A Diary of Healing: Excerpts from Somatic Alignment Sessions

As a Somatic Alignment practitioner, it’s essential for me not only to guide others through their healing journeys but also to do my own work. Receiving sessions helps me stay on my healing journey and understand what it feels like to be on the other side – vulnerable and open.

Here are some excerpts from sessions I received from fellow practitioners. These are my personal reflections written soon after each session. My hope in sharing this is to give you a sense of what Somatic Alignment can feel like from the inside and why this work is so powerful.

1 – Dissolving heartbreak

The session started with something simple: breathing.

As I focused on my breath and allowed myself to just be present, I got overwhelmed by emotions. My tears started to flow, and I suddenly realized how much sadness and grief I’d been carrying in my heart without even knowing it.

The practitioner held a safe space for me to release whatever needed to come. At one point, the grief became so strong that it turned into physical pain – it felt like my heart was being squeezed. When she firmly touched my back at the level of my heart, the pain dissolved and I felt lighter, as if a heavy weight had been lifted.

From there, memories began to surface. With my eyes closed, it felt like I was moving through different moments of my life – one after another – fully feeling the emotions tied to them. It was intense, almost like time travel, where things started to make sense in a new way.

We did the session seated – maybe in an unusual way, but it felt just right for me that day to stay like that. I appreciated that the practitioner supported me in doing what felt comfortable instead of following a strict structure.

2 – I am allowed to grieve

One of the main themes that came up was grief.

I allowed myself to finally grieve a long-term relationship that ended years ago. I had pushed those feelings away for so long that I didn’t even realize how much I was still carrying.

I also felt sadness over a recent relationship that wasn’t very serious but had still affected me deeply. I’d been telling myself I shouldn’t feel grief for something so short-lived, but my body clearly disagreed. It mattered to me, and it was okay to fully feel it. In the session, I gave myself permission to feel everything – both the love and the sadness over the loss I’d been suppressing.

After each wave of emotion, I felt more and more relief. Lightness arrived and I could breathe with ease again.

As a Somatic Alignment practitioner, it’s essential for me not only to guide others through their healing journeys but also to do my own work. Receiving sessions helps me stay on my healing journey and understand what it feels like to be on the other side – vulnerable and open.

Here are some excerpts from sessions I received from fellow practitioners. These are my personal reflections written soon after each session. My hope in sharing this is to give you a sense of what Somatic Alignment can feel like from the inside and why this work is so powerful.

1 – Dissolving heartbreak

The session started with something simple: breathing.

As I focused on my breath and allowed myself to just be present, I got overwhelmed by emotions. My tears started to flow, and I suddenly realized how much sadness and grief I’d been carrying in my heart without even knowing it.

The practitioner held a safe space for me to release whatever needed to come. At one point, the grief became so strong that it turned into physical pain – it felt like my heart was being squeezed. When she firmly touched my back at the level of my heart, the pain dissolved and I felt lighter, as if a heavy weight had been lifted.

From there, memories began to surface. With my eyes closed, it felt like I was moving through different moments of my life – one after another – fully feeling the emotions tied to them. It was intense, almost like time travel, where things started to make sense in a new way.

We did the session seated – maybe in an unusual way, but it felt just right for me that day to stay like that. I appreciated that the practitioner supported me in doing what felt comfortable instead of following a strict structure.

2 – I am allowed to grieve

One of the main themes that came up was grief.

I allowed myself to finally grieve a long-term relationship that ended years ago. I had pushed those feelings away for so long that I didn’t even realize how much I was still carrying.

I also felt sadness over a recent relationship that wasn’t very serious but had still affected me deeply. I’d been telling myself I shouldn’t feel grief for something so short-lived, but my body clearly disagreed. It mattered to me, and it was okay to fully feel it. In the session, I gave myself permission to feel everything – both the love and the sadness over the loss I’d been suppressing.

After each wave of emotion, I felt more and more relief. Lightness arrived and I could breathe with ease again.

3 – My weight is not tied to my worth

Another powerful realization was about self-love.

For most of my life, I tied my worth to my weight. During the session, I saw how deeply this belief had shaped me – and I understood that I am beautiful no matter what I weigh.

I also noticed how often I’m hard on myself. The negative self-talk, the self-sabotage – it’s been so constant that I barely noticed it anymore. Becoming aware of it was painful, but it gave me a chance to start shifting it. Since then, I’ve started to talk to myself the way a loving grandmother would talk to her grandchild – with care, unconditional love and patience.

4 – Reconnecting with my reindeer

At one point, we sat on the ground facing each other. The practitioner guided me through a visualization where she asked me to imagine my safe place and then describe it to her in one word.

As I closed my eyes, what appeared was an image I hadn’t connected to in almost a decade – the reindeer I used to see during savasana at the end of my yoga practice when I first started yoga about eight years ago.

Back then, the reindeer would always appear and guide me deeper into the forest, and I knew I was safe as long as I followed him.

When the practitioner asked me to describe how this visualization made me feel, my word was protected.

I cried as I said it out loud.
It was such a beautiful, emotional moment – like reconnecting with a part of myself I had completely forgotten.

5 – The importance of silence

Another surprising realization came up later: my habit of talking too much.

I’ve been using words to avoid fully feeling my emotions. By constantly giving everything a story or a narrative, I’ve been distracting myself from the actual feelings.

What I need most right now isn’t more talking – it’s silence.
Sitting quietly with myself.
Letting emotions move through me without immediately trying to put them into words or share them with others.

This is where I can truly meet myself.

6 – All my names

As different memories came up, I reflected on all the names I’ve been called throughout my life. Each name carried its own history and emotion. What a whirlwind of feelings!

It made me see how my names have been tied to different identities. Talking about this with my guide helped me understand why it’s been a source of confusion for me and gave me more clarity.

7 – Trusting my path again

In the weeks before the session, I had been feeling confused.
I let other people’s fears, doubts and opinions get into my head, and it started to shake my trust in myself and my spiritual path.

During the session, that all shifted.
I felt deeply connected to my own truth again.
The opinions of others didn’t feel as heavy anymore. I could finally see my own path clearly without needing anyone else’s approval.

8 – Feeling safe and loved

One of the most healing parts of the session was realizing that I could receive unconditional love outside of a romantic relationship.

Before, I believed that this kind of love – being deeply held and supported – could only come from a partner. But in this session, through the guide’s presence and care, I felt completely safe to let go.

I felt loved without any condition. Just in my pure presence. It touched me deeply.

9 – Realizing a lifetime of shoulder tension

In the days and weeks that followed the sessions, I noticed clear shifts:

I feel more accepting and less judgmental of others.
It’s easier to experience unconditional love.
My breathing is deeper.
I became aware of how tense my shoulders have been – something I hadn’t really noticed before even though physiotherapists had mentioned it for years. Now I catch my elevated shoulders several times a day and consciously relax them. It’s such a relief!

Closing reflections

You never know what unfolds during a session.

As you can see from these excerpts, I reconnected with forgotten parts of myself and gained a deeper sense of self-love and trust in my path.

As a practitioner, it reminded me why it’s so important to keep doing my own work with compassion.

I’m deeply grateful – for the safe space I was given, for the guidance I received and for the healing that continues to unfold in my daily life.

Thank you for being here! I hope you gained a better understanding of what Somatic Alignment can do.

Much love,

Adri

A Diary of Healing: Excerpts from Somatic Alignment Sessions

1 – Dissolving heartbreak

2 – I am allowed to grieve

1 – Dissolving heartbreak

2 – I am allowed to grieve

3 – My weight is not tied to my worth

4 – Reconnecting with my reindeer

5 – The importance of silence

6 – All my names

7 – Trusting my path again

8 – Feeling safe and loved

9 – Realizing a lifetime of shoulder tension

Closing reflections

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