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 Somatics
refers to our psychological awareness of our bodies, the extent
to which we are “tuned in” to the sensations of
smell, sound, sight, taste, and touch; the feelings of relaxation
or tension in our muscles; the workings of our inner organs;
feelings of pain; and all of our emotions . Somatic self-awareness
begins in infancy, as babies learn to approach and avoid their
own inner sensations based on their experiences in the world.
As adults, we tend to be less aware of our bodies than infants
or children, having learned to postpone, ignore, or suppress
our feelings and sensations because of social pressures. Using
somatic therapies that focus on body awareness, adults can experience
spontaneous capacities for the full use of their senses, movements,
and emotions that they experienced as an infant or young child.
These body awareness approaches use combinations of talk, movement,
and touch as ways of increasing awareness of the body. These
methods usually deal explicitly with physical sensations, they
provide an excellent technique for gaining information about
the salience of the body in creating and interpreting psychological
meaning.
Key Concepts |
