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What is somatic practice?

Somatic practice (soma meaning "the living body") is grounded in neuroscience, ethology, and Polyvagal Theory. It offers an approach to trauma resolution and nervous system care, working directly with where stress lives: in your autonomic nervous system.

Both past trauma and daily pressures— demanding work or staying steady for our kids—force us to push down our natural stress reactions. That energy gets stored. Somatic practice tracks subtle physiological signals, like shifts in breath, heart rate, or muscle contraction, helping your body safely offload that held survival energy. The goal isn't constant calm, but expanding your nervous system's capacity and flexibility—giving you access to adaptive responses that gradually become your default habits.

A certified somatic practitioner with long wavy hair is sitting on a beige couch in a bright room with a large window behind her, working on a laptop.

Core elements of the work

These practices build capacity gradually. The work is collaborative, paced, and guided by what your nervous system can safely hold.

  • Noticing physical cues such as tightness, warmth, pressure, or changes in breath. We learn to recognize the body’s quieter signals before they become overwhelming. We catch our body’s cues “upstream” before our emotional reactions take us over the “waterfall."

  • Allowing stored survival energy—fight, flight, or freeze—to resolve without force. Instead of pushing for release, we support small, tolerable movements toward completion. The nervous system is given time to settle and practice new response skills rather than stay stuck in old patterns.

  • Safely navigating sensation, image, behavior, affect, and meaning. This framework helps us notice the different channels through which an experience lives in the body. We can gently move between them, making space for integration without becoming consumed by any one part.

  • Moving out of automatic loops and returning to a baseline of safety and ease. Regulation is not about remaining calm all the time. It is the growing ability to move through activation, reconnect with support, and return to yourself with greater flexibility.

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Testimonials

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“Rochelle’s impact goes far beyond her expansive expertise…it is simply who she is. She has a rare ability to weave together science and authenticity… creating an experience of instant connection. The energy she brings to a space is undeniable.”

— Kelly Louden, owner Wild Juniper Sanctuary