Episode #14 -Stress Relief for Moms: Unlocking the Body’s Wisdom with Craniosacral & Somatics

In this episode, we dive into the world of somatic healing and craniosacral therapy with expert Elizabeth Mehta. As a craniosacral therapist and somatic healer based in Mercer Island, WA, Elizabeth shares her journey from working in a medical school to holistic healing, exploring how the body holds onto stress, emotions, and trauma.
 
 We discuss the growing mainstream recognition of somatics, the mind-body connection, and how this work supports emotional well-being, conflict resolution, and even parenting. Whether you're curious about somatic healing or looking for tools to navigate life’s stressors, this conversation is packed with valuable insights!
 
🎧 Tune in and discover how somatic healing can transform your life!

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Thank you for your interest!

Show Notes:
Elizabeth Mehta's website: Sound Somatics
Sound Somatics : Blog
Leadership workshops for Companies: Trainings
Craniosacral: What is craniosacral
Somatic Coaching: Personal Coaching

Bruce Lipton: Website

Disclaimer:
The information shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and is based on the opinions and experience of Lori Dorothy and their guests. The content should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or a treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to let's get curious. The podcast for women and mothers seeking connection, support, and inspiration. We are friends, mothers, and therapists. Laurie, a physical therapist and Dorothy, a speech and language therapist. Together. We share our personal stories, including IVF birth experiences and navigating children's learning difficulties. Through our discussions, we uncover profound lessons for personal growth. Join us on this journey of curiosity, compassion and empowerment. Welcome to let's. Get curious.

Lori: 0:43

Hello, everyone. So today I am so happy and pleased to have Elizabeth Mehta. She is a craniosacral therapist, as well as a somatic healer, and I am a client of hers. And she has a business here on Mercer Island in the Seattle area. And, Thank you I just felt such a strong need to have you on my podcast because well, one, I believe in this line of work and I've been doing work like this. If I guess we could maybe call it energy work. Um, you're going to dive in a little bit more and explain what this all is, but. For a very long time, and I know, from just the world that I live in, I'm starting to see the word semantics pop up a lot more on like Instagram feeds and all this stuff. And so it's exciting to see that this is coming more to the mainstream population, and it's, there's not so much of a woo woo feel around it, but I still think it's, Words, Elizabeth, between somatics and craniosacral where people are kind of like, but what, what is it, right? What is it, is it about? And so, that's why I just felt the need to have you come on and explain to us a bit about what somatics are, what craniosacral is, and, just what you do and who you are, because the line of work that you do is amazing and I support it. And so, yeah, I would love for you to just kind of introduce yourself and we'll go from there.

Elizabeth: 2:08

Sounds good. Well, thanks for having me. And I'll say it's always so fascinating to me hearing how other people, especially clients of mine, describe my work because it's oftentimes quite different than how I describe it myself. You know, I would never refer to myself as an energy healer. But I'm not surprised that you might use that word because energy work is a component of what I do, and healing work is definitely a component of what I do. One of the reasons I get a little bit, kind of uncomfortable with the word healer is one of the principles of the work that I do is that, we all have this tremendous wisdom inside of us. And the more that we can work with that wisdom inside of us, we can heal ourselves. And so for me, I always think of partnering with my clients to do this really deep inner work. Um, but I would never refer to myself as a healer, but that's a bit of an aside. So to answer your question, maybe I'll start by just, a little bit about how I got into those works. So you have a little bit of the context for what I'll then get into. So I early in my career was working in academic medicine. So I was working for a medical school and among other things, I was part of a research team that was studying employee conflict and healthcare. And it was really interesting. There had been a lot of research up until that. point looking at conflict between providers and patients, but there wasn't a lot of research looking at conflict between doctors of one specialty and another or physical therapists and doctors or doctors and nurses and how that conflict impacts patient safety and patient care as well as kind of, Employee satisfaction, employee burnout, organizational culture, morale, things like that. So it was a really interesting research and as we were doing it, you know, as we were kind of getting into this work, I started realizing that a lot of people know intellectually how to handle conflict. But in the heat of the moment, when we get stressed, people's bodies. can have this kind of at times dramatic response that really affects how people show up and at times can override or influence people's decisions that might not necessarily be an expression of what they know intellectually to do. So I was really intrigued by this observation of how is it that we can really help people work with this response that's happening in their bodies that seems to be the root cause of the problem, or at least an important piece of the puzzle in looking at how to help people handle conflict more effectively. So, at this point, personally, I had started exploring somatics which is In its most basic definition refers to the body and, really, the way in which our body holds on to stress and emotions and varying degrees of trauma, our bodies also, as I said earlier, really hold on to this wisdom. So there's a lot happening. from the neck down that really influences how we show up in our lives and in our work. And so I had been doing this work in my personal life, and I started realizing when I was doing this research that what people really needed, in my opinion, were some of these somatic tools to really help people work with, their, their response to conflict and, But I didn't know enough about somatics to start incorporating it into the research itself. And so I felt like I needed to, take a step back and really understand as much as I could about the mind body connection so that I could bring these tools that were being coming very profound in my personal life back into, Um, Companies and helping people not only with conflict, but with other elements of their leadership and how they were showing up professionally. So that's kind of how I got into this work. And so I then did a deep dive into somatics and I spent about 3 years going back to school and really learning as much as I could about how is it that our body holds on to stress? Where in our body is this stress held? I was open to the idea that our body held on to emotions, but I came as a total skeptic into this work and I had no idea, like, where are these emotions? Are they held in our bones? Are they held in our muscles? Are they held in our organs? I As I said, I worked in academic medicine, so I had a very different understanding of the body, but I was open because I'd had these personal experiences with somatics to really, appreciate that this might be real, but I didn't understand how it worked. So. In my process of doing this deep dive into somatics, I, went to school to become an executive coach in a program that's really grounded in this mind body connection, but I didn't feel like that was giving me all the answers to understand how somatics worked to then have a really informed understanding to bring this work back into companies to deal with conflict or things like that. So, I originally went to grad school for psychology, but pretty quickly the wisdom in my body let me know that that was not the right fit. So I didn't quite know how I was going to, really answer these questions I was trying to figure out, but on a whim, I decided to go to massage school and school for body work, which was never a part of my plan. Um, but this wisdom in my body said this was the right fit. And I ended up going to this really incredible school here in Seattle at the same time that I was doing my executive coaching program. And, Getting that hands on experience really gave me a lot of the insight I was trying to figure out in terms of where this stress and Murray's emotions were held. But then I, through that program, discovered this work called craniosacral therapy. And that really provided the answers I was looking for in terms of, how is it that the body holds on to stress and trauma and where is it that all of this gunk is held and what are the avenues for working with what's happening in the body to really help people, let go of some of this stuff that is really Kind of, what I was seeing was that is what was coming to the surface in these conflict situations and, So I never planned on becoming a cradiosacral therapist or a body worker. I really did this deep dive to really understand somatics. And, my whole plan, as I said, was to then bring this work back into companies. But in the process realized that I absolutely loved. This work and craniosacral therapy, as you alluded to earlier, is a type of body work, but it's also a type of energy work. So, that's what I do today. And then I also do something called somatic coaching or somatic leadership coaching. So that's. This, leadership coaching that's really grounded in somatics and the mind body connection. And then I also do trainings for companies grounded in this alternative approach to leadership. So helping people go a little bit deeper than they oftentimes, explore in more traditional avenues of leadership development to really work with. Helping people deal with stress that shows up in the workplace or improve their communication, which oftentimes, just like in conflict, our communication can break down because of some of the gunk that I kind of, as I mentioned, I lovingly referred to some of this. stuff that our body holds on to is gunk. And that's oftentimes what people need help with. If they're really going to improve their communication or their emotional intelligence or their team cohesion and performance. You know, this work goes a little bit deeper than more of the traditional, leadership development. So the field, to really summarize your question, the field that my work falls under is called embodied leadership. But somatics is also becoming really sought after in other fields like psychology and trauma healing, or different movement practices to help people deal with pain. There's physical therapists. And, it's so interesting how many different professions are weaving in the somatic based approach in part, I think, because they've realized that, emotions and the stress held in their body is oftentimes underpinning the symptoms that, bring patients or clients, into their offices. And I'm so grateful that other people are, uh, kind of learning about this work and that the field has taken off. Yeah,

Lori: 11:21

well, and I mean, I can, you know, kind of piggyback off of that because with my background as being a physical therapist, there'd be so many times that you would get you reoccurring or repeating clients coming in and you're like, this isn't just a physical problem, and I hear this a lot of times too, people will say physical therapy doesn't work and my question, of course, back to that is what are the emotions is. That we may not be processing. And so with my 28 years now of experience in this field. There were many times where I'm like, this is not a physical problem. This is. Some kind of other trigger, that is leading to whether this pain or this emotion and so on and so forth. So, I kind of made that connection very early on and, just when I really then branched out into my own business, I had to branch out into my own business because I didn't have to stay in the corporate lane and I can start to explore and ask people different questions. And, their response, even if they weren't ready to answer it, the body tells you, like, you can see where it might have been, tears in their eye or tightness across the chest. And they're like, well, how did you know to ask me that? You know? So it is, I mean, it's, it's all connected. And I'm coming and seeing you to help me process, just all the stuff that comes in as being a mom. Right? And this is what my platform is about, of giving tools, to moms, and families of just different ways of looking at things. And there's so much that comes in, as a parent, that I will find out that it's like, okay, there's this trigger coming up in me. Where is it coming from and why? Right. And then, so it's like kind of like owning my stuff or what else might have, attached to me from like my children or from my husband or from environment or education, like all of that. And so, It, it helps me to stay clear I could process all that stuff coming up and not stay like what you're saying, Elizabeth, in that gunk to, yeah, kind of clean this vessel out so that I can then have, a clear path of being guided and not having whatever it might be fears or why does this like trigger continue to come up that is then stopping me from seeing the whole picture clearly. Right. And I may think that some of the stuff we're going to pop in today, is kind of giving people tools of kind of really more, something more concrete, right? Of like what this looks like, and how can this, assist you and through the work of yourself, if you choose to do this, or at least try it, what's the trickle down effect to also helping your children? Right? Because like you say, you know, conflict resolution in the workplace, there's conflict resolution in the household. I mean, there's right. It's we're humans.

Elizabeth: 14:20

Yeah,

Lori: 14:20

We're humans. So we all need this,

Elizabeth: 14:23

Yeah,

Lori: 14:24

this space, the safe space to process. And, I forget where I heard this from like years ago, but you have to feel it to heal it. Right. And so a lot of times where I have found in my career, people get stuck on these pain cycles because they're not allowing their body to bring to the surface what needs to come out and be released. But, you know, once you hold that safe space for it, it's pretty quick how it, the pain is, the pain is in holding that emotion for months or years, not in those short 90 seconds, right? Of like crying or kicking the ground or screaming into the pillow. And then all of a sudden you're like, Oh my God, why was I holding onto this for so long?

Elizabeth: 15:10

Yeah. Yeah. Oftentimes people, when they hear what I do, they're like, Ooh, that I think I need that. But it sounds a little intimidating or it sounds like a lot, or it sounds like my life is too busy. I have too much going on to go there. And. When people, muster up the courage to then reach out and do their work, they're oftentimes surprised at how quickly

Lori: 15:35

Yes.

Elizabeth: 15:36

Change can happen and how it's so much less intimidating than it sounds and it's oftentimes quite a bizarre Approach, you know, I shouldn't say I mean, yeah, I do think it's pretty bizarre compared to what people normally do but it is a You know, I love the framing you have of, doing this work so that you can show up as a parent and in your family, you know, feeling like you are centered and your own gunk is not really getting in your way. And a lot of the people I work with, most of my clients are parents and. I like to say up front too, that I work with people kind of across the leadership. spectrum. So I work with executives and CEOs and CTOs. But I also work with people who don't identify with the term leader and who, if anything, get a little bit uncomfortable when they hear that word because they don't necessarily have the salary or the job title that they think connects with that term. And so that's where I like to really make it clear that when I'm talking about leadership and embodied leadership It's really about getting clear with who you are and what you care about and what your vision is for the future and inspiring other people to join you in making that vision happen. So it doesn't have to do with your job title. It doesn't have to do with how much money you're making. It's really about taking ownership for who you are and where you're going and motivating other people to join you and making that vision happen. And so you can do that. In any capacity it, or in any realm of your life. And, as we kind of go down this path of working towards this vision, or even getting clarity about where is it that we're going? What is it that we want to do? We all experience these roadblocks and that's where these emotions that you're talking about, or this gunk really comes in and can get in our way. But one of the things that I so love is that as people start doing more of this. In our work, this somatic based work to kind of shift how they're showing up, it oftentimes kind of the impetus might be to help them deal with conflict or communication or help them deal with stress or overwhelm or get clarity about what it is that they want to do, but in the process of the work that they're doing. Kind of addressing those issues. They do this in inner work that then can have this profound effect on their family. So I'll give you an example. I'm working with a woman right now who. Is starting her own business. She was a stay at home mom is starting her own business. And she was a client of mine starting with craniosacral therapy. So craniosacral therapy is a lovely kind of gateway drug because you get to just come in and lay down and it's. It's touch based work. So you don't have to really talk about anything. You just lay down and it's a conversation directly with the body and where the body is kind of ready to start releasing some of this stress and or for some people emotions, but you just get to lay there and close your eyes. It's really gentle or it's a gentle touch, but it can kind of, yeah. Invite some pretty important shifts, as you alluded to earlier. And, so people will oftentimes reach out for craniosacral. Because they want to do this processing, as you were talking about for other people, they just know they're stressed and they don't feel good and they've tried everything else. And they've been told to just come see me. So they do. But it's a lovely introduction. So, with this woman, I'm talking about, I worked with her for craniosacral, we did craniosacral for a number of years. She was also a friend of mine and then she moved away and so she wanted to continue doing this work, but couldn't come into my office. So all of the somatic coaching work work I do is through zoom. So she was like, I guess I'll do that even though I don't really think leadership coaching is the right fit for me. And so I said, don't worry about it. Just like, let's just give it a try. See what you think. And. So we started, kind of helping her navigate some of the different stressors she's dealing with as she's starting this business. And oftentimes the issues, the stressors people are dealing with at work also kind of are, they affect their home life as we all know from our loved ones and the stresses that we have at home we bring to work, even though people oftentimes try to compartmentalize. One of the things we realize when we start working with somatics in the body is that our body doesn't compartmentalize. So, people might think they're doing a good job of keeping things separate, but at a certain point, they have this reality check. Or they have their loved ones give them a reality check that it's not working.

Lori: 20:39

right. That's right. So true.

Elizabeth: 20:42

Yep. And so, we were doing this work, through coaching. And we do these sessions while her little one is upstairs sleeping. So we have our coaching sessions during his nap time and he's a toddler. So one of the things that started happening is as this client was having some of these releases. So for example, she was kind of working with releasing some of the frustration in her body, her little one who was sound asleep upstairs would start kind of having an emotional release himself. Now she, he couldn't hear us at all, but there was. There is such a strong connection, whether it's energetic or, emotions being contagious that as this client was having these releases, her son in real time was having these releases as well. So it's really. incredible to see how as moms, as parents start doing more of this inner work themselves, they might not necessarily see the immediate connection between the work that they're doing and how it might influence their kids. But, pretty quickly that starts to become apparent.

Lori: 22:01

Yeah. That's what I think is so amazing, about work like this, and that's the piece, right, where we want to kind of walk through today of giving more of an example of what this looks like and how this can be a trickle down effect within, your household. So where do you kind of want to start with this, Elizabeth? Perfect.

Elizabeth: 22:23

I had a couple practices that I thought we could experiment with, but I think it might be, well, that's option

Lori: 22:29

Okay.

Elizabeth: 22:30

Option B is we could also just do a little demo.

Lori: 22:34

Mm hmm.

Elizabeth: 22:34

If you are inclined, and we can fold in some practices into a demo, or like a mini, mini session, so that, People can have a little bit of context of how we might apply some of these practices into, whatever you're navigating right now.

Lori: 22:53

Let's do it. Mm-hmm

Elizabeth: 22:55

how much time do we have?

Lori: 22:57

Well, I'm working with you, so

Elizabeth: 22:59

Okay,

Lori: 23:00

Yeah. I'll go off of you.

Elizabeth: 23:02

well, let's plan for like a 10 minute mini somatic coaching session. And, so where we might start is, is there kind of one issue that's up for you right now in your life or,

Lori: 23:15

Oh, yeah, let me think. I mean, there's always something that I'm navigating, with my children.

Elizabeth: 23:23

and you can keep it broad. So even just if you think about. Stress with your kids or something kind of bigger picture to not have to go too deep, but do you have a sense of,

Lori: 23:38

Yeah, you know, we're coming up upon a transition with schools. So I think just the, the, the change in that transition, the unknown with the transition, and just some of the emotions that it brings up with that, which of course is like excitement and new and exciting, like changes coming, but then also that fear of like the unknown and, Are we going to be okay through this process? Do I know enough, right? Did I do enough homework to support me in making this decision? And if I don't have all the answers, then yeah. So just like all those emotions that come up around just change, which is like I said, it's exciting, but it's also scary at the same time. And again, like not putting say my fear or my doubt. On to, the parties that are involved, I would say. Yeah.

Elizabeth: 24:35

Perfect. That's a perfect example. So given that you just given what you just shared, if you take a minute and just kind of bring your awareness into your body and just see if there's anywhere that you notice more activity or activation.

Lori: 24:53

Throughout like my chest and my heart. Mm hmm.

Elizabeth: 24:57

And if you, see if you can notice what's happening in your arms as well. Our arms are really connected into our heart and our chest. So just see if there's anything there as well that catches your attention.

Lori: 25:10

Uh, left hand, is just always more tense, where it kind of also just naturally falls into like a resting fist position, more than my right. So not that that's so much happening right now, but I know that that happens throughout my day.

Elizabeth: 25:26

Okay.

Lori: 25:26

if I'm driving in my car, I notice that I grip more with my left hand than my right hand on the steering wheel.

Elizabeth: 25:33

Perfect. So I love your awareness and you know, you, that's most people might not have that, kind of discernment. So that can be really helpful. So as you're tuning into your chest and your arms and your wrists, whatever your wrist wants to do right now, see if you can get a sense and you Laurie are Because you have more of this awareness of what's happening in your body, it might be a little bit easier for you to figure out what it is that your body might want to do. For other people who are listening, they might have absolutely no idea what their body might want to do in this situation, but if you were to get a sense of any shape, That your body might go into, for example, if you're noticing a little bit of this sense of clenching in your left hand, you could make a fist as you talked about, but just see if right now, given this transition that you just mentioned, if there's anything that your body wants to do.

Lori: 26:39

So I want to clench really hard through my jaw

Elizabeth: 26:43

Okay.

Lori: 26:44

my like whole left side. I'm going to give myself some space here. So hopefully everybody will still be able to hear me with my microphone. My left side wants to curl in

Elizabeth: 26:52

Uh huh.

Lori: 26:53

and just tighten into a ball.

Elizabeth: 26:55

Okay, perfect.

Lori: 26:56

right now

Elizabeth: 26:57

Yeah, great. So we're going to. With clenching. Yeah. So I'm going to do that with you. We're going to both curl up into this ball and just for about 10 seconds, see if you can clench your jaw, clench your fists, even perhaps contract your abdomen. So really clenched for just 10 seconds and just notice how this, this feels. So we'll do it together and then let that go. And yeah,

Lori: 27:24

Yeah. Um, so it was interesting as, as I was going into that posture, it was actually more of my face. That got tighter

Elizabeth: 27:33

yeah,

Lori: 27:34

me, not so much like my left side that I thought would be almost like cramping. It was more kind of like belly got crampy and then my face just wanted to like really, ooh, swish in.

Elizabeth: 27:45

Yeah, so there is a really strong connection between tension in our face and tension in our belly. So, when you are doing that, and if you think about doing it again right now, does it feel like your body wants to do that a second time or any version of that?

Lori: 28:04

I'm going to stand up, okay? Yeah, I gotta get some energy going down through my pelvis too, I can feel.

Elizabeth: 28:10

Okay. Yep.

Lori: 28:11

So yeah, I want to stomp

Elizabeth: 28:13

Okay.

Lori: 28:14

shake.

Elizabeth: 28:15

Okay. Okay.

Lori: 28:17

want to go back into it again.

Elizabeth: 28:19

Okay, great. And so as you're here in this ball a second time, see if you can really feel what's happening physically, but also if there's any sense of an emotion coming to the surface. And the invitation is to just lean into it for just another five seconds and then let that go. then just see what is it that your body wants to do now? Does it want to move? Does it want to shake? Does it want to take a deep breath?

Lori: 28:50

more stomping. So it feels like the energy is around frustration and like the unknown, which I guess could be like more fear related, right? So frustration and fear.

Elizabeth: 29:04

Okay, great. So this brings up a really lovely point. Most people have an idea of what the emotion is that they're feeling, but sometimes it can be a little bit confusing. Is it both frustration and fear? Is it one more than the other? So see if you, as you're tuning into your body for one last kind of piece of this practice, just ask your body, are you frustrated? Or are you scared in this moment? Of course, both can coexist, but right now are you more frustrated or are you more scared?

Lori: 29:42

Frustrated.

Elizabeth: 29:43

Okay. So see if you can let your body know it's okay to feel frustrated. And then as you are doing to just see if there's anything else that frustration wants to do. In other words, is there anything else your body wants to do to move that frustration through and out of you?

Lori: 30:03

Yes, it feels now like it's down within like the tailbone and the sacrum, so I kind of want to tuck in this

Elizabeth: 30:12

Okay. Yep.

Lori: 30:14

Yeah, so just want to tuck in through the pelvis and same thing. I still want to kind of go into like that tight fist position. Squish the face. Yeah.

Elizabeth: 30:27

as we did before, intensify or exaggerate it just for another five seconds. And then see if there's any movement. Yeah. There's any movement now that your body wants to do.

Lori: 30:39

um, glutes definitely wanted to get tight

Elizabeth: 30:42

Uh huh.

Lori: 30:42

too, and they still kind of do. Yeah, so I'm kind of like squeezing the glutes and tucking the pelvis right now.

Elizabeth: 30:48

Okay. Yeah. So that deep breath. Yeah. Great. And then

Lori: 30:54

more even like up through the back of the neck.

Elizabeth: 30:57

Uh huh.

Lori: 30:58

so it's almost like the back of me wants to release

Elizabeth: 31:01

Uh huh.

Lori: 31:02

than like the front. Mm hmm.

Elizabeth: 31:05

So then just see, okay, in this moment, as you think about this transition that's going to happen, just see if you can get a sense of how your body feels in this moment as you think about that transition. Just noticing what feels different, what feels similar.

Lori: 31:25

So say that to me one more time, please.

Elizabeth: 31:28

Yeah. How does your body feel or how do you feel now as you think about this transition?

Lori: 31:36

Well, the immediate word that pops up is patience.

Elizabeth: 31:40

Mm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Lori: 31:44

And which makes sense. It's like, there's nothing to do right now in this space. It's

Elizabeth: 31:49

Yeah.

Lori: 31:50

yeah. Patience and wait and see. Cause neither one of those emotions, are serving me at this time. So it makes total sense of where it's just like, Being still and being in the present moment. That's kind of like, I feel what my reminder is right now.

Elizabeth: 32:07

and does it feel like it's more likely that you can be patient given that you moved out? Mm hmm.

Lori: 32:15

yeah. There feels, well, yes, less tension, but also, like less of a naggy feeling. Right, like, you know, like when we're frustrated, you feel the tension in your body, you feel tightness, so that feels a lot more released.

Elizabeth: 32:31

Uh huh. Great. So if you then to just close out this little demo, see if you can bring your awareness into your feet.

Lori: 32:41

Mm

Elizabeth: 32:43

Just noticing The kind of connection between the bottom of your feet and the ground, and then see if you can kind of bring your awareness to your spine, noticing a sense of stacking of the vertebrae. So this sense of grounding in your feet is supporting this uprightness this upliftedness in your spine. And then maybe lastly, you can just take one hand and if it feels comfortable, you can just rest it on your belly and that can be a way to just kind of help given this exercise we just did, which can sometimes stir things up. This little practice at the end here can help soothe and ground the nervous system and help your body feel More centered so that you can kind of continue cultivating that sense of patience that you're talking about.

Lori: 33:44

When I do feel more energy coming out, between the eyebrows, so third eye, if

Elizabeth: 33:50

Uh huh.

Lori: 33:51

follows yoga or chakras, so I feel like there's more space in this area as well.

Elizabeth: 33:58

Yeah. I'm also tracking more releasing through kind of coming from your chest So you originally said you felt that tension in your chest and to me it feels like yeah feels like there's more Releasing and openness lightness through your chest and all of this This kind of activity that's happening in the body really affects our mind. So just see if you can, at the end here, just notice what's happening in your head and even, what your overall mood is right now.

Lori: 34:31

uh, like I said, calmer

Elizabeth: 34:34

Uh

Lori: 34:34

and, doesn't feel as like frazzled staticky. You know,

Elizabeth: 34:40

Uh huh.

Lori: 34:40

like between like frustration and anxious, it's like, it's like the staticky feeling in my body.

Elizabeth: 34:45

Yeah.

Lori: 34:46

and again, just lots of energy moving through third eye.

Elizabeth: 34:52

Perfect. Yeah, so that was just a little demo of a somatic coaching and was anything surprising about that for you or

Lori: 35:05

I mean, because I've done this work, no. I just think it's always interesting that each time I come and I do this work with you, just the different things that need to be processed. And sometimes things you don't even think. Like, when you go, you go in, like, okay, I'm going to address this problem today. Like, this is really bothering me. And then before you know it, something else is coming up that you didn't even know was really the trigger. So that's the work that I find fascinating, um, you know, about this work that you do is you can come in with 1 idea of what you think you need assistance with, with processing and then you realize. Oh, there's something from when I was eight years old that came to the surface when I did this release. Right. And then that's the piece where it's like, you, you go through it, you process it. Cause I mean, you know, there's research, right? Elizabeth that shows this of our cells are cell membranes, particularly, hold. Energy and experiences and emotion, whether positive or negative. I and so that's the piece, this line of work works on those levels of releasing. And I could sometimes come in and have something released from when I was a child. And it's, can be a completely opposite of what I thought I was, going in for, but I always come out feeling, better, lighter. And sometimes, I mean, sometimes really tired. Like sometimes I'll be like pooped for like a day or two. I'm still functional. I can still get things done, but it's just kind of like the release is almost as if I went out and ran a marathon. Which is what is so fascinating when you don't realize then how deep maybe that emotion was or how long you've been carrying it for and all of that. So, yeah, this work just fascinates me.

Elizabeth: 36:52

Oh, well, I'm glad it fascinates me too. And one of the things that I love is that we can do this deep work, but people don't have to talk about it. So you don't have to talk about. What happened when you were eight years old, you don't have to talk about, and if anything, talking about some of these issues doesn't often or always help. If anything, it can keep us in our mind and out of feeling the emotion that you just so beautifully demonstrated. And it kind of brings to mind a question I get from a lot of clients who say, well, Elizabeth, I'm not. an angry person, right? Or I don't want to feel frustrated. Why are you asking me to feel this frustration? And the reality is that if people are not feeling their frustration, which I see within the kind of bigger category of anger, then that emotion is absolutely in your body. And it's absolutely bottling up. And if you can take a couple of minutes as you did to just. Allow yourself to feel it. As you said, you have to feel it to heal it. So you can do it in these small doses of feeling an emotion, allowing it to come to the surface, allowing it to move through your body, and then you can release it, which then makes you a far less frustrated. An angry person. Um, but here in Seattle, we get this passive aggressiveness because nobody is willing or has the skills or familiarity with how to feel these emotions in a healthy way. And that's where working with the body is a really important. And oftentimes missing piece of the puzzle because emotions exist in our body and emotions have to move our body for them to move out of us. And so talking about our emotions does not actually move the energy of the emotion out of us. You have to kind of work directly with the body. So that's where, as I said, some of these kind of bizarre practices like stomping. Or like shaking or clenching these different muscles as you did can be a really efficient way to work with and release the emotion. And then going back to your work of one of the reasons this can be so profound, not only for you, but for the family, for children is that emotions are contagious. So when parents, when moms are not. Taking this time or making the space to feel their emotions, oftentimes it's their kids who can feel and are then expressing the emotions that the parent has suppressed. And so then the parents come to me and say, my kid has anger management problems. And that might be true. Their kid could absolutely learn some tools to regulate their emotions more effectively. But oftentimes I find That when the parents are able to do this work, that not only can release these emotions and with that, the associated physical tensions, you can feel better. You can work through the, the issues that these emotions are influencing in your lives and in your work, but it can also have this really direct connection where your kid no longer has to be the channel for. Kind of expressing these emotions that the parents aren't expressing. So, that can also then be a way as kids see their parents working with and learning these new skills of working with emotions, it can be another incredible way for kids to learn from their parents in terms of, having this role model for somebody who can really embody emotional intelligence, because that's what we want kids to be able to do. Right? And if they don't have these models, if they're not necessarily seeing it at home or at school, it can be really hard for them to know how to actually practice it in their own lives. Because emotions, I think, in general, as a society, we have, really, we approach them from this really analytical perspective and emotions are not necessarily always rational or analytical and they are this embodied experience. And so, working with the body can be a way to help parents help moms, but also help kids kind of work with the stressors that they're inevitably inevitably going to experience and the emotions that are just part of life.

Lori: 41:13

Right. Yeah. I mean, even here in my own household, you know, a lot of times I'll be like, mom, I just need to scream. Go for it. I mean, even if they don't why this emotion is coming up, they just sometimes feel that they need a release and the release could be, a kick or a scream and so it's like, okay, go, go do it,

Elizabeth: 41:31

the pillow. Kick the pillow. Not the sibling. Kick pillow. Scream. Stomp outside, go outside and like run really fast, whatever it is, it's, it's about supporting that. And I think, it's, this is a different language, right? I mean, We have to start wrapping our head around it a bit differently because it's not why is the kid behaving that way or why are you letting them behave that way? It's because they need to, you know, if they're saying to you, I need to scream or I need to kick or whatnot. Yes, you create a safe space for that. And so that's the piece where it's like, you're saying there's this natural intellect that we have. And rather than shutting the kids down of like, we don't cry, you shouldn't behave this way. You know, why are you acting that way? We need to actually embrace it differently and allow them to have, yeah, that release. Mm hmm. And that is a perfect example of this wisdom in our bodies that I'm talking about. So our body holds onto this gunk, but our bodies also know how to work with and release that gunk so that we can process it and feel better. And so I think because kids don't have as much of the social conditioning, They are more at times connected to what is it that their bodies want to do in order to move through and express these emotions. And so this is where giving people across kind of the age span these tools to work with what their bodies want to do in these safe and contained. ways is really important. And yeah, it's a new language. It's a new skill set that a lot of people don't have. And for me, when I was learning somatics I spent a lot of time studying animals and studying little kids because, and this is what neuroscientists do. A lot of the cutting edge research in somatics is coming from neuro neuroscientists. studying animals in the wild to see how, what is it that they're doing because animals don't have, um, their bodies don't hold onto as much stress and they don't have these stress related issues and ailments, diseases that as humans do. And so the more that we can learn from animals and learn from kids, um, for me, I'll give you an example. When I was really first kind of diving into this work, I would spend a couple of hours. kind of studying my dog and doing what she was doing. So I would notice her laying out in the grass in the sun and I, I would then go lay down next to her in the grass in the sun and I would think, oh my gosh, this is so enjoyable. Why don't I ever do this?

Lori: 44:06

Yeah.

Elizabeth: 44:07

Or when I would notice her shaking because after a dog gets stressed, they usually shake. And so I started doing that after I was stressed, I would shake as well just for five seconds, but it would be at this full body kind of mini convulsion. And I would try that out and I would notice, Oh my gosh, I feel like I just processed that stressful experience. There's oftentimes more that. We need to do them just shaking, but I started taking notes from, my dog and from little kids and, not from whatever the adults were doing because adults have this social conditioning about what is it that, you know, is appropriate behavior. And so for me, oftentimes when I'm doing coaching work, I tell my clients like close the door. And if there's, you know, windows, like draw it for me in my old office. I had, you know, People could look in through the window, so I'd have to close the curtain because part of what some of these somatic experiments involve are some kind of bizarre movement practices that you don't normally see people doing. So, stomping is not normally what we would see a leader. Doing in a boardroom, but the more that people can in these small doses, not necessarily in the middle of a boardroom meeting, but in their office or in the restroom or going outside for a little while and moving through some of these emotions and some of this stress with this mind body connection, it can allow you to then show up back in your life, having that sense of feeling more centered and grounded and not. being flooded by these emotions or having that sense of static that you talked about that really then influences how you're thinking. So just circling back to this conflict scenario that I started with, if these healthcare providers I was working with were able to process some of the emotions that were bottling up in their body, as you just demonstrated, that is one really efficient way to help people then not show up in conflict situations. And then kind of become a volcano where those emotions all come to the surface. And then that practice you did of really feeling your feet on the ground and noticing your spine and having your hand on your belly. That's another really simple thing that somebody could do when they're feeling stressed, when they're noticing a conflict situation. Start kind of intensifying to kind of help their nervous system calm down. And all of these practices are applicable at work, but are just as applicable at home, if anything, are perhaps more applicable at home, because I've, part of what I found is it doesn't matter what somebody's job is oftentimes their biggest stress is their kids and is kind of some of these more personal, um. Struggles that they're dealing with because that's really where, our emotions are really connected to what we care

Lori: 47:00

hmm.

Elizabeth: 47:01

And so if you care about your kids more than anything in the world, there's nothing like those kiddos who are going to activate your emotions and who are going to activate your nervous system. And so as you're doing and doing this inner work on yourself and with yourself can be a really profound way to help you but also to help them.

Lori: 47:19

Yeah. It, it changes everything. So, Elizabeth, if anybody wants to work with you, how would they go about doing that? Because you also mentioned that you do work over Zoom too, so you do in person as well as over Zoom.

Elizabeth: 47:33

most of my work is actually through Zoom. So most of my work is this one on one somatic coaching, which you just demonstrated. And so if anybody's interested in learning more, they can just go to my website, which is sound somatics. com. So S O M A T I C S is how you spell somatics. So sound somatics. com. And then people can reach out through. My website, so that's 1 avenue. So, yeah, I do all of my somatic coaching through zoom. And then if people are interested in craniosacral therapy, which is where you get to lay down and close your eyes, and it's a a really lovely kind of way to get started if people aren't quite sure. where to start. That's usually if they're in the Seattle area or on Mercer Island, that's another option. So, more information about that can be found on my website. And then if anybody just wants to learn more about what we've been talking about today, I also have a free introductory guide to somatics and embodied leadership on my website.

Lori: 48:32

And I'll put all this in the show notes for everybody as well.

Elizabeth: 48:36

yeah, and if anybody who's listening is interested in, for example, craniosacral therapy for them, or even this is a really lovely thing to have kids experience, um, my work tends to focus on working with moms and parents, however, oftentimes they then are like, Oh, my gosh, will you help my kid as well? So craniosacral therapy is a really lovely option, especially for kids who are really feeling more activated, more stressed, having some of these emotional challenges. So, anybody is welcome to reach out to me as well through my website if they are interested in that for their kids, or if they want a recommendation on a practitioner in their area, because it can be really hard to vet practitioners if you don't really know what to look for. So, I am happy, and I do this often for friends or clients who have loved ones in other cities and states. I'm happy to reach out to them. Help that people out there because it's a little bit of the Wild West,

Lori: 49:41

it is. Well, yeah, I mean, there's so much right to going and finding like somebody that you trust and you feel safe with doing work like this. And then as well as, having the skillset. And is there any like key words that they should be putting into Google to look up,

Elizabeth: 49:56

It's a good question. So, somatic coaching, somatic therapy, um, craniosacral therapy. Embodied leadership, these are some of the key words, but again, as you said, you know, this work is really personal. And so you want to make sure that the person you're working with is somebody who you trust. And so that's where the more that, as you're looking at different practitioners or. Trying to sift through people on Google, really paying attention to what you're noticing in your body when you're looking at these different people who you might be able to work with. And for me, particularly with my somatic coaching, I always do a free consultation. So most people have no idea. what this work is or how it could help them. And so that's where I like to do a free consult that consults. So people can really experience it firsthand and they can meet me. I can kind of talk about what they're going through and whether or not it's the right fit so that people have more information in terms of whether or not it's the right fit. And so really, having people see if that's an option for other practitioners is a really good idea because you'll, you'll know in your gut, who's the right person for you and there's oftentimes, people who have the all the training and all the experience, but they haven't necessarily done the work in their own lives. And that's one of my big

Lori: 51:28

Oh my gosh. You're, yes. Yes. I'm so glad you said that. Yes. Mm

Elizabeth: 51:34

because as more people are looking for this and it's a really, as hopefully people have gotten a sense of through this conversation, it's pretty, it's powerful work and so you have to really not only have the training and the education, but you have to have the lived experience and that's really, in my opinion, what's most important. So that's where, um, it can be. It's really important to find the right person and the right person who has done the work themselves.

Lori: 52:04

Yeah, that says a lot right there. It says a lot because the space that you're also holding for each person coming in. Right. And just, I mean, again, we're, we're connected. So I can't even imagine like you at the end of the day, you know, after. Working with however many people, six, eight, whatever, you have that energy, their energy, each of their energies around you, right? So you, it would make sense that you would also need to put this into practice so that you don't absorb everybody else's crap that they're, that they're releasing, you know? And it's so, no, it's true. I mean, many times I would come home from working in, hospitals and nursing homes and all of that. And I could just. Feel stuff on me that wasn't mine that I had to process and, and let go. Um, I mean, that's the beauty of, of being human, I mean, we have this connection, but we also have to learn how to get rid of stuff and own what's ours and, and process all of that,

Elizabeth: 53:00

And have the boundaries to do it right. Yeah.

Lori: 53:05

Oh, wonderful, Elizabeth. Thank you. Is there anything else you'd like to say before we wrap up?

Elizabeth: 53:11

Well, just that I had so much fun talking to you

Lori: 53:13

you and I always do. We could always talk about this stuff for hours, right?

Elizabeth: 53:17

I know, absolutely. Yeah, so it's been really fun and I hope it's been, I hope it's answered some of the questions that you were curious about kind of us exploring and yeah, I'll look forward to seeing you in

Lori: 53:30

Yes, exactly. And on your table again, too.

Elizabeth: 53:33

on my table.

Lori: 53:34

Absolutely. But yeah, we'll put everything in the show notes. So everybody has it. And of course too, I mean, if there's any questions, that come up, people can feel free to email me or email Elizabeth and, we can kind of help you out if this is something that you want to explore. And, um, you know, like I always say to people, get out of your own way, stop being afraid of yourself. Right. I mean, so much of this too, you know, There is a time and there's a place I do feel for medication and stuff like that. But so again, from just working in healthcare for so many years, it's just, there's so much stuff that's like, if we could just sit with ourself and be still long enough, and just feel what we're feeling and allow it to release out of the body, what can that do for you? Right? What can that do for you? Mm hmm. Yeah.

Elizabeth: 54:28

Yeah, and I, I always like people to know that as as As this work can be, we can start as small

Lori: 54:39

Mm hmm.

Elizabeth: 54:40

So if somebody is interested in working with some of the bigger challenges in their work or in their lives, that's absolutely on the table. But for most people, because they are. So if you're kind of unfamiliar with this work, and they're not quite sure if it's the

Lori: 54:54

Mm hmm.

Elizabeth: 54:54

or if they have the bandwidth, or if it's the right fit, for those people to know, like, we can also start so small, and oftentimes that's a really lovely way to kind of get the ball rolling, so that people can get out of their own way, as you said, and as I often say, for people to get out of their head as well, right, get out of the head and into the body, and that can be great. One of the most efficient and meaningful ways to make some of these changes, however, big or small they're looking

Lori: 55:23

Yes. And what's interesting is like exercise for me, is a big release and I know it is, it can be for a lot of people, right. Just go out and like work out hard or whatnot and get this like energy moving through you. And yes, I think that holds a certain space, but knowing both sides, right. So there's days where like, yeah, I mean, I do like, I feel better after. My deadlifting or whatever it is, because again, I'll listen to my body. What do I need from a movement perspective? But I've also found coupling it like exercise helps and it helps to manage it. But this work is also on just, again. A deeper level because we can still be using exercise, even though it's an amazing tool to still mask and not allow ourself to fully feel right. And because I mean, and I mentioned that because. Um, I mean, I, one, I do that for myself of like, I just, I have to go and move my body right now and I do feel better, but, I'm also surrounded by a lot of people, like, they're like, you know, running is my thing and this is how I release stress and go to the gym and so on. And it's like, it's better than not doing anything, but are you still pausing long enough to even like do what we did here for 10 minutes of like, but where, what is the frustration and where in your body are you feeling it? And then it's just, it's a different release is what I'm, I guess I'm trying to say. Um, and not get lost in like, I feel better after exercise. I mean, yeah, yes, you do because you've exerted energy and you have moved your body, which we know physiologically, changes your mood, for sure, but it doesn't necessarily get to the layer of processing. I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

Elizabeth: 57:10

Processing of emotions. We didn't even touch upon the way that our body holds on to beliefs as well. That are, that's a whole other

Lori: 57:19

We need to do that then, girl. We need to do that.

Elizabeth: 57:22

Yeah. And then this third piece is this, this wisdom that not only knows how to release. this stress, but this wisdom that can guide our life choices, this wisdom that's really interconnected with our intuition. So there's so much more happening from our neck down that can be incredibly relevant. And oftentimes The missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to people's professional or personal development. And oftentimes, as you said, when people think of the body, they think of exercising or how they're eating nutrition and all these things. And yes, that's definitely important, but there's so much else happening. There's this whole other universe that's happening in the body that the more that we can work with that, it can, as I said, be the missing piece of the puzzle for a

Lori: 58:08

Yeah, well, we always hear like, Oh, follow your gut, right? You're listening to your gut or your intuition. I mean, this is the work, right, right. This is the work

Elizabeth: 58:18

the way.

Lori: 58:19

that you get to listen to that gut instinct and that intuition is yeah. By removing these, these barriers. So it's, it's fascinating work. So

Elizabeth: 58:29

In our, in our next conversation, I'll tell you a story about the year that I let my body call the

Lori: 58:35

Ooh.

Elizabeth: 58:37

And what happened in that year, um, because that was my way of really testing what happens if we let this intuition, this wisdom in the body, really make these life choices. And, um, so we'll, we'll

Lori: 58:53

Yes. Okay. That will be part two. That will be part two. Oh my gosh. Yes. Yumminess. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. Thank you. Thank you. I just, yeah, I love you. I love your work. And, yeah, we're, we're here for anybody who wants to explore. So thank you everybody for tuning in and we will see you on the other side.

59:15

The information shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and is based on the opinions and experience of Lori Dorothy and their guests. The content should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Diagnosis or a treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast