A Catholic Somatic approach to inner healing, giving you tools to retune your nervous system to safety, allowing you to become your most authentic self and build meaningful relationships with God and others.
Three programs we offer:
- Free Offers – Start Up Kit & Info Events
- Step 1 – Somatic Pilgrimage
- Step 2 – Pilgrimage to Wholeness
Join us!
- Introduction Class
- Coming into your body
- Faith-based Somatic Exercises
Step 1 – Somatic Pilgrimage
This Somatic Pilgrimage equips you with practical tools to reset your nervous system and cultivate greater serenity and calm. During our live online sessions, you’ll be gently guided through somatic exercises that release stress and build resilience—practices you can return to for the rest of your life.
Join Live (Ideal)
Attending live allows you to receive real-time guidance and experience the support of the group journey.
Or Learn at Your Own Pace
All sessions are recorded, so you can fully participate through the replays on your own schedule.
This course is also the foundation and prerequisite for the next step, the Somatic Parts Pilgrimage, where we explore the beliefs we carry about ourselves and move toward living more fully from your True Self in God.
- Dates: March 2nd – 26th
- When: 4 days a week, Mondays – Thursdays
- Where: Zoom
- Time: 10 – 11:00 AM PST
- Length: 1 hour sessions, 16 total
- Video Replays Available
Step 2 – Continuing your journey to greater wholeness!
Step 2
Pilgrimage to Wholeness
This is a Somatic Journey throughout the year, the next step, where we process stored stress and trauma in our body. After completing the Somatic Pilgrimage (Step #1), you will have the somatic tools to go deeper into processing, which includes parts work (Somatic IFS). Here we work with parts of us that often drive our thoughts, beliefs and behaviors.
The goal is to gradually learn to live from our True Self, which is also our connection to God. The somatic approach makes the journey very gentle.
This Pilgrimage meets one day a week throughout the year, using at times the exercises in the, Self-Therapy Workbook, by Bonnie Weiss
When:
Tuesdays at 7:00 AM PST or 5:00 PM PST
Note: In January and September, the evening class meets on Mondays.
Where:
Zoom
Video replays available
Length: 75 minutes
Testimonials: Pilgrimage to Wholeness
“I’ve never seen parts work with a somatic approach before, and honestly this is the only way it makes sense! It is so encouraging to be able to begin to notice some of my parts and gently begin to talk to them. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and look forward to the months ahead.“
“I have done parts work before but struggle to access my parts and understand them or work with them. It is so much easier to be able to access my parts when I am in parasympathetic and because then I am in self, in my thinking compassionate, caring, curious self, how God created me.“
“The Somatic Parts Pilgrimage has given me blazing new insights into my inner world that have truly changed the way I respond to stress and anxiety. And not only that – the somatic exercises and stretches we do each day have made a huge difference in my ability to get calm and stay calm, even throughout a super stressful day!”
Free Offers
Start-Up Kit and Live Info Events
- Register for the next Live Info Event.
- Join Sr. Mary Stephen in her pre-recorded videos!
- Guided somatic exercises designed to ground, restore, and renew.
Somatic Course
Somatic Pilgrimages – Intro Class
- One month journey
- Four days a week
- Live Zoom Classes offered throughout the year
Somatic IFS
Pilgrimage to Wholeness – Ongoing Journey
- Next Step on the Journey
- One day a week, live on Zoom
- Join this group after completing the Somatic Pilgrimage
Brain & Emotions:
Dr. Peter Levine—often called the grandfather of Somatic Experiencing—has done remarkable work in helping people understand how the brain and emotions interact to reset the nervous system from states of anxiety and overwhelm to calm and peace. While his approach is presented from a secular, evolutionary perspective, Catholics can recognize in it something profoundly familiar.
In truth, Somatic Experiencing aligns beautifully with a Catholic vision of the human person. While framed in scientific terms, the wisdom it draws upon ultimately reflects the loving design of our Creator. As Catholics, we can—and should—claim this somatic work as our own, grounded not just in biology but in theology. Through the Incarnation, Christ took on a human body, elevating it and revealing its sacred dignity. Our bodies are not obstacles to grace but instruments through which we encounter and respond to God.
The practice of listening to and working with the body to support healing is a powerful, if underappreciated, expression of the Theology of the Body. Far from being a fringe or foreign idea, somatic healing is deeply consonant with Catholic truth—and, when practiced with faith and intention, it can open up profound pathways for personal transformation and flourishing.
Learning more …
Check out the YouTube video featuring Dr. Peter Levine, which offers a valuable introduction to a bottom-up approach to inner healing. As human beings, we can gain insight from the natural world and observe how animals process trauma and stress.
This reflects God’s design, and since grace builds on nature, we begin with nature itself! We’re excited to share this through our Catholic Somatic approach in Step #1 – Somatic Pilgrimage. We invite you to join us!
FAQs
What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic experiencing involves working with the body. You focus on sensations and experiences in the body while letting go thoughts and judgements that come up. Somatic exercises can result in a reduction of symptoms like pain, headaches, anxiety or depression. Since we focus on the body, sensations or movement, you don’t need to talk about what is bothering you. Somatic work can be really helpful for various types of complex trauma.
What is Restorative Catholic’s approach to healing?
This is a bottom up approach to healing of trauma, including: Somatic experiencing, parts work (IFS) and Biology. Biology of trauma is all about the impact of trauma on our biology. Bessel van der Kolk writes about it in his book, The Body Keeps the Score. Trauma disrupts our body and there are specific ways we can bring in support. Our goal is to change our biology of trauma (anxiety, overwhelm) to a biology of safety and support.
Is Somatic Experiencing in line with our Catholic Faith?
Somatic work is work that pertains directly to the body, which is what the Greek word soma means. As Catholics, we firmly believe that man is a body-soul unity. Our bodies are an integral part of our humanity. Trauma that is stored or retained in the body needs to be healed at the body level. By taking a road that is at once body and soul, and not just talk therapy which often ignores the body, we are taking a road which is gentler and more safe for travel to reach the wholeness that allows us to grow more into who we are made to be. There are some secular or New Age groups who use somatic work, but Restorative Catholic remains firmly in line with the teachings of the Church in all things. Somatic work itself is a neutral tool, not owned by the secular culture. St. Thomas Aquinas said, “All truth, whoever said it, belongs to the Holy Spirit.”
How does this Somatic approach relate to Theology of the Body?
In Catholic theology, we recognize the human person as both body and soul, created in the image of God (Imago Dei). Pope John Paul II, in his Theology of the Body, profoundly teaches that the body is not merely a vessel but a visible expression of our spiritual reality. This means that as we work with our nervous system, we are not just tending to our physical well-being but also engaging in a sacred act of self-care that honors the dignity of our whole person.
Understanding how our nervous system responds to stress, trauma, and healing is an important part of the truth that grace builds on nature; we see that our physical healing—such as calming our nervous system—can open us to deeper spiritual growth. By attending to our biology, we create space for grace to transform our lives more fully.
Disclaimer: Any ministry or courses run by Restorative Catholic are not intended to replace medical or psychological care. In no way does a relationship with Restorative Catholic create a physician-patient or therapist-patient relationship.
Medical Disclosure: The information and programs presented by Restorative Catholic or listed on our website are made available for your own benefit and learning. All the programs on this website are educational and self-guided or coach-directed programs. The goal of this program is to help you through stressful situations in your life using somatic work, parts work or a change in lifestyle, diet and exercise. While natural supplements might be suggested in a session, I’m not a licensed physician, dietician or therapist. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The information on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Always check with your doctor and/or therapist before making dramatic shifts in your diet and lifestyle.