Kim Cochrane - Whole Body Health Somatic Healing

09/07/2023

“off we fly, souls regenerated, onward to the next great arc of sky, the next beautiful unfurling, our eyes flecked with nova and starstuff, we are made for this journey.” ~ marna scooter

I’ve been navigating a roller coaster of emotions this summer, as my dog, Dylan, slows down and moves towards the end of his life. We even postponed a date that was set for his euthanasia, as I knew in my heart that it wasn’t his time to go yet. Thankfully, as I write this, he is still with us and we are grateful for each day.

The nature of his health means that we can’t travel too far away from home for too long – so day trips are in and longer trips are out. He is reminding us about the value of life, the power of being present with yourself, your body, and your nervous system responses.

Even though we know that every living thing around us is going to pass away, when you are faced with the reality of it, it shakes up our reality and throws our nervous system for a loop. Familiar patterns can arise in those moments and it’s so important to reach out for caring support – and be compassionate, soft and kind to ourselves in these moments – when things feel the hardest.

Moving into fall, there is something wonderful that I want to share with you – a NEW Community Group Program for Women that is beginning in October.

Do you feel the pulsating energy within you? The urge to be with what you’ve been feeling and holding inside of you and take some steps towards connection, healing and growth.

During our work together, many women tell me that they feel isolated and alone, even in the midst of their busy lives full of family, work and relationships. There comes a time when we realize that we must open ourselves to receive, to step forward towards a new path of healing – and begin to invest in our emotional and physical health. One of our primary emotional needs is a need for true connection.

Showing up for yourself and others, keeping yourself and your needs close, does something good for you and your life. When you choose to uncover and share your needs with others in a loving, supportive space, things begin to change.

That’s why I’m excited to offer a new group program for women – Emergence – Allowing Softness – The Feminine Embodiment Community – beginning on Monday. October 16, 2023 – Monday evenings from 6:30pm to 8pm. Join us in this safe container from anywhere – $497.00 CAD for the 7-Week Program.

This group offering supports and augments the inner one-on-one personal work that we are doing. There are times when we need a larger container, a more encompassing space in which to do the work of soul. As Carl Jung once wrote, “The soul cannot become itself without an other, which is always found in a You.”

We require community to fully restore ourselves to the world. This group program helps to place us back in the original context of belonging and deep participation in the soul lives of others.

Ultimately, it is community that offers a blessing, a landing and an acceptance of being a part of something larger than ourselves.

Our wounds make us doubt that we will ever be welcomed into the arms of a group, which makes the step into that territory feel risky. And yet, to remain outside of the body of the community is to live in isolation. At some point, we must, as poet Mary Oliver says, “risk the wildest places, lest we go down in despair and comfort.” Finding our way back into the world makes possible our full embodiment. We enter the great dance of life and offer ourselves as we are to the breathing earth.

In these times, I am thankful for the long path I’ve had with many excellent teachers, and a commitment to sharing what I’ve learned with others.

Energetic, somatic nervous system and early developmental trauma healing has been the most powerful healing process of my life.

When I went to somatic trauma healing school for over 6 years, it gave me context for all the practices that I’ve been doing, teaching and sharing.

I finally felt and understood what was happening within me on a foundational level and I felt it in my body.

What a relief.

I can be with my feelings as they rise and fall and I want you to join me.

[email protected] / www.kimcochrane.ca

“off we fly, souls regenerated, onward to the next great arc of sky, the next beautiful unfurling, our eyes flecked with nova and starstuff, we are made for this journey.” ~ marna scooter I have missed connecting with you more often – I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and is ready to mo...

05/24/2023

Healing trauma isn't about fixing or figuring out. It's not about pushing for change. Old school trauma healing pushes us past our edges when we’re already overwhelmed and carrying too much. We can’t talk trauma away.

Our bodies carry the history of our lives. They carry the map for how we got here and they also have the wisdom for how to remember our wholeness. Healing in mind/body/spirit/soul is where it’s at and begins by remembering again and again that we don't need to be fixed and that we can bring softness to our experience every day.

By working with your nervous system and welcoming all parts of who you are, we can support your body to process through the parts of your history that still send you into reactivity and keep you stuck and come into a place of peace and expansiveness.

When we become regulated and steady, we can meet life wholeheartedly without all the noise. Trauma healing is about coming into new relationship with ourselves, all we’ve been through, where we’re headed and everything around us. We’re able to respond instead of react.

I help those who want to slow down, connect back to themselves, heal and recover from the effects of early developmental trauma with Relational, Somatic & Energetic Bodywork and Therapies.

Let's create a safe, resourced container for you to touch in on challenges you are holding, integrate them and become more of who you are. As a Relational Somatic Therapist, Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma Practitioner and Somatic Practitioner, I weave together wisdom from Somatic Experiencing, Relational Family Trauma Imprint Healing, Attachment Theory, Somatic Resilience & Regulation, Transforming the Experience Based Brain, Energy Medicine, Somatic Movement, Pre & Peri Natal Somatic Therapy, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and Inner Child Healing, among many other modalities.

[email protected] / www.kimcochrane.ca

03/21/2023

“If you want to improve the world, start by making people feel safer.” ~ Dr. Stephen Porges

This is an invitation to allow space for unwinding, unfolding and blossoming – spring is here. An opportunity to heal deeply held, unresolved survival energy and chronic stress – through a supportive body exploration process.

Every repeated experience matters. Whichever experiences we choose to repeat—either consciously or unconsciously—are changing our mind-body system. The more often we receive support, move towards softness, rest and somatic healing, the more we can release what we are holding and restore what is missing.

I am so grateful that I get to work with so many beautiful souls – and what they have in common is that they are deeply committed to their healing. We have all experienced trauma and we are holding the residue of those experiences in our body, nervous system and brain.

My offerings in Somatic Healing and Somatic Exploration include: receiving supportive transforming bodywork and touch, healing our nervous system responses, working with the alarm response in the body, relational / mother & father wounding, healing our younger part, allowing in deep self-compassion, somatic flowing movement processes to ease chronic, deeply held body responses and our freeze response, breathwork to ease anxious patterns in the body, integrating reflexes, ancestral healing and birth & pre / peri natal trauma healing - along with sound and gentle supportive practices in-between sessions.

Time doesn’t heal the wounds of unresolved trauma (aka: stored survival stress), YOU do. Yes, it does take time to heal trauma, and we have to participate.

This is healing at the roots – bringing presence to the times and places in your life when you abandon yourself – the times when you need your love and care the most – allowing yourself to have unlimited opportunities to experience softness in your body and mind, warm compassion in your body and heart and care for your whole being.

www.kimcochrane.ca / [email protected]

01/17/2023

As each day of the new year unfolds, we are slowly, softly moving towards the light of the spring – planting seeds and engaging in renewal.

The body is a doorway. Touch, our very first language, can access the deepest layers of our earliest experience. This is an invitation towards tenderness, healing – a combination of touch, bodywork, somatic healing, movement, mother/father wound healing and a relational process – allowing everything to change about how we feel and show up in the world.

Learn to rest into the gentle nature of presence – reconnecting to ourselves and moving away from chaos and agitation. When we allow ourselves to go slowly and take the space we need to heal our nervous system responses and deeply held toxic stress, we are teaching our bodies to orient to safety. We can transcend inherited family trauma patterns, so that our energy that can flow more freely within our bodies and we can feel more alive, bright, coherent and free.

As we grow and develop, our bodies become adapted to difficulties and begin to use survival strategies and self-protective management responses to survive. Many of us feel chronic feelings of anxiety, depression, panic, an inability to stay present in relationships, chronic pain, stress and a restlessness – draining our feelings of aliveness and vitality. We will teach your body to feel safer – slowly and tenderly – now and always – and create more regulation in your nervous system.

Heal deeply from within from what is limiting you and unlock what is true for you- no matter what’s happening around you.

I work with clients to help move them out chronic overwhelm and nervous system dysregulation resulting due to early developmental trauma – so they can move back into connection with their bodies, other people, and their own lives. I use therapeutic co-regulating transforming touch – a highly effective combination of Somatic Experiencing, Kathy Kain’s Touch Skills for Trauma, Stephen Terrell’s Transforming Touch and Somatic Resilience and Regulation, and Aline La Pierre’s Neuroaffective Touch.

Get in touch to learn more - www.kimcochrane.ca / [email protected]

11/29/2022

"Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?" ~ Mary Oliver

The body has been designed to renew itself through continuous self-correction. These same principles also apply to the healing of psyche, spirit, and soul.

Everyone can heal, but not everyone will. Let's begin by unwinding the repetitive thoughts, feelings, memories, worry and fear that live in your consciousness - let's soothe it all by caring for our bodies with gentle practices. It's time to become softer with ourselves and begin again.

We are being asked to let go of any parts of us that are gripping, bracing or holding on to the old ways and programs that have kept us hidden and safe.⁣ The tighter you hold on to what is no longer serving you, the more suffering you will feel.⁣
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If you focus too directly on a problem, you have a problem for life. If we can soften our gaze and grip on the issue, everything changes. This work is an opportunity to surrender to the next level of not knowing.⁣ To begin a new relationship with ourselves and our bodies and to enter into the innate healing intelligence and deep wisdom of the body - and to be with what arises.

10/06/2022

“Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling – with the mistaken belief that we can not bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. What you have not done is feel all you are beyond that pain.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

We’ve experienced a tremendous amount of trauma and isolation over the past few years. Sensing into what is happening in world, we can find ourselves feeling low, stuck, anxious and fearful – unsure of how to help ourselves feel more grounded, stable and alive.

Slowly and gently, let’s notice the stress and fear physiology in our bodies and begin to care deeply for ourselves with compassion. Our bodies are always taking in messages from the inside of us (interoception) and the outside (exteroception), providing information to us:

Am I safe?
Is there a threat present?
What information is my body and nervous system giving me?
How can I continue to live and thrive in the world now?

Nervous system body-focused somatic healing work provides nourishment, increased capacity to feel and process emotion and restoration for your nervous system and brain.
www.kimcochrane.ca

“Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling – with the mistaken belief that we can not bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. What you have not done is feel all you are beyond that pain.” ~ Kahlil Gibran We’ve experienced a tremendous amount of trauma and isolation ov...

08/16/2022

At the end of my life, I want to feel like I’ve lived.

I want to know that I’ve taken brave steps—towards connection, safety, healing and aliveness - out to the edges of what's comfortable.

The unknown can feel scary—and still, we can take one step at a time, towards a new pathway - something that makes us feel alive.
This is living -- and learning to trust life.

I hope you've had some time to slow down, feel your body and breathe deeply this summer. I invite you to do this again and again.

Give yourself space to sink into this moment, allow yourself to connect to sensation and for your body to just be, where emotions are the guidelines. Restore wholeness, energy and feelings - reclaim feelings of pleasure inside of your body. Allow yourself to begin again.

How does the rhythm of your heart feel today?

What is your throat saying?
How about the bones in each of your toes?
How is your energy and blood flowing today?

How are you responding to your thoughts, emotions and information that passes through your mind and body?

Understand, nurture and embrace your incredible body, mind and spirit - allowing yourself to thrive and grow with divine potential - at every stage of life.

Who would you be if you felt nourished every day?
Say ‘yes’ to what feels nourishing, joyful and expansive.
Be ever so gentle with your heart.
Let's do this together.
www.kimcochrane.ca

“As a woman radiating with permission to be her full self, you offer the powerful frequency of possibility for others. You become the fulfillment of the ancient dream of your foremothers – a woman who is an individual, a woman unto herself.” ~ Bethany Webster At the end of my life, I want to f...

06/01/2022

At its core and in its natural state, life is simple—now in this moment, and always. During trauma healing work, we can soften our grip on our judgement towards ourselves (and others), the stories we tell ourselves, so we can feel more spacious and free inside of our bodies, release long-held, hidden trauma, anxiety and depression patterns and liberate ourselves from chronic stress patterns and emotional distress.

Slowly, softly and from the heart - let's begin:

What do you notice in your body?
Are you feeling heavy, buzzy, frustrated, hungry, sad, lonely, overwhelmed, overworked, in grief or in fear?

What does your body want you to know?
How do you know? Attend to yourself with deep care in this moment.
What do you notice?

Let's be with what you notice - together. Give your body space and time to notice and feel what it is experiencing - creating new pathways for energy to move and flow.
www.kimcochrane.ca



https://kimcochrane.ca/the-deep-somatic-roots-of-the-healing-ground-cultivate-a-safe-nurturing-relationship-with-yourself-your-body-untangle-protective-holding-patterns-held-in-your-body-your-life-and-in-your-relati/

04/20/2022

I am overflowing with gratitude for this precious life – and our ability to turn towards our bodies to sense deep feelings of “ahh, I am here, I am welcome here, I belong here, I am home” – cultivating nervous system regulation, healing trauma patterns and a deeper sense of peace inside of ourselves.

In our work together, I support you to reconnect with your own innate somatic wisdom, life force and the sacred feminine energy that is within you, to rewire early developmental trauma imprints and emerge more integrated and powerfully connected to yourself.

When you feel into the fear body, you notice it shows up as physical sensations in the body. You might notice contractions, tightness, a sense of unease.

Getting to know the physical sensations of fear is an important aspect to flowing more freely through it. If we ignore these sensations, fear will be running in the background and we won’t realize it. Meet it with loving awareness, and the feelings of fear won’t take a strong hold.

Slow down and bring your attention away from your mind and notice the sensations in your body. Don’t do anything with them—simply notice them and allow them to be present.
Let the sensations be here as long as they want to, as they change, intensify, disappear…it doesn’t matter.

Be with these sensations—don’t see them as a problem to solve. The human body is built for survival, and these sensations help you pay attention to what you are experiencing, so you can protect yourself.

Meeting your sensations in a field of welcoming awareness derails the pattern of fear from overtaking you.

“I look forward to my bi-weekly session with Kim – I feel seen, heard and cared for in her presence. I leave a session feeling more myself, integrated, and whole, even after addressing and touching traumatic and painful past experiences and feeling how they still affect me today. It’s healing without being re-traumatizing.” ~ a recent client

[email protected]

“The body is a sacred garment, It’s your first and last garment: it is what you enter your life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honour.” ~ Martha Graham I am overflowing with gratitude for this precious life – and our ability to turn towards our bodies … Con...

03/20/2022

🥰🥰🥰

03/10/2022

What would your life be like if you could move beyond struggle and connect with your life energy – the energy of joy, wonder and the vitality of being truly alive?

Close your eyes, slow down and soften.
Allow yourself to breathe and feel your body.
Soften, allow ease, be with what you notice.

Does this happen to you?
No matter how much you want things to be different, here you are again with emotions grabbing you. You’re consumed in frustration, overpowered by jealousy, or struggling with anxiety or pain.

When these common experiences visit you, how do you meet them?
With frustration and resistance, just wanting them to go away?
There must be a kinder way for us to be with ourselves…

I invite you to take a moment to notice the presence of your flowing, alive heart. Notice what your heart is seeking to share with you. And receive all that is there.

I am sending so much love to all those hearts who are struggling right now.

We are being called to remember ancient ways of being in our hearts and bodies at this time the of change, challenge and uncertainty that are living through.
And to live life as a flowing, living prayer through the power of embodiment and ritual, rooted in our belonging to the earth.

When we take time to fill our well – we grow regulation in our nervous system, the way we do when doing somatic healing work, we can begin to tap into and unleash all of that potential and goodness that gets trapped beneath our deeply held survival responses.

Some of these benefits include resolving our stress response(s) and heal trauma naturally, being more productive in our daily tasks and career, better digestion, immune system health, better health, improved quality of relationships, and a lot more. These aren’t ALL the benefits that come with greater nervous system regulation, because the benefits we experience are relative to what our health and life needs most.

[email protected] / www.kimcochrane.ca

02/21/2022

😘😘😘

02/20/2022

let your love flow 😘

02/08/2022

“The dream of love distracts us from finding the love that is ever present.” ~ John Welwood

Many of us are struggling in our relationships and feeling pain in our wounded hearts. We may feel confused, frustrated or heartbroken and wonder how to feel more connected, grounded and alive in loving relationship with others.

If we believe we are a divided self, we are always searching for happiness outside of ourselves, mostly because we can’t feel and get in touch with the feeling of love within our bodies and hearts. A new love can temporarily stimulate happiness through getting what we hoped for. For a brief time, our grasping for what we want slows down. In the absence of grasping, our deeper being naturally shines forth and that is the experience of happiness.

Somatic awakened relating teaches us to rely on our deeper nature, allowing the essence of our shared being to be a loving, compassionate presence in relationship that can support us when resolving relational issues.

“The dream of love distracts us from finding the love that is ever present.” ~ John Welwood Many of us are struggling in our relationships and feeling pain in our wounded hearts. We may feel confused, frustrated or heartbroken and wonder how to feel more connected, grounded and alive in loving r...

01/04/2022

“Until you know yourself to be essentially whole, and not the wounded and broken one who needs to be fixed, the true solution to your personal suffering will remain out of reach.” ~ Dr. Gail Brenner

How is your heart as a new year emerges?

My wish for you is that you be gentle with yourself in this moment.

This dark time of the year gives us the opportunity to quiet, listen inward, reflect, and dream the seeds for the new cycle into being. It holds an invitation to pause and rest.

Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary slowing down when we are no longer moving toward any goal. In a pause we simply discontinue whatever we are doing—thinking, talking, walking, writing, planning, worrying, eating—and become wholeheartedly present, attentive and, often, physically still. A pause is, by nature, time limited. We resume our activities, but we do so with increased presence and more ability to make choices.

We are being called to drop into our body and heart – allowing time for practice and trusting that this is the compass that can guide us through uncharted waters. We grow this trust by pausing in our day to ask our heart, “What are you needing right now?” Then, listening with our whole body to the whispers that come.

Nature is always the stable sanctuary that we can root into for comfort and peace. Notice the earth beneath your feet right now.

During these times, listening deeply to our bodies and noticing the subtle shifts of our body softening or settling supports us to move towards what nourishes, nurtures, holds and supports us.

A deep rewiring and reorganization reverberates through our nervous system each time we call in a resource that nourishes our heart, body or soul, lighting up new pathways of leaning in to meet ourselves, and be met by others, with warmth.

Softly. Gently. Slowly. This is the way of the body.

May this time be filled with new beginnings and sweet moments of nourishing your body. Moments of choosing to lean in to any tender parts that arise with a compassionate heart to offer a soft place for them to be welcomed.

“Until you know yourself to be essentially whole, and not the wounded and broken one who needs to be fixed, the true solution to your personal suffering will remain out of reach.” ~ Gail Brenner How is your heart as a new year emerges? My wish for you is that you be gentle with yourself … Cont...

12/30/2021

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12/22/2021

❤❤❤

11/28/2021

𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝗪𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐌𝐄⁣
⁣
She asked me to hop on the scale⁣
I said no thank you.⁣
⁣
She said:⁣
We’d like to get a baseline for your health since you’re a new patient.⁣

I said:⁣
I don’t subscribe to the belief that weight determines health⁣
There are more powerful metrics that paint a picture of my vitality.⁣
⁣
Another day…⁣
⁣
She asked me to hop on the scale⁣
I said no thank you.⁣
⁣
She said:⁣
We’re a surgical practice, and we need your weight to determine anesthesia dosages.⁣
⁣
I said:⁣
Of course, if I need to have the surgery, I’ll get on the scale.⁣
But right now we’re just having a conversation about the possibility of surgery, not actually prepping for it.⁣
⁣
Another day…⁣
⁣
She asked my daughter to hop on the scale⁣
I said: No thank you. We don’t weigh ourselves.⁣
⁣
I know that your mission is to support healing.⁣
But your scale and you weighing my daughter is not healing,⁣
it’s harmful.⁣
⁣
It buys into the diet-culture’s message that thin is better,⁣
that there is a specific number that we’re aiming for.⁣
⁣
Your scale interrupts my daughter’s ability to trust her body.⁣
⁣
Your measurements have her measuring her self-worth against a number.⁣
⁣
I am fighting for my ability to listen to my own body-cues.⁣
⁣
I am desperately trying to defend my daughter from the⁣
impact of a culture that values a particular size over substance.⁣
⁣
I am advocating for women to have a relationship with their body⁣
that is based on internal cues not external numbers.⁣
⁣
Given my history of dieting and scale addiction, if you weigh me now, you will be doing harm to my mental health⁣
instead of supporting my overall health.⁣
⁣
So please don’t weigh me.⁣
~ Nina Manolson⁣

11/08/2021

Our bodies are truth tellers. Pain passes through the generations until someone slows down and takes the time to feel and heal it. When we stop and listen, we can begin to release the energies, emotions and experiences at the roots of an emotional and/or physical distress, imbalance, illness or pain.

We can soften and lift unnecessary suffering, pain and illness by healing the trauma held deeply in the body. Co-Regulating Touch Bodywork for Trauma and Somatic Healing can help resolve and move through long-held patterns of chronic stress, anxiety, panic, PTSD, emotional and physical pain. As you release the trauma held in your body, you'll feel your life energy flowing through your body - allowing you to feel more vibrant, alive and free.

Release fear and soften into yourself. Dissolve and reorient patterns deeply held in your body. When we take time to listen deeply to your whole being - body, heart, breath, movement and sensation - we will open the door to somatic healing and the truth that lies deeply within you. We work with what arises in the body – understanding its purpose and direction, while holding a particular healing framework – to release long-held, incomplete stress responses – and make space for new movement, where we once felt stuck.

Learn more at www.kimcochrane.ca - [email protected]

“We are fundamentally designed to heal. Even if our childhood is less than ideal, our secure attachment system is biologically programmed in us, and our job is to simply find out what’s interfering with it ― and learn what we can do to make those secure tendencies more dominant.” ~ Dr. Diane...