As I sat with Ruby, my friend’s healthy and active 89 year old mother, I was struck by how quickly she responded to our Somatic Experiencing session. I asked Ruby to pay attention to her inner felt experience of body sensations. Ruby was recovering quite nobly from hip surgery and was very familiar with what parts of her body were hurting. When I suggested she explore what areas were not hurting, Ruby said, “My upper body is calm and peaceful.”
Dr. Peter A. Levine, the founder of Somatic Experiencing, teaches an approach he has developed called “pendulation”. It is a way to initiate a natural rhythm within the bodily experience that supports healing. Ruby was naturally pendulating. She was aware of the pain in her hips and then becoming aware of her calm and peaceful upper body. At one point her feet started moving – each foot lifting upwards from the heels. As we brought our attention to this movement, she said with surprise, “I have happy feet.”
From a Somatic Experiencing perspective, Ruby was now actively engaging with her parasympathetic nervous system, the part of our nervous system that slows the heart rate, increases digestion, and supports healing.
From a Buddhist mindfulness and meditation perspective, Ruby was using wholesome effort: being curious and open to what was presenting itself in her mind and body. By directing her mind to attend to the sensations in a friendly way, she discerned what could be done to bring ease and comfort to the difficult and unpleasant sensations. Ruby was increasing her sense of wellbeing.
We might not all experience “happy feet”, but Ruby’s Somatic Experiencing session shows that we can influence our body through how we direct our attention.
I invite you to experiment with how you pay attention to your inner experiences.
See what happens for you. And let me know what you discover.