I came to somatics as a total skeptic. When I was first told my body was holding onto stress and emotions from the past, I was doubtful.

I had no idea how my body – and tissues like muscles, bones, and organs – could hold onto emotions or past experiences. But with a chronic health condition that was apparently caused by stress, I was willing to try anything to feel better.

After trying everything else with little success, I gave somatics a try. With the support of a highly-skilled practitioner, I started accessing and releasing stress and emotions held in my body. I was astonished and amazed by the process and results, and grateful that my health finally started to improve.

Meanwhile in my day job, I was working as a director in a medical school. In this role, I was part of a team studying employee conflict in healthcare. I started noticing that in conflict situations, people’s bodies and nervous systems would get activated and these would influence how they handled high-pressure situations.

I started to realize that the somatic practices I was learning weren’t just relevant for healing and personal growth. But were the missing piece of the puzzle for helping people manage stress, emotions, and interpersonal dynamics at work.