Frequently Asked Questions

Somatic means relating to how the body feels, rather than just its physical structure.

Somatic practices are an essential part of connecting with the body.

For example:
When you feel stressed — where do you feel it?
Is it deep or surface-level? Tight or heavy?

By tuning into these sensations, we quiet the mind and begin to understand what’s really happening within. These practices builds our ability to introspect.

What is introspection?

The ability to witness what is happening inside our bodies, whilst it is happening. Introspection is a fundamental key to healing trauma.

Why?

It allows us to no longer be driven by these imprinted habituations.

We all have imprinted habituations from trauma or cultural conditioning. Imprints from trauma, of feelings like fear, despair and confusion, are particularly strong.

Through our interoceptive capacity we stop being driven by the trauma. We can feel what is happening in the body, and make conscious choices about how we meet those feelings.

We can decide how we hold it, what stories we do or don’t attach to it. Whether we feed it, repress it or let it be as it is.

It gives us back the power and choice we lost during trauma.

The definition of trauma can vary, but I have come to understand it as any event or environment in which you felt powerless, scared, or alone.

When we reflect on our childhood, it’s important to see it through the eyes of the child we once were.

As children, we are entirely dependent on our caregivers for survival. Because of this, even a subtle emotional disconnection is felt as deeply threatening. A child doesn’t yet have the capacity to think, “Mum is just stressed — she still loves me, this isn’t about me.”

Instead, the body experiences that as feeling deeply unsafe and alone in the world.

In the same way, a child cannot separate themselves from what is said to them. If a child is faced with harsh words from a caregiver or the caregiver removes attention and love (connection) depending on the child’s behaviour, the child is faced with two choices:

1) To internalise what is being said in order to keep the connection with caregiver (which is needed for survival), or 2) to reject it and risk disconnection from the very person they depend on.

Most often, we internalise.

This is where that inner critical voice can begin. A part of us that judges & criticises in an attempt to protect us from further hurt. We learn to punish ourselves to maintain connection with those we needed most - something many of us continue doing well into adulthood.

When we begin to look back through this lens, we can start to understand how even subtle, and often well-intentioned, dynamics have shaped our behavioural patterns, beliefs, and the way we relate to ourselves, and that these dynamics are often very much alive within us today.

Healing begins with awareness.

By noticing what we feel, why we feel it, and meeting it with compassion those old wounds begin to scab over and we connect to who we are, underneath who we needed to be to survive.

“Trauma is an invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world. It is the root of our deepest wounds.” - Gabor Maté

I recommend seeing each other once a week for the first 6 weeks. This is because the body holds patterns of tension and habit, and it takes consistent, repeated sessions to begin shifting those patterns.

Just as it takes time for tension to build, it also takes time and steady support to dismantle it.

On a mind level, most of us are deeply conditioned to follow our thoughts without question. This constant mental activity can be a major source of stress and suffering. Learning to quiet the mind and tune into the body is a skill that develops with practice and repetition. Scientific research shows that practices like meditation can bring about measurable changes in the brain, particularly in areas linked to focus, emotional regulation, and the autonomic nervous system.

By committing to regular sessions, supported by simple practices at home, we create a “snowball effect” as your Mind Body & Soul begin to meet.

Mind Body Soul Massage (In person):

60 minutes – £80
90 minutes – £110

If you’d like to work with me but these prices are outside your current budget, please email me at elliejonesbodywork@gmail.com so we can explore options together.