Developing somatic bandwidth
Cultivating somatic bandwidth creates space for us to be with our own feelings while it also allows us more space to be with the feelings of others, especially when our interactions are fraught with tension or loaded with old history. ―rae johnson
👥 Serves: 1 person
🎚 Difficulty: Medium
⏳ Total time: 11-30 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: “embodied activism” book by rae johnson (if you’re curious to find out more about it!)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Community, Radical Care, Ritualising
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Acknowledgment, Allyship, Closeness, Compassion, Embodiment, Emotional intelligence, Liberation, Mind-body-connection, Relating to Others, Self-awareness
Developing somatic bandwidth
📝 Description
Cultivating responsiveness to create more equitable systems.
In their book “embodied activism”, social worker, somatic movement therapist, and scholar/activist rae johnson introduces two tools for social change: “perceptiveness” and “responsiveness”. This recipe explores the latter, because it complements the former by fulfilling “the responsibility we have to ourselves and others to co-create more equitable and enlivening processes, systems, and structures”.
johnson explains that responsiveness can be directed both inward and outward:
- Inward: It helps you metabolise your shame and navigate your history of oppressive social systems with more grace.
- Outward: It supports compassion and courage.
To cultivate responsiveness, you must develop “somatic bandwidth” which has to do with having a range of capacity for feelings and sensations. In a nutshell, it is “the ability to make room for the bodily sensations, emotions, and impulses that arrive when we’re triggered, without letting them overwhelm us or unilaterally direct our actions”. This concept is more nuanced and complex than “the window of tolerance” because it’s not about needing to “calm down” but about learning to give space to those sensations so you are informed but not overwhelmed by them. The following recipe introduces a few reflection prompts (offered by rae johnson themselves) to help you develop somatic bandwidth. If you are interested in exploring the first tool, perceptiveness, check out our recipe “Developing somatic literacy”.
🌟 Steps
Step 1 – Reflection (10’)
As you think about ways to expand your capacity to be with your own body in relation to other living bodies, reflect on the following:
- Where are your edges?
- Are there any particular sensations or emotions that you struggle to be present with?
- Are there situations or interactions that are likely to trigger an unwanted visceral response or push you into a state of somatic disequilibrium?
- Conversely, are there emotions and sensations that feel like go-to responses or that you feel very comfortable with?
Step 2 – Deepen your reflection (10’)
As you consider the many shades and nuances of emotional responses, reflect on the following:
- Where in your body do you feel these sensations and emotions? Consider drawing a body map and map your emotions in different colours and textures.
- Which emotions and sensations are harder for you to: (1) witness in others, (2) experience in yourself, and (3) express to others?
- Where in your body do you feel barriers to pleasure and joy?