What Is Somatic Work—and Why Does It Matter?

Part of How to Feel Safe in Your Body Series

By Luz Maria Campuzano | Soul Prompt Coaching

Soma (n.) — from the ancient Greek σῶμα, meaning “the living body.”
Not just the physical body as object, but the body as experienced from within—alive, sensing, communicating, and whole.

For too long, we’ve been taught to treat the body as something to control, fix, push through, or ignore.
We’ve been taught that wisdom lives in the mind, and the body is just a vessel to carry it.

But the truth is:
The body is not separate from our healing.
It is the gateway to it.

Your body has been with you since the beginning.
It has witnessed every joy, every heartbreak, every unspoken moment.
It holds your memories, your stories, your soul’s blueprint.
It is not just a carrier of pain—it is a keeper of profound truth.
And it wants to speak to you.

That is where somatic work begins.

What Is Somatic Work?

Somatic practices invite us back into the felt experience of being alive.
They ask us to listen—not just with our minds, but with our bodies.
To tune into sensation, vibration, tension, breath, movement.
To notice where our energy contracts… and where it wants to expand.

Somatic coaching and healing are based on the understanding that trauma, emotion, and insight are not just mental—they’re physiological.
When we experience something deeply, the body remembers—even when the mind forgets.

Somatic work isn’t about analyzing or fixing.
It’s about inviting the body into the conversation.
Because transformation doesn’t happen in the intellect alone—it happens when the body feels safe enough to release, reveal, and reorient.

The Body as Gateway to the Soul

In my work, I often say:

“The body is the bridge between the self we present to the world and the soul waiting to be remembered.” 

The body is not in the way of our spiritual evolution.
It is the path.

In somatic sessions, we begin to notice:

•  Where your truth lives in your chest, your breath, your gut
•  Where old patterns live as tightness or disconnection
•  Where joy begins to flutter, even when words haven’t yet arrived

We honor the body not by overriding it, but by listening.
We speak to it.
We ask it what it needs.
We invite its knowing forward with gentleness and awe.

Because when the body feels safe to speak, it sings.

Why Somatic Work Matters

We live in a culture that glorifies disembodiment—
Always rushing.
Always performing.
Always numbing.

But somatic work is an act of sacred rebellion.
It is a return to your center.
It is a reclamation of your power, your presence, your permission to feel.

Here’s why this work matters:

•  Because your body is wise. It knows what the mind cannot explain.
•  Because your body remembers. It holds the key to the healing you’ve been seeking.
•  Because your body is divine. It is not separate from your soul—it is the place where your soul lives.

To come home to your body is to come home to yourself.

 A Sacred Invitation

Somatic work is not about forcing breakthroughs.
It’s about creating the conditions for your body to soften, for your soul to speak, and for your truth to emerge.

It is gentle.
It is slow.
It is sacred.

And it is one of the most powerful ways I know to return to the essence of who you are.

You are not a machine.
You are not a mind with a body attached.
You are a soul who has a body.

A body that is living, breathing, sensing universe of energy, memory, and soul.

And the moment you invite your body into the conversation—
Is the moment you begin to heal.

 Techniques to Connect with Your Body and Begin Feeling Sensation

1. Hand to Heart or Belly: Anchor Touch

What to do:
Place one hand over your heart, and the other over your belly.
Close your eyes.
Feel the warmth of your hands and the subtle rise and fall of your breath.

Why it works:
Touch signals safety to the nervous system. This anchoring gesture builds awareness and connection between mind and body.

Prompt: What do I notice beneath my hands? What sensations are present here?

2. Body Scanning with Breath

What to do:
Sit or lie down. Breathe naturally.
Gently bring your awareness to each part of your body—head, neck, shoulders, chest, arms, belly, hips, legs, feet.
Pause at each area. Notice sensation, tightness, temperature, tingling—or absence of feeling.

Why it works:
Body scans develop interoception (the ability to sense the internal state of the body), which is essential for somatic awareness.

Prompt: Where in my body do I feel the most sensation right now? Where feels neutral or numb?

3. Somatic Listening: Let the Body Speak

What to do:
Choose a situation you're holding stress around. Then ask your body,

“Where do I feel this in my body?”
Listen. Don't analyze, just notice.

Then ask: 

“What would this part of me like to say?”
“What does it need?”

Why it works:
The body stores emotion as energy. This practice invites inner dialogue between your consciousness and your soma.

4. Grounding Through the Feet

What to do:
Stand or sit with bare feet flat on the floor. Bring awareness to the soles of your feet.
Imagine roots growing downward from your feet into the earth.
Breathe. Feel supported.

Why it works:
The feet are an energetic portal to grounding. This brings the attention out of the head and into the lower body—into safety and presence.

Prompt: What does grounded feel like in my body?

5. Micro-Movement: Let the Body Lead

What to do:
Close your eyes. In stillness, invite your body to move in whatever way it wants—tiny or expansive.
Maybe a sway, a shoulder roll, a stretch. Let it be intuitive.

Why it works:
Movement is a primal way of processing emotion and energy. When the body leads, it often reveals what the mind cannot.

Prompt: If my body could speak through movement, what would it say right now?

Gentle Closing Practice

After any of these techniques, you might place your hands on your heart and say:

“Thank you, body. I’m here. I’m listening.”

With so much love and gratitude, Luz Maria

Definition of “soma” and its origin:
The etymology of soma comes from Ancient Greek.

Harper, D. (n.d.). Soma. In Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved July 24, 2025, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/soma