https://www.SomaticSamantha.com/, https://www.peelingtheonion.co.uk/

Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers, Geddes, Nairn (2026)

09/05/2026

💡What if your somatic work is powerful, but... incomplete? 👀

❤️ Your clients feel better in sessions. They track sensation. They regulate. They often leave softer, steadier, more settled.

And yet, for some of them in particular, something doesn't fully carry forward...

Patterns return. Pain comes back. The system settles, yes, but doesn't fundamentally change.

⚡This isn't because your work isn't good. Not at all. It points to something important that isn't always taught:

Regulation isn't the same as resolution.

A nervous system can settle in your room without the soma having actually learned something new. Without the client having integrated that change at a deeper level.

For change to go deeper, and to carry forward, the soma needs more than settling and regulation.

When you work with your client as a soma, a living process, and include movement, patterning, and somatic learning, something more begins to shift.

✨I've put together a short guide on what's often missing from even the best nervous system work, and what changes when you include it.

It’s called ‘Beyond Sensing, Settling, and Regulation’ – sign up for your FREE copy here: somaticsamantha.com/lm-beyond-reg

05/04/2026

The soma is living process - and always, necessarily embodied.

🔥But that doesn't make working with 'the body' the same as working with the soma.

⚡And working with the soma is what creates truly somatic learning, and more lasting change.

It's not 'wrong' to say the soma is the body 'experienced from the inside'. But the problem remains, that that insight has been warped to mean that the person - the soma - is *reducible* to their body (or, as often assumed in recent years, is somehow reducible to their nervous system state).

That's not the case (as Tom Hanna, Eugene Gendlin and others made clear).

✨ And it's not helpful. Because at its core, this way of thinking - and practising - maintains the very mind/body split that Somatics so effectively challenges.

😮 The talk therapy/somatic therapy dichotomy is reinforcing the mind/body dichotomy. And that's not okay!

Much of the work somatic practitioners are doing is fantastic, no doubt. It helps people.

BUT... when it starts to participate in the mind/body division it claims to overcome, cracks show: somas get settled, get regulated - but then... things shift back, changes don't stay, fluidity and adaptability don't always show up.

THAT is why it matters to work actively with the soma, and not the 'body'; to really think through what this 'person' is, that we work with.

That's a big part of what we do in my EMBODY Somatics programme for practitioners - alongside learning and interweaving somatic approaches (to sensing, moving and learning) to our own somas, and our clients.

❤️ Visit somaticsamantha.com for more info (or DM me).

05/04/2026

🌸 A Supple Centre: Why Polyvagal Theory Supports what Clinical Somatics Always Knew 🌸

One of the key insights of Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory is crucially important for anyone stuck in pain, anxiety, or discomfort:

💥The messages your body sends to your brain (especially from your gut) matter more to your emotional state, and your levels of stress and tension, than the thoughts sent from your brain to your body.

Why? Only 15–20% of messages about your environment, and how safe it is, are controlled by your brain, while 80–85% come from your gut and all the sensors in your body that inform your gut about your environment.

🔥 Why does this matter so very much, from the perspective of Clinical Somatics?

Well, it explains a lot!

It's why you can know you're safe (and tell yourself you're safe, repeatedly), but your nervous system keeps you stuck in survival mode – anxious and on edge, even long after any real threat has passed.

🔥 This supports a fundamental insight of Clincial Somatics – that muscular patterns of contraction don't just cause pain; they actively signal danger to your brain.

In particular, as Thomas Hanna (who developed Clinical Somatic Education) emphasised: ⚡when the muscles in your centre (your ‘core’) are tight and braced, your brain interprets this as threat. ⚡

⚡Your nervous system does not know the difference between your muscles being clenched tight into a stress pattern out of habit, and them clenching tight into a stress pattern because a sabre-toothed tiger just walked out in front of you!

😮 All it knows is that those clenched muscles mean you’re under threat.

This is why humans can't simply ‘let go’ of anxiety, trauma, fear, or chronic pain through willpower alone, nor through talk therapy or somatic sensing alone.

🥰That's why my work focuses on creating a soft, flexible, supple somatic centre.

👉Read full blog post at somaticsamantha.com: https://somaticsamantha.com/somaticsamantha-blogs/2025/8/16/a-supple-centre-why-polyvagal-theory-supports-what-clinical-somatics-always-knew

14/03/2026

Hello! Couple of March updates:

1. My new-format small-group programme for somatic practitioners is starting very soon now... If you'd like to join our small group at founding phase pricing, check out the details sooner rather than later: somaticsamantha.com/embody-info - or get in touch with me direct (hello AT somaticsamantha DOT com)

2. If you're more interested in Somatics for your *own* soma (chronic pain, stuck stress, etc), check out my free resources and also my short 4-day course as well as the more in-depth '28 SOMATIC STEPS TO FREEDOM FROM CHRONIC STRESS, DISCOMOFRT & PAIN': see somaticsamantha.com/somatics

(Yes I do 1:1 work, but there's a waiting list.)

07/03/2026

🌟 Working with the WHOLE nervous system (its neuromuscular parts too) in specific, stress-response-informed ways, is crucial for client results.

✨ It's also essential to working with someone as not just a 'body', but as a whole soma - where the mind/body distinction is meaningless, because a soma is living process - and that's what matters. That living process - that unfolding of being in the world? THAT is what's dealing with pain, with stress, with trauma.

💫 EMBODY Somatics is a small-group practitioner programme that shifts somatic work beyond nervous-system regulation toward supporting the whole soma in reshaping patterns of experience, action, and participation in life.

Get in touch ([email protected], or here) for more info. ❤️

24/02/2026

✨Here's what most somatic practitioners get wrong: They think 'body' and 'soma' are the same thing. But they're not. 🤔

And if you don't understand this distinction? You're missing the most important insight Somatics has to offer.

Your client's body is the physical structure - muscles, bones, tissues. Observable. Measurable. And way too often misunderstood.

✨Your client's soma is their whole self, experienced from the inside. It's them as-living-process - shaped by stress, trauma, and survival patterns, yes, but also by the whole of their lived experience and everything around them.

You can do all the body-based techniques you want - breathwork, sensing, tracking sensations, pendulation and more. Your clients might feel better... temporarily.

But if you're not working through the lens of truly somatic thinking - if you're not helping them learn to think somatically and work with their whole living system - those painful patterns will come back.

✨Because stress and trauma and pain? They don't live in 'the body.' They live in the soma - woven through your client's whole living system, showing up in their movements, their stress responses, their whole way of being.

🎉To release stuck patterns of stress, trauma, and pain - stop working with 'the body', and start working with the soma.

I've created a free guide: Why Client Shifts Don't Last When You're Working With 'The Body' Instead of the Soma (And What Changes When You Understand the Difference).

Download it now: somaticsamantha.com/sep-soma-lm

01/01/2026

All the best for 2026... whatever it may bring 💕

I wish you good health & a sense of genuine safety in your life - and to build on those foundations if you're able to do so.

(And let's see if my videos get any less blurry as the new year goes on, huh? 😆)

21/12/2025

😮 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗛 ❤️

"𝘚𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺."
"𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘵."
"𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 – at school, at home, in a fitness class, or even from a well-meaning friend. 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳?

As a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵.

But 𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, including from clients – whether they come from memories or are part of their current self-talk 😔

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲.
Wrapped up in ideas about health, beauty, and how we “should” behave and hold ourselves.

And 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗳𝘂𝗹.

There’s 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 of those words, for a start – and the pain caused by trying to live up to 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 around how we should look or move or eat.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆: 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 – the area around your belly, lower back, and waist.

That centre? 𝗜𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚. It needs to be free and responsive.

When it’s not, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 – 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹.

And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

Find out more via my free resources, online courses, & my blog. Or reach out in a message - and start releasing stress, tension, trauma and pain. From your centre ❤️

08/12/2025

If you're a therapist, sign up for your free guide to the 3 Somatic Keys to Release Chronic Stress & Pain here: https://somaticsamantha.com/lp3skeys-th

If you're most interested in learning about Somatics for yourself (whoever you are, and whatever you 'do')? Click here for your free guide: https://somaticsamantha.com/lp3skeys

23/11/2025

Hello! Mostly I'm on LinkedIn and my email list (and blog) - but I try to post in here sometimes too :)

In January I'm starting up my work with SE Practitioners and other somatic therapists in a small-group programme: I've run this previously in cohort groups, and it's always been great... but it's been hard to find start dates that work for everyone (and sometimes for me, too!) - so I'm making this shift to enable people to start any month, and still get all the content, including live sessions 🥰

What do you learn? Well...
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚n SEP, a 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 #𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐭 who integrates work with the 'body', together we explore what really is and can do for you & your clients, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 #𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 AND 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈.

This does NOT mean changing your entire model & approach. Nor is it simply a set of tools or skills you can ‘add on’ to your current practice.

It’s 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 in your client work, 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 to facilitate change at a genuinely full-person level. (This is something that ‘just’ somatic sensing & tracking won’t do, even though self-sensing is a crucial step.)

So: 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 (𝐞𝐬𝐩 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫)?

🌟𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔:

• 𝐓𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐚 (esp during long days of client sessions & admin, and esp if you experience chronic pain).

• 𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 ‘𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲’ 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜, by incorporating even tiny movements that actively work with the nervous system via the neuromuscular system, & 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 & 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑢𝑚𝑎.

• 𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 ‘𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬’ – 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 – 𝐛𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝 & 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 that may have come from beneficial sensing, tracking & insight, but which don’t last when neuromuscular patterns are left unresolved...

Learn more at somaticsamantha.com

Peeling The Onion: Clinical Somatics & Bach Flowers

09/05/2026

05/04/2026

05/04/2026

14/03/2026

07/03/2026

24/02/2026

01/01/2026

21/12/2025

08/12/2025

23/11/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category