Recently I had a session with a client who wanted to make peace with certain sexual memories from their past. Something that was bringing them shame, although it was not really shameful. Something that kept their mind so busy they felt it was almost taking over.

I do not offer therapy, but I do offer a place without judgement and acceptance. ‘Somatic’ doesn’t mean that we do not talk, but that we listen to the body’s response also. And so that’s what we did – we listened to what was coming up in the present moment. Words like ‘sin’ and ‘judgement’ and ‘bad’ came fast. The body tensed up. After more observation, and when I felt it was appropriate, I invited the client to imagine sharing their story with the supportive important people in their life if they wanted to. Once they did that in their mind, they felt they got permission. Specifically, permission to be the way they wanted to be, to find their own way, to explore and to trust their own judgement, to have their own responsibility. Almost like a ticket to freedom?

Freedom. Those sweet words that can seem so ethereal to many. I cannot emphasize how important permission is for finding freedom or relief for many. Restriction and lack of permission often affects us more than we think, on a subconscious level, too.

And so I invite you to notice what permission could bring to your life. Perhaps you need to hear it from someone – it can certainly be just an imagination exercise, and a really effective one. Or perhaps you need a quiet, calm and safer space and be held within that, in your body, your mind and your eros. If so, reach out and let’s find permission together. 

(As always, the story is shared with client’s permission).