Somatic Coaching
"Expand your curiosity. Reach for what you don't know. "
– Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen
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Frequently asked questions
My Personal Healing Path
At 21 years old, I sustained a back injury from a physical assault that left me unable to walk. X-Rays and an MRI showed that nothing was broken or damaged, yet I could barely drag myself half upright by my arms. Within a short period of time, I faced the sudden loss of a close companion to suicide and also received a devastating health diagnosis which compounded my physical and emotional challenges. This unexpected convergence of events overwhelmed me, disabling me into a state of complete collapse. I had a very bleak outlook and knew that somehow, I would have to get myself back together. Determined to heal, I eventually returned to college and pursued unconventional studies in psychology, dance movement, anthropology, nutrition, and writing. I was acutely aware that there was much more to "wellness" than something physical or mental alone. My eclectic education taught me that true wellness integrates body and mind with great nuance and interdependence. I found solace and healing while studying the somatic movement practices of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, and the ancient energy practice of Jin Shin Jytsu, illuminating the profound intelligence of the body. After college, I enrolled in massage school. Once beginning clinic where students traded work on each other multiple times a week, I began to have memories arise of past traumas, both small and big. When the buried memory of a sexual transgression I had experienced as a child surfaced, it almost took me out of school altogether. I was blessed to have the support of mentors and therapists, and along with breathwork, and somatic practices that included therapeutic touch and trauma work, I was able to navigate these experiences successfully. This deeply personal healing solidified my belief in the undeniable connection between the body, mind and trauma, as well as the transformative power of bodywork and somatic healing. I loved doing bodywork and it was natural and intuitive to me. And, I knew because of what I was experiencing personally, that this work could be used for incredible healing. I opened a private massage practice in 2004. Alongside my practice, I immersed myself in studies of nutrition, herbalism, and mystic and occult systems, Buddhist meditation, yogic practices, shamanic cross-cultural studies, brain-wave healing, and many other touch-based healing modalities that I integrated into my massage approach. These disciplines expanded my understanding of how the body heals and strengthened my own approach to healing. I dubbed this approach as 'Intelligent Touch' -which simply means touch with presence and ever-expanding understanding. Despite my progress, I struggled with recurring back pain that would leave me unable to walk for days at a time, from my initial back injury a few years earlier. The episodes started increasing in frequency from 2x up to 4 & 5x a year. I was fortunate to find a dedicated and highly skilled chiropractor whose approach really worked for me, as well as a physical therapist who worked on me solely with Zero-balancing and Acutonics (tuning fork therapy), two things I later integrated into my own practice. Working with these two women, I learned I had sustained a bad sprain to my Sacroiliac ligament. The SI ligament is the ligament that anchors your sacrum to your pelvic bone and is meant to stabilize the weight of your entire spine in your pelvis. It is not meant to have much flexibility or movement. Spraining it and continuing to let the ligament grow weaker and weaker after the initial trauma could have indeed left me without the ability to hold myself upright. In fact, I walked with a slight forward bend that looked like a stoop through most of my 20's. I wish I had a good picture to show you. With the constant support of these manual healers, and training with a few personal teachers over a period of three years along with other tools I had learned, I was able to heal fully. I learned to embrace slow, nuanced micro-movements, isometric resistance work, functional loading, and somatic repatterning, practices that completely transformed my relationship with my body. I can’t quite convey the emotional relief I felt at that time. I was no longer plagued by worry about how my body would respond or revolt against simple movements, long car rides, traveling or sleeping in a different bed. I felt free. Over the years, I’ve added numerous techniques to my toolbox, but the most powerful one is simply presence. Presence brings us into the body, into stillness, and illuminates the places where healing can begin. I’ve built the Kinconnxon Somatic Coaching Program on this foundation, integrating tools and practices that have transformed my own life and the lives of many of my clients. I didn’t go to school for any formal “Somatic Coaching Certification”. The work I do is an original synthesis developed through the last 2 decades of my own experience, as well as working with over ten thousand people in both body-based, spiritual, and mental health rehabilitation settings. Healing occurs when the body and mind come into conscious alignment. Your relationship with your body deserves priority in your life -it’s your vehicle for this journey. Cultivating a sincere connection with it built on care, curiosity, love, and respect is a gift you won’t regret. Regardless of your current state, taking the time to focus on this alignment allows you to truly embody, appreciate, and honor the vessel that carries you through life, and the consciousness therein. It's something you’ll be grateful you took the time for, now. Your life is worth it.
Somatic Terms & Vocabulary Sheet
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