My journey with Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) has been an evolution, one that began with a sense that something was missing in traditional counseling approaches.
I knew, both from my lived experience and my cultural inheritance, that healing is not just cognitive. It is energetic, embodied, and deeply relational. When I found SE™, I recognized it as the bridge I had been seeking: a way to honor the intelligence of the body, the rhythms of the nervous system, and the life force that animates us all.
What makes SE™ so deeply resonant for me is how it mirrors and affirms the practices I have carried from childhood—rooted in the Vedic traditions of my indigenous heritage and the Theravada Buddhist teachings that shaped my early spiritual development. These traditions taught me how to regulate my internal states long before I had any psychological language for it. I learned to focus on the breath (pranayama), to attune to subtle sensations (vipassana), to move energy through mantra, mudra, and mindful presence. These practices became my lifeline during the trauma of civil war, the disorientation of immigration, and the chronic stress of acculturation. They were the intuitive tools I turned to in order to maintain coherence when everything around me felt fragmented.
SE™ has given me a new, embodied language to name what my ancestors already knew. Concepts like pendulation, titration, and orienting feel like modern articulations of ancient wisdom. For instance, the Vedic practice of pratyahara—withdrawing the senses inward to stabilize the mind—mirrors the SE™ principle of resourcing: finding internal safety and calm to support nervous system regulation. Similarly, vipassana meditation cultivates interoceptive awareness—an essential SE™ skill that allows us to track sensations and bring gentle attention to our felt experience.
Participating in the SE™ BIPOC in-person pilot was especially meaningful. It affirmed that somatic healing is not culture-neutral—it is deeply shaped by history, identity, and systemic context. In that space, I felt the collective nervous system of our group begin to soften, attune, and reclaim the right to safety. It reminded me of the communal healing circles of my culture, where regulation happens not just individually, but in relationship.
SE™ has transformed how I understand my own nervous system—not as something to control or suppress, but as something to listen to and befriend. It has illuminated why my ancestral practices were so effective and has empowered me to hold space for others with more clarity, compassion, and precision. Becoming a Somatic practitioner feels like a homecoming—one that honors both my lineage and my longing to serve others.
This work is sacred to me. SE™ has not only given me tools—it has given me back parts of myself I didn’t know I had lost. It has shown me that healing is not just possible—it’s our birthright.
Testimonial, 2025