The Power of Somatics and Embodiment Practices in Integrating Altered States of Consciousness
Photo by Fern Trelfa
Integrating Altered-States: The Role of Embodied Healing and Somatics with Expert Fern Trelfa
Somatics & Body Awareness for Integrating Altered States
In the realm of personal and professional development, self-actualization and transformation can often skew towards cognitive strategies and mental frameworks. Yet, there's a growing recognition of the role our physical bodies play in these processes. I believe that embodiment and somatics are at the heart of integrating altered-state experiences. Embodiment refers to the practice of connecting with and living through our physical sensations, movements, and overall bodily awareness. It's about recognizing the body as a vessel that not only carries our mental and emotional experiences but also actively participates in processing and expressing them.
Embodiment is also a useful technique for healing trauma: one study showed how embodiment practices, or body and movement-oriented interventions (BMOIs) were effective in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress-disorder (PTSD). Another recent study found that somatic experiencing, an embodied healing technique developed by Dr. Peter Levine, helped relieve symptoms of PTSD and depression. And many of us have likely heard of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s important book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, which talks about the impact of trauma on our cognitive, emotional, and physical states and how embodied healing and body-based therapies with yoga, massage, dance, and others can support traumatic stress recovery.
The Somatic Path to Healing: How Embodiment Practices Facilitate Integration of Altered-States of Consciousness
Somatics, derived from the Greek word soma for the living body, encompasses a range of practices that prioritize the body's intelligence in healing and personal growth. These practices encourage a deeper attunement to our physical presence, promoting a harmonious balance between mind, body, and spirit. This somatic intelligence is part of body awareness, which is described in one study exploring the relationship between mind-body therapy and embodied healing. In this paper they state that body awareness is part of an emergent tendency towards wholeness, translated into the actions and interactions we have with others and the world around us. (It’s worth mentioning that this movement towards wholeness is a key component of the Recíproco Method for integrating altered-states experiences.)
Somatic techniques like grounding, resourcing, visualization, self-regulation, and body scans are starting points for expressing, processing, and integrating the trauma responses that may have come up during an altered-state experience. And doing so safely, with the support of a trained trauma-informed somatic therapist or body awareness facilitator, is critically important for such integration.
Our bodies are dynamic libraries of our life stories. Through somatic and embodiment techniques we can tap into this innate somatic intelligence in order make lasting changes in our lives.
Integrating Altered States: Fern Trelfa's Approach to Embodied Healing and Somatic Practices
In this month’s Healing Beyond Medicine audio series, I interview awareness facilitator Fern Trelfa, who guides us towards a more embodied and integrated self.
The Honest Body: Unveiling Truths Through Embodied Awareness
In my work, I really recognize that we live within such a mind-heavy, top-down society. So it's not that I push the mind to the side, it's just that I believe we need to even the playing field a bit and begin to educate people on how their bodies have been absorbing their experiences even before they were born. Even when we are in our mother's womb, we are really absorbing the environment of our mothers and our birth, our upbringing, everything has been happening within the body. When it comes to healing…so often the mind is telling us beliefs and narratives that actually don't want us to go into the space of deep truth because, for so many of us, this space of truth is very painful. So the mind tends to protect, whereas the body, she tends to be a little bit more honest with us.
Engaging Body Wisdom: The Active Process of Somatic Awareness for Healing
Fern's expertise lies in merging the stories from our past with the concrete reality of our physical being. She emphasizes the need for a grounded approach to integration, where the body's wisdom is not just acknowledged but actively engaged.
The body doesn't have an agenda. It reacts to the present, holds the past, but it always exists in the now, which can really allow people to have such a grounded experience. That's where healing happens. It's not in the stories we tell ourselves about the past or the future, it's in the actual physical experience of the present moment.
Somatics and Embodiment in Practice: Techniques for Integrating Altered States
Questions explored with Fern in the interview:
What does integration as it relates to embodied healing mean for you?
How do you see the role of altered states in an embodied healing journey?
Can you recommend body awareness practices for returning to the body after altered state experiences?
What are some potential risks or non-beneficial embodied healing practices in terms of integration?
How does trauma interact with altered states, and what does safe embodied integration look like?
What advice would you give to someone wanting to incorporate embodiment techniques into their integration process?
As you listen to the interview, I encourage you to reflect on your own body awareness and the embodiment tools you can use to support your healing journey. What embodied healing techniques help you anchor your insights?
About Fern
Fern has been guiding people in journeys of embodied healing and discovery for 15 years. Her work embraces nervous system intelligence, somatics and trauma integration; modern therapeautic techniques, embodied yoga and movement; whilst being rich with the beauty of ancient Eastern philosophy. At its heart, Fern's work guides people towards deeper feeling of their body, heart and words - in grit and glory. More so, she guides people in how to process and express what they feel so they can embrace profound authenticity, truth and connection.Fern has facilitated workshops & retreats internationally for over a decade and has a busy practice of private clients who work with her online and in Lisbon.
