What is Somatic Massage Therapy?
Somatic Massage Therapy by With Ease is a deep, holistic bodywork approach that combines techniques like deep tissue massage, joint release (shaking), breath awareness, and mindfulness.
It’s designed not just to relax the muscles, but to help release physical tension and emotional holding patterns that we often store in the body.
Peter Levine and Bessel van der Kolk have brought awareness to the importance of focusing on the body when we’re dealing with issues like:
PTSD
Anxiety
Depression
Hypervigilance
Burnout
Somatic Massage Therapy has a deep body-mind approach, where it takes the whole person into account and work both with release, as well as proper integration.
Emotions get stored in the body
When we have had experiences or patterns in our life where we didn’t fully allow ourselves to express ourselves in the way that was necessary in the moment, our body has the ability to hold on to these emotions.
Over time, this can lead to restrictive movement, physical tension, and often a perpetuation of mental complaints.
It is like our body is literally carrying our memories in a heavy backpack along.
Dr. Peter Levine says beautifully that 'we need to finish unfinished movements', and Somatic Massage Therapy at With Ease dives into exactly that.
How does somatic massage therapy relieves emotional holding patterns?
Through slow, mindful touch, opening movement, and shaking of the body, it supports reconnecting with the body, grounding the nervous system, and creating more space inside — both physically and emotionally.
Shaking is especially helpful, as when we allow body parts to shake freely, we have to let go of this holding. Especially in areas like the shoulders, the back, and the hips, many of us have the feeling that we carry a whole armour shielding us.
Shaking supports releasing that and bringing up the unexpressed movements.
During Somatic Massage Therapy, clients can experience sensations of relief, and various forms of release can happen: sighing, crying, trembling, shivering, laughing, deeply relaxing, deepening the breath, etc.
Coming from a place of curiosity
I always share with every client the importance of coming into every session from a place of curiosity. What can we notice, and what can we give space to? When we offer a safe space for whatever is ready to come up and then move out, that is what emotions are to me: energy in motion.
At the end, clients mostly feel very relaxed, grounded, clear-headed, and connected to their body.
When can somatic massage therapy be most helpful?
When you’re having a hard time really connecting to your body or sitting with your feelings. When you’re easily feeling overwhelmed, feel like things trigger you easily, or have an undercurrent of anxiety or restlessness in your body.
You might know what and why is holding you back—whether it is a traumatic experience or a pattern that seems hard to break—but your body is still responding in the same familiar ways.
This is when somatic massage therapy can be really supportive, to work on this deeper nervous system level.
When looking for the right massage therapist to work with, something to keep in mind is that a lot of massage methods are not focussed on emotional relief, but are only focused on relaxation and muscular manipulation.
In these sessions there is not always the right amount of focus on emotional integration, when things do come up.
Want to learn Somatic Massage therapy?
At With Ease we offer Somatic Massage Therapy Practitioner Training every other month:
Learn more about the Massage Therapy training here 👇
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What to expect from an Mind-Body Reset™ class?
We’ll combine breath-work, somatic shaking, self-massage and reflective journaling. Together these tools help your nervous system unwind, release tension (physical and emotional), and activate your natural capacity to self-regulate.
