Opening pathways to your deepest SELF and wise INNER KNOWING
Somatic Therapy offered online and in person in San Luis Obispo, CA
Hakomi & Somatic Experiencing
Welcome to Jessica Conway Somatics
When one embarks on this somatic journey, they are gifted with an embodied relationship to their Deepest Self and Wise Inner Knowing. From this place of innate wholeness, your fullest expression comes through in all you do.
When you step into this somatic journey, you are invited to remember something profound within you — a quiet, steady knowing that has always been there, beneath the noise of the world. It's a connection to your deepest self, that part of you that holds the wisdom of the earth, of all your ancestors and all the possibilities ahead. From this place of inner knowing, you can begin to move through life with more ease, trust, clarity, and capacity for the unknown.
Together, we will step into the wilderness of your own being, gently exploring the uncharted territories within. Much like walking through a forest — where the trees speak in whispers, the shadows hold secrets, and the stillness offers an invitation to listen more deeply — we will gently approach the parts of you that have felt lost or stuck. We’ll take the time to understand the patterns that have shaped you, and listen to the quiet intelligence that lives in your body. Your body is not something to be fixed or resisted, but a wise companion that can show you the way forward.
Through this work, you’ll develop the tools to transform what feels fixed or frightened into something you can trust. The frozen parts, the hesitant parts, the parts of you that have been holding onto old stories — they don’t need to be fought or controlled. Instead, you will learn to meet them with presence and compassion, creating the holding environment for healing to unfold.
The core of this journey is about developing a relationship with the parts of yourself that are often the hardest to approach. Whether it’s the pain, the shame, the grief, or the fear that holds you back — these parts aren’t enemies, but invitations. They ask for your presence, your tenderness, your willingness to sit with them, to feel what they feel, and to let them reveal the wisdom they hold. We won’t rush past them or try to bypass the discomfort they bring; rather, we’ll sit with them, listen to them, and let them speak.
This is not about fixing what is broken, but about reconnecting with the whole of you, in all your complexity. The places that feel most fragmented or difficult are where the deepest wisdom often resides. In these places, we discover how to open into what has been closed off, and with that opening, we find the possibility for real transformation. In doing so, you will move forward with greater clarity, with the trust of someone who has learned to be with themselves in the deepest way.
As we walk this path together, you will begin to remember that you are always whole, always held, always guided by a deeper knowing. The wilderness, both outside and within, will reveal its secrets — not as something to fear, but as something to embrace. In the spaciousness of your own being, you will find a strength and wisdom that can carry you through whatever comes next.
Deepen your connection to yourself and to your inner wisdom.
Hi, my name is Jessica Conway RN, MSN, RYTT. A Somatic Practitioner, Registered Nurse, yoga instructor, meditation guide, and fellow traveler through the depths and dimensions of this human experience.
Since my small eyes could open, I have been a highly sensitive soul. I feel life at 140%. Most of my life I have suffered from uncertainty, self-doubt, self-judgment, preoccupied (anxious) attachment stance, and lack of trust in myself, others, and the world around me. This trance of anxiety, worry, and not-enoughness consumed me and disrupted my perception of myself and my world and ultimately disrupted my capacity to experience joy, presence, aliveness and healing relationships. It also left me dissociated from my body, disconnected from my spirit and deepest Self.
My hope is that the tools and strategies I have found over the years to untangle my own knots, will untether you from yours. I provide trauma-informed, somatic-based therapy dedicated to guiding you on a journey back home to your deepest Self and wise inner knowing for embodied wholeness.
I am honored to accompany you on this transformative journey. Together, we will explore the depths of your inner world, uncover the patterns that shape your experiences, and embrace the wisdom of your body as a guiding force in your healing process.
Explore our programs designed to help you connect to your deepest Self and wise inner knowing
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This three month 1:1 Somatic Coaching container is dedicated to providing a relationship and an environment where you can unfold your own uniqueness - a landing pad for your spirit.
My hope is that through discovering the strength of your loving awareness and body based (somatic) attunement, you can come to know your body as a temple for your soul and a home that has the capacity to welcome and hold all parts of the human experience. From this place of holding and care, you will come to know your deepest Self and wild inner knowing.
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Single session 1:1 Somatic Coaching dedicated to providing a relationship and an environment where you can unfold your own uniqueness - a landing pad for your spirit.
My hope is that through discovering the strength of your loving awareness and body based (somatic) attunement, you can come to know your body as a temple for your soul and a home that has the capacity to welcome and hold all parts of the human experience. From this place of holding and care, you will come to know your deepest Self and wild inner knowing.
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Heal and re-wire your nervous system through this evidence-based auditory intervention. Create new neural pathways of connection, safety, and resilience.
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Coming Home to your Deepest Self: Awakening Your Inner Knowing Through Life’s Challenges
This course is an invitation to reconnect with your true self and awaken your inner knowing during life’s most challenging times. It provides a compassionate space for you to cultivate deeper self-awareness, attune to your body’s wisdom, and navigate emotional overwhelm with more ease and presence. By integrating the N.U.R.S.E. Resiliency Protocol, you’ll gain tools to regulate your nervous system, create safety within, and embrace life’s challenges as opportunities for growth. This journey is about coming home to yourself—because when you are deeply connected to your body and inner world, you are better able to live authentically and move through life with clarity and purpose.
approach
Each offering is uniquely attuned to the individual. However, I often use a mix of approaches in my work including Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and Mindfulness. With expertise in Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Attachment Theory, Somatic Parts Work, the Safe and Sound Protocol, and more, I am dedicated to providing a comprehensive and tailored approach to each unique journey.
I also weave mindfulness, nature-based therapies, and contemplative practices into my therapeutic work because I believe that nature, soul and spirit based practices can complement the somatic inner journey.
FAQs about our approach and modalities
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Somatic Therapy is a holistic approach to healing that honors the deep connection between your mind, body, and spirit. Rooted in the understanding that our bodies hold wisdom, Somatic Therapy invites you to slow down, feel, and listen to the sensations within.
Often, past traumas, stress, and emotional pain live in our bodies, creating patterns of tension, discomfort, or disconnection. When you learn to listen to the language of your nervous system, and pay attention to the changes that happen within your body, you're able to recognize when you're in your patterning and conditioning around surviving, or when you're showing up in alignment with your truth.
With this awareness you'll discover space around all the fascinating ways you navigate life. Your trauma, and the burdens you carry, can be addressed with more ease. You'll awaken to having choice. And you'll find yourself more present and in flow!
At its core, Somatic Therapy is about cultivating an embodied presence—a way of being in your body that feels safe, grounded, curious, and connected. By bringing compassionate awareness to your patterned experience, we can begin to uncover the stories your body holds and invite a sense of ease, release, and deep healing.
From this place of intimacy and holding, you’ll naturally find yourself living your life with more trust and grace. Your relationship to yourself, others and to the planet will deepen and become more intimate. Your impulses, instinct, intuition, and deep knowing will become clearer and will become what guides you through life. The more you explore, the more you’ll find yourself standing in your power and knowing what’s true for YOU.
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Hakomi is a unique form of psychotherapy that combines mindfulness, somatic awareness, and compassionate exploration resulting in profound healing and self-discovery. Hakomi offers a safe nurturing space to explore your inner world, tune into the wisdom of your body, and embrace transformative self-awareness.
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What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing (SE™) is a body-based approach to healing trauma, stress, and shock stored in the nervous system. Trauma isn't just about the event, but how it affects the body, often keeping us stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses. SE helps release these stuck patterns, allowing the body to recover and build resilience.
Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, SE has been used for over 40 years to support healing from trauma and stress disorders. It’s applied in a range of fields including therapy, coaching, and healthcare, and works by gently guiding the body to release trapped survival energy, bringing the nervous system back into balance.
By addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms, SE helps people find greater ease, resilience, and well-being in their daily lives.
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What is Polyvagal Theory?
Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, helps us understand how our nervous system responds to safety and threat. It explains that our body has three main states:
Safe and Social (Ventral Vagal): When we feel safe, connected, and calm, our body enters this state. We can relax, connect with others, and feel a sense of well-being.
Fight or Flight (Sympathetic): When we sense danger, our body activates this system to help us either defend ourselves or escape the threat. It can feel like anxiety, fear, or anger.
Shutdown or Collapse (Dorsal Vagal): If the danger feels too overwhelming, our body might go into shutdown or collapse. We feel numb, disconnected, or immobilized.
Polyvagal Theory shows us that these responses are natural and automatic. They aren't something we choose, but our body’s way of trying to protect us. Understanding this can bring compassion to our experience and help us recognize that our nervous system is always working to keep us safe.
In my work, I use Polyvagal Theory to help clients understand their nervous system responses, and together, we work on ways to gently bring the body back into a state of safety and connection. This approach helps restore balance, calm, and resilience.
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What is the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a gentle, listening-based therapy designed to help calm the nervous system and improve feelings of safety and connection. Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, SSP is based on Polyvagal Theory and helps reset the nervous system to better respond to stress and trauma.
The protocol involves listening to specially filtered music that directly influences the part of the nervous system responsible for feeling safe. By calming this system, SSP helps reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and enhance social engagement. It’s especially helpful for those who have experienced trauma, stress, or struggle with feeling safe and connected in their daily lives.
SSP can support healing in both children and adults, and it is often used alongside other therapies to strengthen the mind-body connection and promote deeper, lasting healing.
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Your body knows how to heal. It’s always speaking to you—through tightness in your chest, that knot in your stomach, or the urge to cry when you don’t know why. Somatic Therapy gives you the tools and the compassionate space to listen to those signals, understand what they’re telling you, and support your body in returning to a state of regulation.
When we listen to the body, we open a path to healing that doesn’t just involve thinking or analyzing, but feeling and experiencing. In this space, you can learn to trust your body again, feel more alive, and experience greater ease, clarity, and connection with yourself and the world around you.
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My approach to Somatic Therapy is trauma-informed and grounded in compassion. I believe that healing happens when we feel seen, safe, and supported, which is why every session is tailored to meet you exactly where you are. Together, we will create a space that honors your pace, your boundaries, and your unique needs, so you can gently explore your inner landscape without pressure or expectation.
You don’t need to do this alone. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, burnout, trauma, or simply feeling disconnected from yourself, Somatic Therapy can offer you a pathway to come back home to your body—whole, grounded, and truly alive.
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Trauma and stress are not just mental or emotional—they are physiological. Our bodies are designed to protect us by activating survival responses, such as fight, flight, or freeze, in moments of overwhelm. But when these responses are left unresolved, our nervous system can stay stuck in defense mode, leading to anxiety, burnout, chronic tension, or feeling disconnected from ourselves.
Somatic Therapy works with these deeply ingrained patterns in the nervous system, offering a safe space for the body to process and release what it’s holding onto. Through gentle, attuned guidance, we explore what’s happening in your body and help you reconnect with your natural rhythms of calm and safety. This approach moves beyond talk therapy, offering an experiential process that leads to profound shifts and lasting healing.
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A typical somatic therapy session with me is designed to create a holding environment of compassion, co-regulation, curiosity and mindfulness where you can connect to the depths of your human experience and gently explore the unconscious patterns held in your body, emotions and beliefs.
We’ll often start each session by discussing your current goals and challenges. We will then go into a state of mindfulness and somatic self inquiry. I will be coaching you on how to do this :)
Overall I will be using a mix of approaches such as Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and Mindfulness. Our sessions will often involve both verbal dialogue and body-focused inquiry and practices. I might guide you through mindfulness exercises to help you tune into your bodily sensations and emotions, enabling you to become more aware of your internal landscape.
We may also explore your experiences through the lens of Polyvagal Theory, assisting you in understanding how your nervous system responds to different stimuli and how this impacts your emotional regulation and relationships.
Incorporating elements of Somatic Attachment Theory and Somatic Parts Work, we can address any fragmented parts of your experience while fostering a deeper connection to yourself. The Safe and Sound Protocol may be utilized to enhance feelings of safety and support.
Throughout the session, my focus will be on your comfort and readiness, adjusting our approach based on your responses and feedback to ensure it resonates with you. The ultimate goal is to empower you in your healing journey by cultivating greater awareness, safety, and integration within yourself.
There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine.
O traveler, if you are in search of THAT
Don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek THAT.
- Rumi
I am honored to accompany you on this transformative journey. Together, we will explore the depths of your inner world, uncover the patterns that shape your experiences, and embrace the wisdom of your body as a guiding force in your healing process.
Book an appointment.
Ready to learn more or begin your somatic journey? You can easily book a free 20-minute consultation to explore how we can work together, or schedule a full 75-minute Somatic Coaching session or a Safe and Sound Protocol session.
To set up your appointment, use the booking options here or reach out to me at jessicaconwaysomatics.com via email, and I’ll be happy to assist you in finding a time that works for you!