Feral Somatics

The perceived gap between our daily lives and our collective crises is rapidly closing. The belief that the consequences would always be in other countries or felt among future generations is revealing itself to be an illusion.

• The latest story comes out about widespread male violence against women or extensive elite human trafficking rings. We're bombarded with traumatic memories and unprocessed rage around our own history of violations.

• The government puts out a warning about a possible attack by a foreign government, or the news warns there may be a gas shortage due to another war you see no value in and never wanted. The feeling of uncertainty and lack of control grows every day.

• We see the changes in our environment. It doesn't rain as much as it used to or maybe it rains too much now. You fear for your children's future.

• Social media is filled with images of genocide, innocent people being detained in your hometown, and doomsday predictions about the rise of AI.

• And our leaders. Our horrifying leaders.

For years, I had clients ask me, "what's the point?" when it came to learning to meet the emotions and responses of their bodies around collective issues. Now those issues loom over us, pointing to an uncertain future that requires a level of presence, a capacity, that our personal healing work has not fully prepared us for.

Below are some of the many possibilities for change that are available when we explore with radical honesty, presence, and curiosity the body-mind's responses to what we see happening collectively.

The collective opportunity we have and how it relates to feral somatics:

A taste of what's possible in a first session:

"Our session together was so special because I was really able to go so deeply into my emotional landscape around climate change with someone there not judging, not trying to make it better, just creating a safe space for me to experience and really encounter the emotions; getting outside permission and support to acknowledge and be with those emotions is something I have rarely come across. I appreciated having that space held in such a careful container.

​I now feel such a sense of correctness when I connect with those emotions. It's so important we have these spaces and create the conditions for people to feel like they can explore emotions around climate change without getting overwhelmed and spiraling into depression as a result."

"I've had many sessions with Kristy and without exception, we've always ended up in profound territory. She has the capacity to hold the rawness and depth of my emotions, and to move with the flow of experience in a way that enables me to go way deeper than I'd be able to on my own. Whether we're exploring personal trauma, or collective topics - grief for what's happening in the world, terror, incomprehension at what humans do to each other - Kristy remains steady and open throughout. She has the knack of asking pertinent questions at just the right moment, in a way that can only come when someone has done - and continues to do - their own deep somatic work. I trust her wholeheartedly and recommend her unreservedly." - Fiona Robertson, Author of The Dark Night of the Soul: A Journey from Absence to Presence

• We can learn to identify propaganda effortlessly, free to choose where our attention and energy go at all times.

• We experience genuine power that is far more extensive and communal in nature.
  

• We develop greater psychological and emotional capacity overall in our work, reducing the chances of burning out, becoming ill, or abandoning our personal needs and relationships.

• We can offer greater emotional stability and clarity to our communities, organizations, and networks, even if everyone else is losing their heads.

A few kind words:

"Working with Kristy is a life-changing experience. I have full trust in her competence."

"I came to Kristy with a couple of things that had been bothering me. How she helped me pick the really hot topic got me straight to where I needed to be. She had me gently paying attention to a small flutter in my stomach. That unfolded into something like a film clip, with details I never knew I remembered. The bottom line was amazing: this deep, felt insight into how I was continuously trying to save myself, and why. When the session came to a natural close, to my surprise we had basically covered all of my starting issues. Kristy's gentle, knowing guidance and full acknowledgement of my experience, through laughter and tears, was exactly what I needed - what anyone needs as far as I'm concerned. This is a wonderful journey, and I'm thankful."

• We realize we're part of a transgenerational project, feeling the inspiration, guidance, and encouragement of both our wiser ancestors and future generations.

• We can access and address ancestral patterns that radically shift our sensory perception and the ways we relate. A magical, sentient world is revealed that both encourages and resources us.

• We start to see that grounded pleasure and true relaxation are our birthright, and so is a human society that supports regular access to these states.

• We build the capacity to stay present and grounded in the midst of deep uncertainty, extreme injustice, and widespread upheaval.

• We experience a deep sense of interdependence with other human and non-human beings

• We can become more creative and experience greater personal power to meet chaos and rapid change

• We are increasingly able to see the beauty inherent in all of existence even while systems unravel
  

• We learn to fully trust our physical senses and the natural intelligence of our bodies