Mind is Body, Body is Mind

Hi, my name is Ali Rose and as a Somatic therapist my work can combine dialogue, clothed bodywork and movement to support you physically, emotionally and mentally. I work from The Soma Rooms in Chepstow and The Practice Rooms in Clifton Village, Bristol (BS8).

SOMA describes the intelligence of body experienced from within, and somatic approaches connect us to our inner experience reminding us body is not something we have but where we experience ourselves. Somatic’s is a professional field, rooted in science but with a holistic approach to body-mind wellbeing. Recognising mind and body as inseparable, Somatic Therapy gives space for what the body holds and can be an effective therapeutic approach for many people, bringing new insights to old problems and life experiences. 

We often speak of having a body as if it were separate, but body is where we experience our thinking-feeling-relating self. For a myriad of reasons this integration may feel obscured and result in the body’s increasingly loud call for attention through it’s signals of symptoms or dis-ease. My role as a somatic therapist is to support your enquiry into being with and including body in your experience; to encourage an approach of curiosity and kindness that body is an ally seeking understanding and reintegration in search of restoring wholeness .

The nervous system offers an important lens for my work and Polyvagal theory now brings science to our understanding and experience of being human; that  relational connection and safety is the foundation of our wellbeing, that our early years experience (including our time in the womb) is the period in which the ‘relational brain’ of our nervous system is most profoundly shaped. As a ‘bottom-up’ somatic therapist my work is based on the science that our nervous system is a somatic intelligence, with its wiring into the viscera of belly, heart and lungs, signalling upwards to the brain.   For this reason my work is experiential in nature, where movement and clothed touch can play an invaluable role influencing the bottom-up signalling, seeking to restore a sense of safe body-mind connection and understanding what the obstacles to that are. 

The movement aspect of my work is not a ‘doing’ of movement but recognising that life brings movement; to be human is to move. Breath moves us,  our hands gesture in movement when we speak, our body moves as it responds to our comfort or dis-ease. When there is flexibility within body-mind, the nervous system orchestrates an a constant ebb and flow of movement and rest but this responsive cycle may be inhibited or interrupted by the habits imprinted by our lived experiences. As mammals we are hard-wired to regulate our nervous system through touch which is why my work can include non-doing clothed touch as agreed between us. For many of us, safe touch may not have been available in the early years that profoundly shape our nervous system and when first working together, if touch contact is relevant,  I offer the use of props such as cushions, bolsters and weighted bags to support our enquiry.    

Whilst a somatic approach to therapy anchors itself in the body’s experience, dialogue plays an important role in all sessions, acting as a bridge between the familiar (mind) and the unfamiliar (body) whilst building a sense of trust and safety in our client-therapist relationship.  My work with each person is unique and whilst themes may weave like a thread though our sessions, each can have a unique flavour as we collaboratively respond to what is present for you. In bringing the separated parts of self together, my approach invites our somatic enquiry be guided by curiosity, compassion and invariably some humour!

Our work together can be short or long term with the regularity of sessions being agreed between us to best suit your needs and circumstance.  I offer a free 15 minute phone conversation to answer your questions about somatic therapy and in the first instance I usually recommend an Introductory session followed by a series of 6 sessions (can be paid in instalments) with a weekly or fortnightly rhythm. Following this, should our work be more medium or long term we can schedule sessions in a more flexible way.  In Bristol I work from Clifton Village Practice Rooms (BS8) on Tuesday and Wednesday’s , late afternoon into early evening. I offer a free 15 minute phone call to discuss your enquiry and any questions you may have, please feel free to get in touch.

I am Registered as a Somatic Therapist with ISMETA (find my listing HERE) and hold a Diploma as as Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapist with IBMT (see my listing HERE) and undertake regular supervision.

Please email me if you would like to arrange a free 15 minute phone call to answer any questions you may have about this body based approach to therapy. My charges in Chepstow are £55.00 for an Introductory session and £300 for a series of 6 sessions to be taken within 3 months. In Bristol an Introductory session is £60 and 6 sessions (£340).Whilst I can offer some flexibility and discretion, cancellations with less than 48-hours-notice will require payment of the full fee.