What is Trauma-Informed Bodywork?

What and why of trauma-informed bodywork

The phrase “trauma-informed” (thankfully) is being used more and more in therapeutic and activist settings recently. This phrase can mean a lot of different things to different people and be applied differently based on the setting.

At Threshold Healing “trauma-informed” is how we approach your body. We hold the awareness that your body comes to us with trauma. Big trauma, little trauma, teeny-tiny trauma, heart-breaking trauma, and all the rest. Your body arrives exactly as it is just the moment it gets here. Your body arrives knowing itself as it is, just as it is, just as it arrives.

YOU know your body, better than ANY person ever has known your body (please read that sentence again).

As bodyworkers, we know bodies, we touch bodies, we know what pain looks like, where it goes, why it goes, what helps it to move. But we don’t know YOUR body better than you, ever.

In every bodywork session there is a power dynamic. You come to us and share your body (your pain, your hurt, your uncomfortable, your unsettled) and ask us to soothe, ease, move and release those spots. You give power to us.

You trust us with your body.

Within the context of “trauma informed” we work to hold this power with grace, while creating a container that allows for stuck and protected energy to move. We encourage you to notice what is moving stuck-ness in your body and what is creating stuck-ness in your body, without judgement or “knowing better”.

The main way we do this work is through verbal communication and felt communication. Your body (every body) is constantly communicating with the world. We, through listening and intention, step into these communication lines.

We set this container with you. We give you options for undress, and clearly tell you what they are. We do not say “undress to your comfort level” and then walk out of the room leaving you confused as to wtf that means. (what does that mean even??). We talk about your session for the day and then decide what level of clothing on or off works for you. You are always allowed to CHANGE YOUR MIND. Your body can change what it wants and what feels best session to session or during your session.

We listen (with our eyes and our hands) to your body. We observe how it responds to pressure, to types of touch and the work we are doing. If we notice something isn’t working as we hoped, we ask how it feels or what you are noticing. We ADJUST with your body. We work together. We approach bodywork as if we are being invited onto your team. We are deeply honored to be invited in.