When someone starts therapy with me, sooner or later, during our conversations, they encounter the question: “What do you feel in your body?” We may also end up exploring bodily sensations regularly. What is this about, why do I inquire about the body?
Sensing into the body is one possible – and sometimes very valuable – avenue in therapy. People are different: for some, this avenue opens up more, while for others, it does not much. There is no right or wrong in this. However, I want to shed some light on the value of including the body in therapy and to what this looks like in my own therapeutic work.
In the following blog posts, I will write more about the significance of the body and about creating space for embodiment in talking-type therapy. Now, I will dive into what might come to mind first when I ask, “What do you feel in your body?” Do I mean something specific with the question? How do we work with body sensations in therapy?
Many kinds of things may be sensed in the body
To begin with, it feels important to say that I am not seeking any specific answer to the question: many kinds of things may be sensed in the body, or it may be challenging to feel much anything. In general, it is valuable for therapy to include the present moment experience (I wrote about this earlier), including bodily sensations. When what is talked about is alive in the moment, something more can more easily unfold. Some bodily sensations arise in the moment, related to the topic at hand, while others seem to be almost constantly there.
In the body, one may notice tensions and constrictions, or observe the posture the body takes or how the breath flows. Impulses to move can be noticed as well: perhaps a desire to curl up into a small space or to kick with the legs. One may also notice relaxation, vitality, the opportunity to settle and feel how the chair supports beneath.
Through the body, one can become aware of the current state of arousal. Hyperarousal is readiness, for example, to fight or flee, while hypoarousal may manifest as freezing or a kind of collapse. These natural nervous system reactions make sense in emergency situations; for instance, prey animals might escape danger by pretending to be dead. However, these reactions often linger or respond to situations that are not actually threatening.
Also other kinds of experiences can open up through the body: something not as clearly located in specific body tissues or nervous system states, which still feels “kind of in the body.” Images, glimpses, shades. Perhaps it feels like there is a metallic lump in the stomach or as if something inside is impatiently jumping up and down. Or the entire body area could feel airy or stretched like a taut violin string. It may be valuable to pay attention to this kind of experiences as well.
Sensing into the body in therapy
When I inquire about bodily sensations in therapy, there is always permission to take the time to explore. Nothing needs to be ready. Important things to sense might be such that they only gradually take shape, and one might need some time to search for descriptive words.
It could be that not much is sensed in the body. Many of us are accustomed to staying distant from the experience of our bodies, and it does not open up instantly. There has often been a reason for staying away from the body: something may not have felt easy to experience. When the experience feels challenging, it is good to proceed gradually, like dipping one’s toes into the water. The therapist’s presence provides support for the gradual journey into the body, and it is always fine to choose not to explore bodily sensations.
It is good to note that I do not ask about the body with any strong intention of drawing conclusions based on the answer. Of course, occasionally a possibility could come to mind, “Might this be related to that?” However, my primary goal is to support the exploration of bodily sensations. The experience is allowed to become felt and seen together with me, and perhaps, gradually, more may unfold from it. Each experience is unique and is welcome to emerge as itself. The key is the exploration of the experience, not reporting it to me.
Being with the body
So, what to do when you notice something in the body? There is no need to do anything specific. Already the noticing, and feeling how it feels, is essential, and you might also search for words to describe the sensation. Noticing the body every now and then helps to include it in the therapeutic process. Sometimes, more may unfold from the body: the sensation changes, a thought or memory might flash into mind. At times, we may perceive what the body sensations are connected to, and new understanding of life may emerge from them. Sometimes things shift in a bodily way, even if we do not know what it was about.
We often have notions of how the body should be. If you notice your shoulders slouching, the thought may arise that you should sit up straight. When you sense tightness in the body, you might easily have the impulse to try to relax it. However, in therapy I emphasize, above all, the opportunity to simply notice, to feel. There is significant power in allowing our internal experience to be acknowledged and met as it is. Perhaps the tightness wants to communicate something; more may unfold when we encounter it as such.
At the same time, it is valuable to find ways to relax and, especially, regulate the nervous system’s arousal. In therapy, this is especially important when touching upon something challenging. I might, for example, help you in sensing the support of the chair and the ground beneath or in coming to the present moment by looking around. By sensing the experience of the body, we could, for example, also explore how to arrange the chairs in the therapy space this time so that it feels safe.
In the next blog post, I will delve deeper into why sensing into the body can be important in therapy.
In the third post, I will discuss the role of the body specifically in talking type of therapy.