Why Your Body Belongs in Therapy: A Look at the Hakomi Method

You might ask yourself, “Why should I include my body in therapy? What does that even mean? After all, aren’t most of my problems about my thoughts and behaviours? What could my body have to say?” Actually, a lot. Whether we know it or not, our bodies are constantly communicating to us. If they aren’t, we are ill or dead. 

The Body’s Role in Healing

Over the past few decades, research on trauma, attachment, and interpersonal neurobiology has highlighted the crucial role of the body in healing. In turn, several psychotherapies, including the Hakomi Method, Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and other dance or movement-based therapies have created methodologies and techniques to harness the wisdom of the body to promote healing. 

I’ll give you an example, though it’s important to understand that reading words can only go so far: it takes a lived experience to truly understand the power of these therapies!

An Example from the Hakomi Method

Let’s talk about the Hakomi Method.

Imagine you’re in therapy because you’re upset with a friend for ditching you on a night out. Rather than talking about it ad nauseam and coming to the same conclusion over and over without a full resolution, you could include the body. 

A Hakomi therapist would invite you to become mindful and curious about what’s unfolding right here in your present moment experience. Chances are, a whole sensory world is unfolding below your everyday awareness. This is especially the case with overthinkers or people who tend to intellectualize or rationalize their emotions and experiences.

So, we begin to slow it way down. We take our time as we turn inside. You notice that your shoulders are hunched forward. I invite you to really pay attention to your shoulders. You notice that they want to slump even further, and I encourage you to allow your body to move in the way that it needs. As you slump your shoulders down, tears begin to well in your eyes. You realize that you’re sad that your friend left you. The sadness emerges as a pit in the stomach. After you spend time focusing your attention there, a memory spontaneously arises from the time you were 12 and your friends left you on the playground. You remember feeling embarrassed and worthless, like nobody cares if you’re around or not. 

I ask you what this younger version of yourself needed at the time. You say a hug, and I invite you to hug this younger you in your mind’s eye. After some time, you notice that your shoulders no longer slump. You feel a warmth across your cheeks and an expansion in your heart. You just feel good–much better than you did 30 minutes ago, when you were perseverating in your mind about why your friend left you. You now understand that something much deeper has been influencing your current problem. And now, with this awareness, you can decide how to move forward. You no longer need to overthink it. You have more compassion and understanding for yourself. You’re more willing to hear what your friend has to say, and to vulnerably share why their actions impacted you so much. 

Try it for Yourself!

Although this is a simplified account of how the Hakomi Method may unfold, it is an accurate representation of how transformation can happen when we move beyond only using the mind to including the body in therapy. If you’d like support in discovering what your body has to say, I invite you to contact me.