Unlocking Peak Performance Part 3: Somatic Experiencing for Athletes

Exploring a Body-Based Approach to Resilience, Recovery, and Performance

Welcome to the third and final part of the Unlocking Peak Performance blog series. If you are here, then there is a good chance that you have already taken in my blog post Part 1: Unlocking Peak Performance – How Sports Therapy Can Support Athletes On and Off the Field explores the broad benefits of therapy for athletes., and if you have not read this yet, I invite you to take a read to learn about how therapy can support athletes in their experiences and overall performance in sport.

In Part 2: EMDR Therapy for Athletes, we explored how EMDR can help athletes process trauma, reduce anxiety, and break through performance blocks.

In this final post of this Sports Therapy series, we’ll explore Somatic Experiencing, a body-based therapy approach that helps athletes regulate their nervous systems, release stored stress, and reconnect with their natural resilience and performance potential.

Somatic Experiencing for Athletes

How Somatic Experiencing Can Support Athletic Pursuits

The purpose of this post is to inform you of how Somatic Experiencing can support you (or your child) in their athletic pursuits. Being an athlete is both a rewarding and sometimes draining experience. There are many variables that can get in the way of athletes seeing their athletic potential and overall enjoyment in sport including: 

- Balancing training schedules with work/school 

- Pressure to perform 

- Self-limiting beliefs, thoughts and attitudes 

- Acute and/or chronic injuries 

- Athletic traumas (injury, getting cut, ruptures in important relationships) - Mental health challenges and/or substance use 

What is Somatic Experiencing? 

Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine and is a body based intervention, which draws awareness into athletes physiological experiences as a way to move towards healing and restoration.

Athletes have big stressors in their lives, and these stressors all have a physiological impact that can hinder performance and overall enjoyment and pleasure in sport. When an athletes nervous system is in a perpetual state of fight/flight/freeze, much of their energy goes into “surviving” as opposed to regenerating, recovering leading to an overall reduced performance.

Somatic Experiencing allows for sensations that would otherwise remain stagnant or trapped to be processed, allowing for greater access to energy, thus improving performance.

Somatic Experiencing is considered a “body first” approach to healing, meaning much of the work I do with athletes revolves around getting curious about what they are feeling in their bodies. I ask questions such as “what are you noticing” and “can we be with that sensation for a moment?” as a way to support in moving through somatic experiences that have become habituated within their nervous systems.

When the nervous system learns new ways to process stress, “survival” mode is de-activated and athletes will have greater access to resiliency and vitality.

Somatic Experiencing is a paradigm shift in supporting athletes. Where the discourse for sports therapists remains in interventions such as imagery/visualization, CBT (think goal setting, establishing structure/routine, reframing thoughts, etc) and relaxation/mindfulness exercises, Somatic Experiencing aims to understanding the root of distress, and trusts that people’s nervous systems will work towards resiliency and healing, resulting in thought process, behaviours and social interactions to naturally shift in a way that feels organic to the athletes nervous system. 

Impacts of Somatic Experiencing for Athletes

- Improved sleep 

- Improved concentration and focus 

- Increased states of mindfulness, relaxation and “flow states” 

- Decreased anxiety, panic and depressive symptoms

- Increased connection to sport, self and others 

- Increased ability to set goals and take action 

- Increased somatic awareness 

- Diminishing blocks, barriers imposing on athletic performance 

My Approach to Working with Athletes

I take an experiential, process based approach to working with athletes, just as I do in supporting other clients. I recommend weekly therapy sessions, and can offer intensive sessions if deemed a good fit for the athlete. If you have any questions, please schedule a Free 15 Minute Consultation and I would be happy to support you.

Ready to Unlock Your Full Athletic Potential?

If you’re an athlete looking to overcome barriers, reduce stress, and enhance your performance through Somatic Experiencing, I’m here to help.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation today to explore how this body-based therapy can support your unique athletic journey. Let’s work together to help you move past blocks and reconnect with your natural resilience and flow.