquire, knowing we can bring ourselves back into self-regulation

  • Neural: Our brain is highly associative and brings forward thoughts and memories related to the sensations in our body

  • Agency: through direct experience we realize we are not helpless in the face of compelling thoughts generated by hypervigilance in our nervous system

  • Welcome: we can cultivate being open hearted with ourselves with compassion as an ongoing practice of connection