Imagining Your Inner House: A Journey to Wellbeing Through Somatic Coaching with Sarah Yearsley

What if you were able to regulate your mind, emotions and body allowing you to show up as the best version of yourself?

Picture a home that beautifully embodies your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. What if this dwelling was the very space you occupy each day, forming the foundation of your human experience? In my practice as a Somatic Coach, I often guide clients in exploring and connecting with their ‘inner house’ through the principles of the Body-Mind connection. This approach emphasizes the connection between our physical sensations and our emotional and mental states.

By nurturing and loving our ‘inner house’, we can effectively manage our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual spaces. This self-regulation creates a harmonious alignment with our true selves. Somatic coaching techniques, such as body awareness and breath work, allow us to tune into our physical sensations and emotions, positively impacting every facet of our lives. Ultimately, this leads to increased balance, fulfilment and resilience. Undertaking this inner renovation not only enhances our own wellbeing but also enriches our relationships and interactions with the world.

The Emotional Room:

The Heart of Your Home The emotional room serves as the core of our inner house, housing our feelings and emotional states. Depending on our current emotional wellbeing, this space can be vibrant and inviting or dreary and chaotic. According to the Journal of Happiness Studies (2023), our ability to regulate both positive and negative emotions greatly affects our mental, emotional and physical health.

Somatic Coaching will help you become more aware of your inner sensations, emotions, and the stories you tell yourself about who you are. These stories are not always positive. Over time they can become so ingrained that the conscious mind is no longer aware of them. Instead, they manifest as frozen beliefs and stuck patterns of behaviour as well as in physical indicators like a slumped posture, muscle contractions, irregular breathing or a short concentration span.

Visualise your emotional room: what does it look like, and how do you feel when you are present there? Pay attention to any physical sensations that arise. Is there tightness or openness associated with your feelings? By confronting unresolved emotions and processing them through your body, you can refresh this space to better support your emotional needs.

The Mental Room:

A Library of Thoughts Your mental room is a repository for your thoughts, beliefs and intellectual pursuits. Take a moment to visualise this space and reflect on the nature of the thoughts that reside there. Is it a disorganised collection of worries, or is it a neatly arranged library?

Consider documenting your recurring thoughts and categorising them into various groups, such as past, present, future, or by urgency. In somatic coaching, becoming aware of how specific thoughts impact your body - such as tension in your shoulders or constriction in your chest - can provide valuable insights. Familiarising yourself with your mental library and organising it can infuse this room with mindfulness, calm, creativity and empowering narratives.

Somatic Coaching will help you recognise the unconscious patterns that you have been holding as limiting beliefs, as well as in physical form. You will learn to bring the experience of the whole self to the surface allowing a more fulfilled and healthy future. Working in this way helps us wake up to the untapped resources our bodies hold for living more fulfilling, wise and compassionate lives.

The Physical Room:

A Haven of Health Your physical room symbolises your body and overall health. Essential elements like regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate sleep are crucial for maintaining this space in optimal condition. Imagine your physical environment. Does it feel like a vibrant sanctuary, or is it a neglected corner? Somatic coaching encourages clients to listen to their bodies and engage in movement that feels good, allowing them to strengthen their connection to their physical selves.

Through the process of opening and releasing long-held patterns and contractions in the fascia (the soft, connective tissue that connects every organ of the body), more space is created for energy to return. When I use somatic hands-on techniques with my clients, the fascia softens which in turn lets the muscles relax. When there is more aliveness, there can be more choice. And with more choice comes the opportunity to shift blockages in your life so that new perspectives can emerge.

Establishing healthy habits is essential to ensure that this room supports your comprehensive well-being. Reflect on the interplay between your mental and emotional rooms with your physical state. Are there patterns you notice? Engaging in practices like mindful movement or somatic experiencing can help enhance this awareness and contribute to overall health.

The Spiritual Room:

The Essence of Your Being The spiritual room embodies your sense of purpose and your connection to something beyond yourself. This is where your true essence resides, along with your deep understanding of self. Somatic coaching encourages a connection with your spiritual room by cultivating practices that resonate with your spirit, such as focusing, meditation, or breath work.

Consider the sensations or feelings that emerge when you connect with your sense of purpose. Is your spiritual room a place of inner peace, or does it feel empty and disconnected? Engage in activities that foster what you are passionate about and elicit a profound sense of connection and purpose, listening to your body as it guides you towards what feels meaningful.

Now, envision the possibility of renovating the rooms within your inner house. What changes would you implement? Would you break down the walls of self-doubt to carve out a space for self-confidence? Perhaps you would add windows to welcome the light of self-awareness or create a cosy nook for rest and rejuvenation? The opportunities for transformation are limitless.

The most exciting part of this journey is realising that the tools and materials needed for this renovation already exist within you. All it requires is dedicated time for embodiment, discovery and reflection and the vision to discover who you can truly become.

If you would like to experience or know more about Somatic Coaching feel free to make a discovery call on tel:07710 329 449 or email sarah@somatic-coach.org

www.somatic-coach.org