De-armouring

De-armouring is a somatic trauma unwinding practice used to unwind stored pains and histories in the body. The philosophy of ‘armouring’, as explained by Wilhelm Reich is that bodies develop armouring due to the pains of life - repetitive stress, childhood experiences, traumatic experiences, and systemic realities. We all have armour that’s a unique part of who we are and where we’ve come from.

I offer self-darmouring coaching that uses a blend of sound, breath, and movement practices to gently wake the body up from feelings of frozenness, constriction, and pain. And, I offer de-armouring bodywork. In bodywork sessions, touch is offered along the legs, torso, arms, and head. It can be done while clothed or unclothed, and is client directed.

I am also trained to offer de-armouring of the genitals, anus, and throat, which are often areas of stored physical and emotional blocks, numbness, and pain. Further, I have training in facilitating de-armouring energy work, which is of particular benefit to clients who do not wish to receive touch, however are curious about exploring somatic trauma unwinding modalities.

It may feel liberating to dig into practices that might help us ‘get rid’ of our armour, since armour can often be framed as what’s ‘holding us back’ from ‘living our best lives’. As self-limiting belief systems and historical conditioning which include contractions, shame, behaviour patterns, and frozenness. That said, it’s also important to remember and hold that our armour comes from an important, good, and loving place in us - and that we built our armour slowly over time as an defensive/protective strategy when life was some form of ‘too much/too fast’ or ‘too little/too slow’.

Further, let’s be real - we live in a world that is systemically and culturally unsafe and we need armour to survive and thrive within it. As such, I aim to avoid a premise of simply ‘taking armour off’ without honouring the important role it plays. In our work together, we will explore how your armour has protected you, and explore what you wish to manifest in your life. Within that, we will discover how self-dearmouring and de-armouring bodywork or energywork will serve your process of moving towards what you long for while honouring both the defensive and protective qualities of your wise armour.