Freedom Within; Bodywork & Somatic Inquiry for Chronic Pain

15/06/2026

One of the things I notice is that people often don’t arrive knowing exactly what they need.

People don’t say:

“I think I need NeuroAffective Touch.”

Or:

“I’m looking for a polyvagal informed somatic practitioner integrating relational psychotherapy.”

Instead, they say:

“I’m exhausted.”

“I should be coping better than this.”

“I don’t feel like myself.”

“I don’t know why this feels so hard.”

Or simply:

“I don’t know what I need… but I feel like I need something you could offer.”

If this is you, I want you to know that not knowing is welcome here.

You don’t have to arrive with certainty.

You don’t have to have the right language.

Sometimes the first step isn’t having the answer.

It’s simply listening to the quiet part of you that knows something needs to be different.

And allowing that to be enough.



These beautiful photos were taken by the talented .and.flare and gifted to me by 🙏 🤍

11/06/2026

Amongst all the usual shells at Sandbanks beach, I found this one, beautiful and unbroken. A glimmer. Like finding a little piece of myself🤍

I often meet people who come wanting to understand why they feel the way they do.

To make sense of symptoms.
To understand the impact of what they've lived through.
To regain some control over experiences that can feel frightening, confusing, or exhausting.

And that exploration matters.

But sometimes, in the midst of tracing what has hurt, something else quietly emerges.

A story about what is still intact.

The place where someone lights up when they speak about doing something they love.

The moments where they trust themselves without thinking.

The experiences of connection, flow, competence, vitality.

What if these moments aren't just pleasant exceptions?

What if they are resources?

What if they reveal capacities that have been there all along? Amongst all the usual things we notice.

Not to bypass pain.
Not to deny difficulty.

But to remind us that we are always more than the hardest parts of our story.

07/06/2026

Sometimes we become so accustomed to holding everything ourselves that we forget support is possible.

Not because we don’t want it.

But because self reliance can become a very familiar way of being. It’s what you know.

One of the things I value about body based work is that it offers experience, not just understanding.

Experience of feeling supported.

Experience of feeling connected.

Experience of being met

…. feeling held

… feeling safe.

Sometimes those experiences can reach places that words alone cannot.

02/06/2026

Sometimes the ways we speak to ourselves can feel so familiar that we mistake them for who we are.

The self judgement.

The shame.

The feeling that somehow we are not enough…

or too much.

But often these experiences didn't begin as flaws.

They began as adaptations.

Ways of making sense of relationships, experiences, and environments that felt difficult to navigate.

Ways of staying connected.

Ways of staying safe.

Ways of belonging.

Over time, these adaptations can become so woven into our experience that we forget they were responses rather than identities.

What if the critical voice isn't who you are?

What if it is simply one part of a much larger story?

You are so much more than what you adapted into 🤍

28/05/2026

I I recently spoke at an Avaiya online summit on Somatic Resilience and ‘the Compulsion to Escape’, exploring how fear interacts with physical symptoms and the nervous system.

Funny really as the thought of speaking publicly used to cause huge fear in me and I avoided it at all costs!

What we know is this: symptoms can become amplified when the nervous system interprets our fear and resistance as confirmation that something dangerous is happening – like a smoke alarm becoming increasingly sensitive. The alarm itself is real, but it does not necessarily mean the house is on fire.

Much of somatic work involves gently turning toward our experience rather than fighting, suppressing or escaping it, allowing the nervous system to recognise that the alarm is doing its job rather than signalling catastrophe.

I was very touched by some of the reflections people shared afterwards. One person wrote that they felt encouraged to meet what was happening in their body with more curiosity and presence, which felt deeply meaningful to hear.

The summit recordings are still available, along with many other thoughtful presentations. My presentation, and many more from the summit, can still be accessed through the link below.

I recently spoke at an Avaiya online summit about Somatic Resilience. My presentation was titled The Compulsion to Escape and explored how fear interacts with physical symptoms and the nervous system. I spoke about the way symptoms can become amplified when the nervous system interprets our fear and...

26/05/2026

25/05/2026

Sometimes people ask what somatic work is actually like.

It can be difficult to answer in a neat or clinical way … because so much of it is about experience.

It might feel like:
Slowing down internally for the first time.

Or noticing your body without judging it or needing it to change.

Or realising you don’t have to hold everything alone.

There is no pressure to perform or achieve here.

No expectation to explain everything perfectly, or at all.

Just a space where your nervous system can begin to soften … at a pace you can actually stay with 🤍

21/05/2026

Sometimes people arrive with a deep understanding of themselves…

and yet something still feels held.

Not because insight isn’t meaningful.
But because some experiences were shaped long before words were available.

Through relationship.
Through sensation.
Through what the body learned to carry.

This is often where body-based and relational work can offer something different.

Not by forcing change…

but by including the parts of us that words alone may not fully reach.

Photo: Me in actual heaven 💙

12/05/2026

I’m excited to announce I’ve opened a new clinic space at Dorset Private GP in Ashley Cross.

This feels like a great fit as I bring all of my experience as a SIRPA practitioner, working within a trauma informed, somatic framework to support individuals experiencing chronic stress and persistent symptoms.

With my SIRPA hat on, I help people:

Develop a deeper understanding of the SIRPA model and the links between pain, stress physiology, and past or ongoing experiences

Explore how the nervous system shapes perception, sensation, emotion and protective responses

Build greater internal stability and capacity for regulation, both physically and emotionally

Develop somatic awareness and embodied tracking skills to support self-understanding and self-regulation

This work will benefit anyone experiencing stress-related or trauma-linked physical symptom patterns, including those influenced by nervous system activation or dysregulation.

Persistent and complex symptom patterns might include:

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (including back, neck and shoulder pain) / Widespread pain conditions, including fibromyalgia presentations / Persistent or functional pain syndromes (including non-structural sciatica)/ Functional digestive symptoms, including IBS / Headaches, migraines, and tension-related symptoms.

10/05/2026

I’m excited to share that I’m one of the featured speakers in a free online series on somatic resilience and how to support your nervous system.

Studies estimate that more than 2 billion people are experiencing nervous system dysregulation, and nearly 70% of adults report feeling physically and emotionally overwhelmed most days.

When stress and trauma settle into the body, they don’t simply fade with time. Without the right support, the nervous system can stay stuck in survival mode.
Over time, this can show up as persistent fatigue,
emotional burnout, or physical symptoms that feel confusing or unexplained.

If any of this feels familiar, you are warmly invited to join the event, created and hosted by AVAIYA University. Across four days, 25 teachers, doctors, and somatic practitioners will explore how stored stress and trauma can soften, how the body can return to safety, and how energy and resilience can rebuilt in a grounded, compassionate way.

Register here:
https://www.avaiya.com/resilience/affiliatesirpachronicpainprogramme