I just watched a movie on Netflix about Aretha Franklin called "Respect" All the feelings. My eyes poured down tears multiple times. At one point Aretha is portrayed breaking down during rehearsal before recording her timeless gospel record and saying in confidence to a friend "I can't break down like that in front of the cameras tomorrow. You don't understand. I have a demon and it's SO strong!" Her friend responded," Aretha you don't have a demon. You just have deep pain that you have been running from for SO so long! You are in church. You are in a safe place. The Spirit is waiting. This is what we are here for." And she sang her heart and created something that has blessed so many people. This is what it feels like to me to find a path for reconnecting to the love of Jesus after religious trauma through Somatic Therapy. I have a safe place. I feel hope and purpose coming back into me.

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7750694311567651931 Instead of our usual Wednesday class, we’ll have a Somatic End-of-Year Integration this Wednesday from 12:00 to 1:30 pm. Everyone is welcome. Worksheets will be posted here, and you can join the class using the link above. I hope you can make it. In this class, we’ll reflect on an area where you grew in 2025 and work on integrating that growth, so your mind and body are in sync with your new abilities. If you can’t join live, a replay will be posted here for you to watch later or use for more reflection.

How do I know if a class has been canceled?

Adrienne often talks about letting things that arise in the felt sense come home. Whatever inner resistance is not to be judged but to be welcomed, even when it's a shadow self that we don't like to think fully represents who we are. I watched this short video today and the speaker Juan Galan does an excellent job putting it into words. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16JKye7VBH/

It's been almost two months since beginning Somatic Experiencing with Adrienne. I'm so grateful. The greatest gift is in being empowered to do the daily self practices. Because if she wanted she could have become my new cult leader. But she chooses to continually give more freedom and empowerment and I believe that this is the Divine path of healing that is so often missed. Most breakthroughs for me are preceded by either very emotional stories about me that matter but can be a huge distraction and even worse a stubborn resistance. But when I want the healing more than anything, it's there waiting. It's been there the whole time. I'm always amazed that the gentleness and the healing is greater than the resistance. This morning I woke up with enough calm and clarity to receive some gifts. Adrienne is right that the narrative can be a distraction. It matters. But it's not as significant as tuning in to the capacity. That deserves my focus. I felt support in my feet and they were together in a lotus pose. I thanked God for the support in my body I clasped my hands and turned my head to the side and attempted to allow the pain to come in and be felt as it often does through my neck. Then I lifted my arms over my head and allowed a really prolonged and shaking stretch. There was so much relief of pain and deep comfort but an almost uncontrollable emotional impulse to bend over and curl up in a fetal position instead immediately afterwards. This even though I know that it's better relief and I had intended to lie down again with my body in a backwards arc to lean into the relief and again stretch my spine out. I want to receive benefits of all postures instead of being stuck bent over. So I went back and forth between the two, the crouching and stretching. Leaning into it until my body was shaking that little vibration of a good stretch. I kept going back and forth between sensing my feet, and each body part corresponding to my emotional sensory core from top to bottom. And also bottom to top. I began to feel energy coming up from my feet and some vibration and stretching happening in my legs. Every time I got closer to the center perhaps the solar plexus to gut, everything got quiet. I would hit a wall of silence,