By Alex Klassen, MSW, RSW
Somatic tracking is an exercise developed in Pain Reprocessing Therapy, which helps clients reduce neuroplastic pain by developing safer responses to sensations occurring in the body1,2. It provides our clients with an active skill they can practice in recovery.
The goals and practice of somatic tracking can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around. To clarify, here’s a breakdown of what it is, and what it isn’t.
Somatic Tracking is Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be defined “moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a specific way, that is, in the present moment, and as non-reactively, as non-judgmentally, and as openheartedly as possible”3. When somatic tracking, we direct mindful awareness to pain sensations. It can be helpful to begin this practice with the guidance of a therapist and/or recorded meditations. Mindful awareness is different than our habitual responses to pain, where we often try to fix it, escape it, diagnose it, or fight it. While meant to help, habitual responses often increase emotional dysregulation, negative thinking, and fixation, leading to more pain1. By mindfully observing physical sensations with curiosity, non-judgment, and non-fixing, we create safety in our nervous systems and reduce pain4. When practiced over time, somatic tracking helps us reduce the amount of chronic neuroplastic pain the brain generates2.
Somatic Tracking is About Safety
While practicing somatic tracking, we want to coach our brains with simple messages of safety1. This can sound like this pain is not dangerous, it’s safe for me to feel this, my body is safe, or my brain is misinterpreting safe signals right now. Simple, meaningful safety messages that resonate are helpful to include in the practice1,2.
Somatic Tracking is Exposure
Just like a fear or phobia, to reduce neuroplastic pain, we need to teach the brain it is safe. Pain is a protector that wants us to fear, fix, or avoid dangers1,5. By intentionally moving toward pain and difficult emotions, while fostering a curious, non-judgmental, non-striving posture, we show the brain we’re safe in the presence of all of our physical sensations. This provides the opportunity for “corrective experiences”, where our brain realizes we are safe1. More safety leads to less pain.
Somatic Tracking is Acceptance (But only for now!)
While practicing somatic tracking, we hold a posture of acceptance for all the sensations we can feel right now. This means allowing things to feel how they feel in this moment, rather than suffering by fighting or fixating on how we wish things would be6. An accepting posture doesn’t mean we resign, believing the neuroplastic pain will be here permanently (in fact, we’re doing this very exercise to reduce it over time!). It means, because pain is already here, the wisest response is to create safety in the nervous system and facilitate a corrective experience in the brain by accepting the sensations with a curious, non-judgmental, and non-fixing awareness.
Somatic Tracking isn’t A Quick Fix
Sometimes when practicing somatic tracking, our clients will notice their pain moves around, reduces, or even disappears. Bringing calmness and safety to our bodies/minds can have this effect, and it’s really cool when it happens! Other times, the pain will stay the same, or move somewhere else. Remember, the goal of somatic isn’t to reduce your pain right now. The goal is to facilitate corrective experiences for the brain, where your brain learns to feel safe with physical sensations1. These corrective experiences stack up over time, retraining the brain. It may take a while, so play the long game!
Somatic Tracking isn’t Only Focused on Pain
In addition to pain sensations, it can also be very helpful to somatic track emotions, neutral sensations and pleasant feelings in the body. When in chronic pain, we often pay attention to our bodies when focusing on the pain, or not at all. Rebuilding safe connection to all physical sensations, including our emotions and nervous system states, is a crucial part of self-regulation and recovery1,7.
Somatic Tracking isn’t a Thought Exercise
“Somatic” can be defined as “relating to the body as opposed to the mind”7. While changing your thoughts and beliefs about your body is an important part of healing mind-body pain and symptoms, it’s not the central focus when somatic tracking. The goal of somatic tracking is to facilitate corrective experiences for our brain by observing physical sensations in a state of safety and curiosity2. While we can use a bit of language to describe what we’re feeling or provide simple messages of safety to ourselves during the practice, we don’t want to drift back into thinking, debating, analyzing, problem-solving, judging, and mind-wandering. That said, don’t be surprised when your mind continually drifts away from physical sensations! This is normal and expected; there’s no need to judge your judging. Simply catch when your brain starts thinking, congratulate yourself for noticing what it’s up to, and gently return to the light, curious observation of physical sensations.
Book a free 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists and begin your journey out of chronic pain today.
Gordon, A., Ziv, A. (2021). The way out: A revolutionary, scientifically proven approach to healing chronic pain. Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center (2021). Pain reprocessing therapy training.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2015). Mindfulness. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1481–1483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0456-x
Zeidan, F., & Vago, D. R. (2016). Mindfulness meditation-based pain relief: a mechanistic account. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373(1), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13153
Moseley, L. & Moen, D. (2022). Tame the beast: Understanding your pain. University of Southern Australia. https://www.tamethebeast.org/understanding
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness
Dana, D. (2019). 2-Day Workshop: Polyvagal Theory Informed Trauma Assessment and Interventions
Cambridge Dictionary. (2023). Definition of somatic. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/somatic
