My Approach
The backbone of my work is an orientation toward the body.
Freedom, alignment, and coherence are all somatic states – they’re felt, inhabited, embodied.
The basic overarching principle I operate from is that healing is a return to Self. All of our systems are designed to work well when we feel safe and are allowed to be ourselves. In somatic work we create a container that provides the right balance of safety and attunement for all layers of you to exhale, unravel, unburden, and come into contact with who you really are.
The body has a natural drive towards healing and coherence - it’s what it does best if given space, attention, and permission. As you return to the center of your experience, you anchor a center line for all of your systems to reorganize from - you create a central rhythm for the rest of your body to attune to. A cacophony of disparate instruments starts sounding more like a harmonious orchestra.
I firmly believe that underneath all of our life experiences, we are whole.
There's a part of you that knows how to find and live the life that's meant for you. The part of you that knows how to be who you are in a way that's clear, coherent, and unyielding. That's the part of you I'm in service to – my calling is to help you find it and watch you take root in that fertile soil. Every other aspect of your life will reorganize as you emanate from this place.
Why focus on the body?
As long as you’re breathing, you’re embedded within a body. It’s the only place from which all of your experiences are made possible. It’s the instrument through which you experience reality - your body is the way you receive the world, and the way you impact it.
The body is the interface between the internal and the external, the spiritual and the physical, the self and the other. Every single human experience includes the body, and our relationship to it will determine how those experiences are managed.
There are many reasons why we might end up disconnected from our bodies – they might be storing a wide variety of unprocessed experiences we’d rather not be exposed to. However, ignoring those doesn’t make them go away – they only get denser and wreak havoc on all of our systems, often resulting in a wide variety of psychosomatic symptoms and vague health concerns. The only way out is through.
Lucky for us, bodies are also incredible vessels of transmutation. Somatic work can create the right conditions for your nervous system to process and release some of those old stories, so you can live your life in the present – not in the past.
The body also tends to have the most accurate access to truth, while the mind mostly contains interpretations of your experiences. By working with the body we restore your access to who you actually are, place you in the center of your experience, and put you back in charge of your life.
Your body is not a graveyard for old pain. By separating from the pain of the body, we also distance ourselves from the incredible wisdom, clarity, and comfort of it. Let’s till that soil, let it breathe, and help you plant a lush garden where you can be at ease. Whatever your current relationship is to your body, it’s never too late to come home to it. Embodiment is our greatest challenge and our greatest gift, the hassle is well worth the outcome. *
* Please note that embodiment doesn’t require movement. Somatic work is a way of seeing the nervous system as a whole and restoring its access to safety, agency, and self-expression. No matter what your body’s current capacity is, we can add more support and regulation to bring you into better alignment through all of your layers.
My office is in Vancouver, but I also offer online sessions - so wherever you are in the world, I’d be happy to work with you.
Wondering if we’re a good fit?
Book a free consultation.
It’s important that you feel safe, seen, and understood in our work together. You can tell me what you’re working on, and what’s important to you. I’ll let you know how I can help, and we’ll see if we’re a good fit!
Most people know what they want, but there’s often internal conflict between parts of us that keep us from truly pursuing and achieving our desired outcomes.
You might want change, but you might also want the safety and familiarity of your old patterns. You might want to step into more of your passions and desires, but be worried about not doing it “right”. You might want to step into more of your power, but be afraid of the extra responsibility, accountability, and being seen. You might want to finally unburden yourself from your past, but you don’t know who’d you would be without it.
Dreams and goals seem so much more appealing when they’re “out there” in your imagination, and bringing them into existence can feel uncomfortable at best, terrifying at worst.
The modalities I work with will help to eliminate that internal conflict - we’ll make sure that your body, mind, and your subconscious are all on the same team. My job is to create the space for you to come into coherence through all of your layers.
When all of you is aligned with your desired outcomes, your goals become not only achievable, but inevitable.
Whether you're processing your past, navigating relationships, optimizing your life, finding your peak performance state, recovering from loss, or simply looking for clarity and coherence - I'd be honored to help. I’m on your side and in your corner, you don’t have to do any of this alone. Change is easier than you think, and we’ll create the right conditions for it.
My style is conversational, casual and interactive. My loyalty is not to a modality, but to you - every session is different, and is responsive to your evolving needs and priorities. You’re an active participant in the process, and you get to decide how we work together.
Wondering if this work can be done online?
Better than you’d think. Click here to find out more.
Got questions? Get in touch
I know that the first steps are always the hardest.
But you’re here taking them anyway, and that’s all that matters.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I can’t wait to meet you.
If you prefer to reach out directly, my email is: shannon.solieva@gmail.com