How Can Somatic Healing Help my Wellness and Weight Loss Journey

The body holds all information about our experiences, storing memories and emotions that our conscious mind may not readily access.

Through somatic healing, we can tap into this reservoir of knowledge, allowing us to process and release deeply held patterns and trauma, ultimately leading to a more balanced and empowered life.

Somatic Healing is a form of shadow work.

Shadow work is simply discovering the parts within us that have been unconscious or I like to explain to my clients "Hiding out of sight or clear view"

By uncovering feeling, emotion and belief through somatic work, we are shedding light on the parts of us that have not been conscious. This process involves acknowledging and integrating aspects of ourselves that we may have ignored, denied, or suppressed.

For example, if you notice that you have a pattern where, anytime you feel stressed or emotional, you want to eat chocolate, rather than just allowing yourself to succumb to the same pattern over and over again or trying to resist eating chocolate, you can explore the underlying reasons for your behavior.

What is it that you are avoiding? What emotions or thoughts are you trying to soothe or distract yourself from? By feeling into sensation and asking these questions, you begin to uncover the unconscious motivations driving your actions.

This is where somatic healing becomes incredibly powerful. By tuning into your body’s sensations and responses, you can gain deeper insights into the roots of your behaviors.

Perhaps, through somatic practices, you notice a tightness in your chest or a knot in your stomach whenever you reach for chocolate. These physical sensations can be clues to underlying emotional wounds or unmet needs.

As you become more aware of these sensations, you can begin to explore them further. You might find that your craving for chocolate is linked to feelings of anxiety, loneliness, or a need for comfort. (see my own personal story below about how I broke up with chocolate).

By recognising and addressing these underlying emotions, you can start to develop healthier coping mechanisms and break free from self-destructive patterns.

Breaking Free

Both shadow work and somatic healing encourage you to engage with your whole self – mind, body, and spirit. By embracing and integrating all parts of yourself, you pave the way for profound healing and transformation. You become more attuned to your inner world, more capable of managing your emotions, and more empowered to make conscious choices that support your well-being.

Over time, you will likely find that you not only release old patterns but also cultivate a deeper sense of self-love and authenticity. This integrated path supports lasting change, allowing you to live more fully and authentically in alignment with your true self.

Like to be guided through a somatic process CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

or work 1:1 with Larissa over zoom CLICK HERE

My Story and How I Broke up with a Daily Chocolate Habit

I used to be a savory gal. My go-to once a month indulgence? Pizza. Thick, cheesy, bliss-on-a-plate pizza. But life had other plans when I had my first child at 38, who decided to make an entrance five weeks early.

Stressed out and sleep deprived to the max, I discovered the seductive world of the afternoon dark chocolate pep-up. 

That moment when I had the thought "i might have some chocolate" I could feel the dopamine rush pulse through me. Driven by what felt like a primal force, my body was practically buzzing with anticipation. It wasn’t just a craving; it was like a siren call, a full-body experience demanding my attention.

 After life saving major surgery when I was 24, one of my main priorities in life is Health. Yet I remained significantly overweight after I had my baby - for a long time. 

I ate a whole food diet, healthy breakfast lunch and dinner, yet chocolate was the one thing that seemed to slip through the cracks. It was my Achilles' heel, the sweet and bitter dark indulgence that I couldn't resist, no matter how much I focused on eating clean.

 I know all the Mindset Hacks yet it wasn't Shifting this ONE Stubborn Habit.

I tried every behavioral technique that had worked wonders in other areas of my life, but chocolate was my kryptonite. I'd abstain for a day or two, but its allure would inevitably pull me back. I realized: I WAS ADDICTED!

As a Kinesiologist, I use bodily feedback to uncover subconscious drivers of behavior and limiting beliefs for my clients. The problem was, I couldn’t do Kinesiology on myself. There is a way to 'self-test,' but it’s not a clean conduit for me, and I don't trust the results.

After having my second baby at 42, my capacity to focus on change was stretched thin. I took six months off work to focus on my kids and my own healing.

With sheer grit, I lost 20 kgs—a huge achievement. But when I went back to juggling everything—business, kids, partner, household—my chocolate habit returned.

I have a tool kit of many modalities to help my clients. We need different things at different times and I love to accomodate their needs for healing. 

I was nearly finished my somatic healing certification to gain professional development points and it dawned on me. "Hey Larissa, why don't you use this on your chocolate Habit". So I did.

Here's the Results

Firstly I identified the Pattern: Obviously eating chocolate everyday. With every habit, even if we think it's not serving us in anyway your actions speak louder than your thoughts or words. So to continue to engage in the habit or pattern contrary to what you might be telling yourself, you DO have unconscious drivers. These were mine:

This pattern is keeping me in a holding pattern. This holding pattern feels safe, even though on some level I want to change, I don't have the capacity to go to the next level of change because it's unknown. The unknown is scary. I just get to stay where I am. The chocolate was keeping me from changing physically which meant I got to feel 'not authentic enough" to really have a voice in this industry, because even though "I am highly health conscious, I am addicted to chocolate". Kinda like a kid who needs their teddy to feel safe. 

I have an underlying fear of "getting too busy or overwhelmed" because of my past experience with illness. HMMM!

So through this pattern I'm avoiding feeling vulnerable, judged and/or talked about. 

The underlying belief is that I don't feel worthy of the greatness within me and for stepping wholeheartedly into the plans and vision I have for myself and my family.

What the heck!! 

On the surface I though the driving force was: I felt tired so I ate dark chocolate to gain a little energy to get though the rest of the day. But this was just a conscious rationale, not the true voice of wisdom from the depths of my being. 

 Outcome

Through the somatic practice I got to the depths of the force behind my behaviour. It was like I took away the fuel source by opening up to the true reason and allowing myself to feel and express it. 

I stepped into a new way of feeling in my body which was opening up to absolute inner love. A mantra emerged: 

I am The Love that I Need

I really for the first time ever (without just knowing it as a concept) really got to feel that my body is a magnificent creation of the divine. That I AM Divinity itself expressed in physical form. What the actual!

 Then I Wrote this Letter to Chocolate

"Dear Chocolate

Thank you for providing that sense of nurturing and nourishment that I wasn't openingly providing it for myself. Thank you for filling the void of deep inner love and acceptance by manufacturing the feel good hormones and neurotransmitters that had been displaced by my own closed and fiercely protected heart space.

This space has now been re-opened and re-ignited by absolute love, compassion, divine wisdom and the true knowing that my body is a divine creation and that every part of me deserves to be honoured with reverence and high regard. The truth is that it is a masterpiece and I hadn't realised this. 

My past thinking, feeling and actions had come from a place that had been fractured and separated from this absolute truth.

That tender sense of self nurturing that chocolate elicited within me is now being elicited by my own radiant self my own radiant heart.

Thank you for being the band-aid that I once needed, the strategy for inner love and connection, but now I can provide this for myself so I don't need you anymore.

I feel free and expansive yet grounded and safe simultaneously. 

As I write this I feel the little voice of hurt, doubt and fear chime in.

"But really, what about all the times you've tried to stop before"!

I say to her "Thank you hurt self from trying to save me from my own disappointment, I hear you, I feel you and I absolutely love you too. Here's a deep breath, a hug and acknowledgment. I love you"

The end 

I Had no idea what the Outcome would Be

I remember the next day I had a little bit of chocolate but the urge was like half an echo of what it used to be and then I just forgot about chocolate. 

I have never felt like this before, it was like the whole program in my mind, in my body of chocolate has been erased like I've never tried it and it doesn't exist. 

I was NOT Expecting This

I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. Some days just to try it out or challenge myself I say in my head "ok Larissa go and eat chocolate now, you're allowed it's ok you can" and without any resistance at all, my body just says "I don't feel like it" and I get on with my life.

Do we have chocolate in the house?

Yes loads of it. It's the end of May and we still have a plethora of Easter Eggs. My 2 boys got sooooo many eggs this year, so I put 1 in their lunch boxes every other day. For me now, It's like picking up a brussel sprout, I don't have any addictive connection or attachment to it any more. 

Have I eaten chocolate since?

Yes I've had it twice in a social setting and was happy with one piece. A part of me thought "I wonder if this will open the flood gates again"? The answer is no. 

Through somatic healing and embracing the power of self-love, I found freedom from my chocolate addiction. It's been a transformative journey of self-discovery, empowerment, and genuine healing.

I only share in my healing practice with clients what I know wholeheartedly works. I need to have complete trust in what I share and I can only gain that through my own direct experience and then witnessing the transformations of others. 

I went from learning somatic healing to experiencing it's profound transformation. I'm in!

If you're struggling with your own patterns, remember that the answers lie within you, waiting to be uncovered and embraced.   

Like to be guided through a somatic process CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

or work 1:1 with Larissa over zoom CLICK HERE

Much Love and Bodily Wisdom

Larissa xx