Somatic Archaeology© was developed by Ruby Gibson in 1995. The practice of Somatic Archaeology©  simply stated, is the process of becoming whole by curing your amnesia and remembering your stories. When you dig, you remember, and when you remember, history is revealed, and when history is revealed, you clearly recognize the trail of stories that formulate your life. This knowledge affords you choices and restores to you the power to manifest your unique destiny in a conscious way. Somatic refers to the body, and Archaeology to the study of ancient cultures through examining their remains. When we bring the two words together, Somatic + Archaeology, we are denoting the capacity to excavate familial and cultural memory imprints buried in our body. Exploring somatic memory and body narratives help us understand what impels us biologically to certain behaviors and symptoms, and provides us with skills to release neurological patterns of historical amnesia so that we can become free to live unburdened, non-fragmented, compassionate and harmonious lives. 

These techniques are designed for use in mind-body, mental health and self-care applications. Somatic Archaeology© relies on the wisdom of the body to access and process unresolved tension through points of pain, which are referred to as body narratives: inherited and embodied life stories that have not yet become conscious or remembered. Our mind can remember linear or sequential events of our lifetime, but our body remembers antiquated events instinctively, in a language unique to itself—sensation. Tracking our senses, and following them with guided breath and conscious attention, allows memory to reveal itself. In the world of biogeneaology, there is a good reason for the origin of every symptom and the manifestation of all disease, and the code is this: what stays buried persists and what is remembered alleviates. While acknowledgment, activation and reconciliation of the information contained in these memories may bring forth the emotional charge of a historical experience, this will also simultaneously release the persistent anxiety neurologically associated with forced repression, hence creating a relaxation response and reducing physical pain. Somatic Archaeology© cultivates a skill set that allows caregivers to safely address the “relaxation response,” a neurophysiological shift innately constructed to “restore order” to our body processes. The methodology of Somatic Archaeology© was designed to excavate memories using a self-directed and instinctive neurophysiological system based on natural law and kincentric principles in order to develop self-awareness and historical reconciliation, fulfilling the need for the next generations to complete the transformation of their ancestors. 

The skill set of Somatic Archaeology© consists of Five Steps; 1) I notice; 2) I sense; 3) I feel; 4) I interpret; and 5) I reconcile; following a bottom-up neurological pathway that ignites biological wisdom and organically creates spiritual transformation. This process requires a client to tune into, or become mindful, of what they feel, not what they think. When the therapeutic edge of feeling changes from “I feel a sensation” to “I feel an emotion” something shifts. The sensation becomes emotion: when the emotion is extinguished the sensation loses its usefulness and dissipates, and the energy trapped in the sensation is put into motion – temperature changes, shifts in breathing, gentle tears, subtle trembling. It is the organic process of restoring harmony to one’s body. When one is guided to follow a trail of tension, generational patterns consistently emerge and become the source point for healing. 

Most therapists are not trained to look through the lens of historical somatic imprinting, yet consistently have clients presenting these dynamics and feel unprepared to address them. This gaping hole in the world of recovery is what Somatic Archaeology© techniques fill, preparing one to work with those who have a history of unhealthy or vacant touch, or who carry a debilitating historical or current strain of trauma, abuse, Incorporating basic stress reduction techniques validated by new brain science, transgenerational awareness and age-old indigenous healing models, a whole new world of generational somatic healing is made possible.