18/08/2026
I often have conversations with people in the airport or on a plane. And the conversation around "What do you do?" is interesting because my work, Somatic Bodywork Therapy, is relatively unknown.
Somatic Bodywork Therapy is a way of allowing the body to release stress, anxiety, stuck feelings and trauma in a natural and easy way. It's such a wonderful relief!
Feelings getting "stuck" in the body is a real thing. Talking about things - if that is even an option - doesn't always help. In fact, for some people, or in certain circumstances, talking can make things worse, especially if the talking cannot lead to a resolution of the issue for some reason.
Breathing techniques are amazing, and this is one thing you can do for yourself without any other person's intervention.
TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises) can be wonderful for this too, and BSR (Body Stress Release) is one of my own personal go-to options when I need support for myself.
My own work in Somatic Bodywork Therapy came about almost by accident. I started off offering massage therapy, here in beautiful Cape Town, with a specialty in inclusion and touch. I expected to be making people feel wonderful, safe, calm, relaxed, refreshed and to experience a complete reset of their nervous system - that was my plan. Good feelings - that's it.
It was working great! Happy client after happy client.
And then someone came to me who had buried trauma and who had a flashback during our session together.
I was never more grateful for my experience and training as a hypnotherapist , and my background in emergency medicine where trauma is still completely raw and immediate. I felt it happening, I responded immediately, intuitively, and I was able to bring comfort and calm and peace to my client in the moment,. And she sent me a long voice-note afterwards about how incredible it had been to confront her trauma with safe, comforting and loving support.
Following that first experience, I had more people come to me to with issues that they couldn't talk about; past experiences they had never felt safe to confront; or in some cases, things they could not previously admit even to themselves.
Each time these incredible humans came to me, brought their vulnerability and their hurts to me, it felt like such a gift to be able to bring peace and hope.
I can't even explain in words how important that quiet, calm, loving, safe, non-judgmental space of healing is. Even just a single session can be life-changing. It has really amazed even me, how wonderfully this supports human wellbeing 🌹
So I live every day grateful for this gift I have.
It can be a simple, wonderful massage, given and received with mindfulness and deep presence.
And when needed, it can be even more - an incredible relief, a brand new discovery, or even the light of Hope and possibility 🌈
I'm attaching here a link to an article in Psychology Today that gives a good explanation of Somatic Bodywork, the pioneers in the field and some different modalities, so that you can hopefully find the right support for yourself if this is something you think might be good or worth trying.
And of course if you are near the City of Cape Town or Port Elizabeth, you are invited to reach out to me for your own wonderful massage or Somatic bodywork therapy session 🌹
I also offer gift vouchers if there's someone you love and really want to spoil 💜
Mwah xx
Rose
Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical therapies for holistic healing. In addition to talk therapy, somatic therapy practitioners use mind-body exercises and other physical techniques to help release t...
