This was my first time exploring somatic therapy. Having tried various therapy approaches to help aid particular physical and mental stresses / was experiencing, with varying degrees of improvement, I was keen to come in open-minded, though, admittedly, nervous about disappointment.

In contrast to past experiences with different types of therapy, from the very first session with Mora, I instantly felt safe - this is something I've learned not to take for granted. Not only did I quickly feel that I was in safe hands and could therefore give myself over to the practise, but I also felt a sense of safety and calmness in exploring the tensions, fears, stresses and anxieties that my body feels inclined to hold onto. This has been a huge shift for me in terms of my own rehab journey, approaching my nervous system's current state from a place of reassurance, rather than judgement, frustration, or expectation.

Another main reflection from my time working with Mora is that no two sessions were ever the same.

It's often tempting, especially after a session that ends overwhelmingly positively, to try to recreate it the next time around.

However, Mora's intuition and sensitivity to the energy you bring on any given day would undoubtedly always help bring me back to being present in my body, which, in turn, would diminish the desire to recreate past outcomes. In contrast, as the sessions went on, I started to become more curious about discovering where my body was at that moment and discovering new things.

Since starting somatic therapy, I have started to imagine my nervous system as something ever-fluctuating and alive, rather than something that needs to be "fixed" and locked into place.

One of my biggest turning points since working with Mora has been in discovering tensions in my body that I hadn't realised I had buried so deeply over the years, or even become numb to, and the relationship between those physical tensions and my emotional state.

Years of trying to suppress various ailments or "manage them" , often for the sake of my

work, has led to a constant state of silent stress. It's only once / allow myself to acknowledge them again that I reglise how much stress is actually there underneath.

A prime example of this was in my very first session, where, in exploring the sensation of my ongoing tinnitus, I led myself back to tensions around my neck, jaw and voice, and, in doing so, allowed myself to recognise years of anxiety built up around struggles with my voice as an actor, and the relationship between my voice and core childhood memories.

Through each session with Mora, I have discovered something new, and crucially, my body has always finished in a calmer and more peaceful place than where it started. For someone who struggles to be still and give time for quiet reflection, Mora's patience, guidance, and sensitivity throughout every session have been invaluable.

But apart from that, it's been the ability to feel safe in the practise which has set the somatic therapy sessions with Mora apart from past work I have done.

It's in the feeling of safety that I find reassurance, it's in the feeling of safety that I find confidence to explore my tensions and struggles with quiet curiosity instead of fear, judgement, and it's through the feeling of safety that I am able to switch my brain off and listen to my body without critical judgement.

It's in the safety that I can tell myself that my body isn't broken and listen to it, instead of fight it. Somatic therapy with Mora has had an incredible impact on my overall well-being.