somatic balancing guide
let it be known that at the end of the day, no matter what fancy, complicated, expensive tactics wellness pros try to promote for somatic work, it all boils down to these 4 simple things:
scanning
tapping
moving
breathing
you can use this guide to navigate somatic work yourself. it’s, based in the BIB Scale I developed in 2016 when I began working with private yoga clients, and named/validated while writing my thesis for loyola marymount in 2023 toward an MA in yoga studies.
read below for a tour of the graphic and notes for usage:
you’ll see on the lefthand side of the graphic a stacked list of feelings, emotions, and states of being. note the upper portions correlate with “+1” and the lower with “-1” and that the midrange are sitting next to “0.” this is to show that some feelings, like anger and excitement, are more activated, other feelings like calm or depressed indicate more depletion, and middle states like calmness and balance are just that, more neutral states of being. most importantly, note:
this list is non-exhaustive, and also that high and low do not equal good or bad, better or worse. sometimes you may be tired and need to energize for a meeting or a date, so your goal would be to move from -1 to +1. other times you may feel calm, but need to move toward sleepy as bedtime approaches, and so you’d move ideally from 0 to -1.
the middle chart within the graphic offers tools and techniques related to the three parts of a human — body, mind, and spirit — that you can try out to either remain in or move toward a particular state, i.e. toward +1, 0, or -1.
the righthand boxes are small additions and reminders. remember to check in from time to time, and ask yourself if your basic needs have been met. so many times i check in with a client who feels lethargic and “blah,” who discloses they haven’t eaten anything substantial in days and have had a few nights in a row of bad sleep. of course they don’t feel great! also, remember your feelings are valid, but not always true. read more on what i mean by that here, if you dare.