Article Published by Louise Barrie in the Kali Guide, 2002
About Huma Transpersonal Bodywork
Huma Transpersonal Bodywork (aka Huma Somatic Psychotherapy) reaches for the universal in the client. This integrated physical and verbal method seeks the deep self by reaching for the core of the body, literally to feel the wave or movement that is there, and sometimes to feel the stillness which is beyond these.
The practitioner listens with the hands as the client moves toward or away from that flow or stillness in the body. This is a reflection of moving toward or away from what is authentic in the client’s experience. The practitioner and the client talk about this, as the process unfolds, helping the client to gain greater awareness and clarity.
When that dynamic stillness occurs in the body, there is often, simultaneously, an experience of the deeper transpersonal self: of wholeness, love, the Mystery, being in the garden, a longing that has fullness, etc. The particular manifestation of this transpersonal glimpse varies from person to person, but what is universal in this experience is that it is a place of being, which is untouched by the material and psychological circumstances of our lives.
There seem to be two kinds of mental suffering, both of which, are reflected in the body. One is the result of chronic habitual thinking and feeling. Each person has some gestalt of this. It can be negative self- talk, resentment, fears, chronic anger, excessive planning, worry, flight into disconnected bliss or calm, etc.
We spend much of our time in these states and they act as an overlay, keeping us distant from our deeper self. This work assists the client in identifying these habits of thought and brings awareness to the disconnected nature of them.
For example, in working with a client who habitually ruminates over resentments, the practitioner feels a state of density in the client’s body. As the practitioner feels a shift to a quality of transparency under her hands, she inquires what is there in the client’s awareness.
The client says, “I have an image and sense of the ocean.” When the client experiences this, all thoughts of resentment evaporate. This transpersonal glimpse supersedes, in every way, that state of resentment. It is seen as false and irrelevant.
The experience of the ocean becomes a touchstone, something the client can turn to again and again. It is an imperishable source of freshness. A dual practice begins for the client; that of identifying thoughts of resentment and that of remembering the ocean.
The second kind of mental suffering requires surrender. It is the experience of despair and disappointment. This ushers us into a place of utter existential helplessness. And it is that very helplessness which brings us into a relationship with the deeper self. The surrendering to despair and disappointment brings a sense of resignation and tranquility. It also enlivens the flow of energy through the central channel in the core of the body.