What is Somatic Tracking for Chronic Pain?
Somatic Tracking is a body-awareness exercise aimed at helping individuals re-experience unpleasant symptoms or sensations from a perspective of safety and acceptance. It can be helpful for those suffering from chronic pain and other unpleasant sensations as a pain reprocessing tool towards reducing or even eliminating one’s symptoms.
In this article, I’ll be discussing the pros and cons of somatic tracking to help you utilize this tool in the most effective way in your own journey out of chronic pain.
how is somatic tracking done?
Somatic Tracking can be considered to be a form of meditation, which has many similarities to the popular body scan meditation.
The difference between the body scan and somatic tracking is that the latter is more focused on the painful or uncomfortable area. The individual is guided towards noticing this area from a lens of curiosity and safety.
So rather than observing pain and judging it as being unwanted, scary, or indulging in worrying thoughts about what the symptoms could mean for one’s future, somatic tracking gets you to observe your symptoms objectively in the present moment.
In most somatic tracking scripts, individuals are also invited to welcome the sensations in. Rather than pushing them away, they may need to assume a position or engage in a movement that brings the symptoms on. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it is what’s needed to eliminate the fear of painful sensation.
How to do a Somatic Tracking Meditation (Step by Step)
Here are just a few steps on how to successfully practise somatic tracking:
Let me guide you with this short somatic tracking exercise
Find a comfortable position in a quiet place;
Take a couple of deep breaths (you can start with 3 seconds in followed by 3 seconds out, and lengthen the duration as you go along)
Set the intention to get curious about any pain or discomfort you have in the body.
Now place your full attention on that painful or uncomfortable area, and really notice what it feels like. Imagine you are observing it as you would observe a curious object at a museum.
Note: if you don not feel any pain while sitting, intentionally engage in a movement that brings on a little bit of pain or discomfort.Invite the sensations in and give them permission to unfold however they would like to - you are not trying to fix or change anything in this moment!
Once you feel that the sensations have unfolded or that you’ve given them enough curious attention, check in for other unpleasant sensations or emotions.
If you notice any sensation related to an emotion (e.g. anxiety in the chest or stomach), also give them a few moments of curious attention and give it permission to unfold. Do not resist it.
Take your attention off any unpleasant sensations and focus on a part of the body that feels good (e.g. a sensation of warmth or a comfortable, fuzzy tingling in your hands or feet). Spend a few moments here.
Gently take yourself out of the exercise by redirecting your attention to your breath, or noticing any sound around you.
Get on with your day, and do not expect your pain to go away right away! Instead, try to bring in the same attitude of objectiveness and curiosity when symptoms start to bother you!
Why would somatic tracking work?
For as long as we try to avoid the pain at all costs, we are doing so from a place of fear and resistance. This is what actually is at the core of the majority of unexplained or misdiagnosed symptoms that fall under the umbrella term of MindBody Syndrome (neuroplastic symptoms, TMS, PPD or stress-induced symptoms).
Fear, negative expectations and mistrust of our bodies are actually fuel towards experiencing more pain and symptoms, and therefore, it is these core emotions that we need to change in order to heal.
The aim of any somatic tracking meditation is to achieve exactly this change in emotional state.
“It is not enough to simply cultivate acceptance and curiosity towards symptoms during the somatic tracking, and then go on hating and resisting your symptoms for the rest of the day. Each time you notice yourself wanting to change the symptoms instantly, that means you are in resistance, and that’s why it’s not working”
Somatic Tracking and Conditioned Responses
So why would a change in emotional state help resolve chronic pain?
Chronic symptoms are very often a conditioned response, which means that the brain has learnt to associate specific activities with danger, or it has learnt to fear a specific part of the body. An unconscious association is created between certain activities or movements and danger, and pain is fired automatically when one engages in these activities (which can include anything from standing up and sitting down to more vigorous movements, as well as exposure to sounds or eating specific foods).
The Science behind pain reprocessing tools like somatic tracking is that once the brain registers the idea that your symptoms are actually not so scary or dangerous, this conditioned response will be broken, because the brain will no longer associate symptoms with danger.
It’s like teaching the brain to ‘download’ a different idea - the idea that the symptoms are just a conditioned response, and despite being painful or uncomfortable, they are actually not life-threatening.
Once this idea is fully integrated, the association between symptoms and their triggers dissolves and the individual finds himself able to engage in activity without pain.
Does Somatic Tracking work for chronic pain?
Re-appraisal techniques like somatic tracking were employed in a recent clinical trail on the effects of Pain Reprocessing Therapy in individuals with chronic back pain with great success. The participants had sessions with a therapist and underwent “guided reappraisal of sensations while seated and while engaging in feard postures or movements” (Yoni K. Ashar et. al., 2022)
This was combined with information regarding centralized (non-structural) pain. The trial had amazing success, with 66% of them being pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment compared with 20% who were randomized to placebo and just 10% of those subjected to conventional treatment.
However, it is also important to note that participants in the trial were educated about the neuroplastic (non-structural) aspect of chronic pain, which means that they also understood that their pain was not being caused by damage or injury. This on its own can provide immense relief and fear reduction in individuals, and was also the basis of Dr John Sarno’s treatment.
Common Somatic Tracking Pitfalls
Somatic Tracking is sometimes put forward as the ultimate solution towards overcoming or significantly reducing symptoms. However, I’d like to emphasize that somatic tracking is simply a tool towards achieving a mindset shift.
I talk a lot about mindset shifts in my articles and videos, but for simplicity’s sake, what I mean in this case is a shift in perspective, from feeling scared, frustrated or helpless, to feeling more accepting and even empowered despite the symptoms.
If you are aiming for chronic pain recovery (yes it is possible in the majority of cases), it is this mindset shift that you’re aiming for. You can use somatic tracking as a tool to achieve it, but it is not the be all and end all.
In fact, many individuals make the mistake of using somatic tracking and other meditations as weapons to try and fix or get rid of symptoms. This often doesn’t work, because in this case the individual is not cultivating acceptance towards one’s body, but is rather trying to fight the sensations. I can often notice this in clients who tell me that they’ve tried it to no avail.
Moreover, it is not enough to simply cultivate acceptance and curiosity towards symptoms during the somatic tracking, and then go on hating and resisting your symptoms for the rest of the day.
Each time you notice yourself wanting to change the symptoms instantly, that means you are in resistance, and that’s why it’s not working.
The importance of combining somatic tracking with other mindbody work
Pain Reprocessing Techniques
Check out my Pain Reprocessing Program to help you achieve the shift needed to eliminate chronic pain. Includes downloadable somatic tracking meditations
While it is absolutely possible to reduce and even eliminate certain symptoms using somatic tracking, I’m a strong proponent for going deeper with one’s own healing.
This is because if there are deeper issues at stake, getting rid of the fear of a specific symptom can lead to a substitution in symptoms, also known as the symptom imperative. This is when we get a new symptom to plague us instead of the original one.
Very often, besides the fear of symptoms, there are other issues at stake that have been contributing to chronic pain or symptoms. These can include carrying around strong negative emotions relating to people and situations, and displaying personality traits that tend to create pressure or anxiety in our lives.
If you’re new to these ideas, check out my Resources section for more information. You WILL be surprised when you learn what the mindbody connection can do for you.