The 3 Anchoring Truths of SomaField (The Foundation)

Let’s talk about the three anchoring truths of SomaField.

These are the foundation of the whole approach. They show up across every one of the 8 core principles, they shape how we listen, how we attune, and how we guide. Whether you’re deep into this work or just starting to explore a more embodied, relational way of practicing, these truths offer a kind of compass.

Here they are:

The body speaks.
The field is alive.
You are an instrument.

Let’s unpack that.

The body speaks.

Before there were words, there was the body. Before cognition, there was sensation. And these are still primary ways we experience the world.

As practitioners, we can get swept up in story—our clients’ stories, our own interpretations, the arc of a narrative that feels neat and satisfying. Our inner state often whispers through sensation or body language before it announces itself in language or awareness, so this is where we want to keep looking.

We can practice tracking by learning to listen to the breath that catches, when tension rises, where there’s heat in the chest, a flutter in the belly, or the subtle movements in the jaw.

The more fluency we have in our own somatic signals, the more clearly we can attune to the client’s. This kind of listening lets us meet what's most alive—even if it hasn’t yet found words.

The field is alive.

The space between us, practitioner and client—the relational field—isn’t just background. It’s alive.

This is one of the most powerful shifts SomaField invites.

When we treat the field like a participant in the process, we start listening to what’s happening between us—not just within us or them. The field holds intelligence. It holds emotional information. It holds the potential for co-regulation, insight, repair, and transformation.

And it holds us—both practitioner and client—in something bigger than either of us alone.

You are an instrument.

We are not neutral technicians.

Your nervous system is part of the process.
Your body is part of the process.
Your intuition, your noticing, your shifts in state—all part of the process.

This doesn’t mean you center yourself in the session. It means you include yourself. It means you stay in relationship—with the client, with the field, with yourself.

Refining your instrument means being able to track what’s yours and what’s not. It means learning how your system communicates. It means cultivating enough capacity to stay present—especially when things get messy or charged.

SomaField isn’t about mastering a set of tools. It’s about becoming the tool. Which is to say, becoming the kind of practitioner whose presence, nervous system, tone of voice, etc can be the intervention.

So those are the 3 anchors. They’re simple, but profound, and they’re a lifelong practice. The more we live into them, the more transformative our work becomes.

If this helped you, please send it to a practitioner that comes to mind. :)