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Integrative Somatic Therapist

Make sense of your awakening without feeling you are going mad....

The primary, ancient symbol for breath is the Sanskrit character Om (ॐ) or Prana, representing life force, consciousness, and

A gentle place to land

Somatic wisdom for awakening, healing and aliveness

Perhaps something has opened in you and you're not sure where to go with it...

You may have sensed for a while that there must be more to life. Perhaps something has shifted, through meditation, a loss, a moment of grace or for no reason you can name, and since then your body and your life have not felt quite the same. You might be noticing changes in your energy, your sleep, your emotions or how sensitive you feel to the world around you, and you may not yet have the words for any of it.

Many people in this place quietly wonder whether they are going mad. Others simply say, "I just feel stuck."

An awakening often arrives alongside other turning points, such as burnout, a late diagnosis or getting sober, when the old ways of holding everything together have stopped working and something new has not yet taken its place. You may already have explored therapy, mindfulness, breathwork or spiritual practice, and if you are anything like me, you have probably got bookcases filled with self-help and personal development books!

Often there has already been a great deal of insight. What tends to help next is support that is grounded and unalarmed by what is unfolding, so that your body can become safe enough to feel, to slow down and to say no, and what has opened in you can gradually settle into your everyday life.

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What you might begin to notice...

Everyone's experience is different and change tends to unfold gradually, but over time people often notice that.... They feel more grounded, connected to their body and at home in it, even when life feels unsettled Their nervous system becomes more regulated, so they can feel their emotions fully, let them move through and meet the world with less fear What has opened in them begins to settle into everyday life and feels less overwhelming A deeper sense of peace and steadiness emerges as old patterns begin to quieten They begin to live with more freedom, less bound by the patterns that once helped them cope They trust their intuition and the wisdom of their body a little more They are easier on themselves and find more ease in how they live and work There is more curiosity, presence and aliveness in how they meet each day

Somatic therapy starts with the body

A trauma-informed, body-based approach to integration

What is Somatic Therapy? Somatic therapy supports nervous system regulation by listening to how experiences live in the body, not just how we think about them. When stress, trauma or overwhelm happen, especially early in life, the body adapts to survive. Over time, those survival patterns can show up as anxiety, emotional numbness, people-pleasing, perfectionism, addiction or functional freeze, and they can also shape how we meet something new opening up within us.

My approach integrates somatic therapy with NeuroAffective Touch, a polyvagal-informed practice that works directly with the body through attuned therapeutic touch. What is NeuroAffective Touch®? This is particularly relevant for experiences that formed before language — early relational wounds that are held in the tissues and nervous system rather than in conscious memory, and that talking alone often cannot reach.

Rather than analysing or reliving the past, we work gently in the present moment. We build safety first within the therapeutic relationship, then support the body to unwind what it has been holding, at a pace your nervous system can hold. The body has its own intelligence, and this work honours that — inviting collaboration between your lived bodily experience and your capacity for reflection, so that healing can take root at a deeper level.

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What to expect...

1. A free connection call. We begin with a relaxed conversation to explore whether this work feels right for you, and you do not need to share details of your history. 2. Sessions at your pace. Sessions last 75 minutes and take place online or in person in Beverley, and we begin by building safety, so that you set the pace and nothing is rushed. 3. Working in the present. We work gently with what is happening in your body now, without needing to relive painful memories. 4. Touch only with your consent. Where appropriate, gentle therapeutic touch may be offered, always with clear consent, and you are free to say no or change your mind at any time.

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Hi, I'm Laura

I am the founder of the Somatic Wellness Hub and a social worker turned somatic therapist, with over 25 years' experience across mental health, trauma and substance misuse. Alongside my professional training, I bring lived experience. For much of my life I survived through functional freeze, appearing capable on the outside while feeling numb, anxious and disconnected inside, and alcohol, overworking and perfectionism became my ways of coping. Despite a great deal of insight and spiritual curiosity, my nervous system never truly felt safe.

Everything began to change when I found a somatic path. Through sobriety, a late ADHD diagnosis, a profound spiritual awakening and years of contemplative practice, my body began to soften, and awareness moved out of my head and into lived, felt experience. I know from the inside what it is like when something opens and there is nowhere obvious to take it. Healing became less about striving and more about listening, and today I support others to find that same grounded, embodied reconnection.

Wondering if this kind of work might support you?

You sense there must be more to life, and something has opened or shifted in you that you do not yet have words for.

You are quietly wondering whether you are going mad, or you simply feel stuck.

Meditation, yoga or spiritual practice has left you feeling ungrounded or overwhelmed.

You are living with burnout, anxiety or a sense of holding everything together for too long.

You identify as sensitive or neurodivergent, perhaps after a late diagnosis or you are in recovery from alcohol, overworking or other ways of coping.

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Ways to work together

There are a few ways to explore this work, depending on where you are and what feels right for you now.

1:1 Somatic Therapy

A deeper therapeutic space for people going through an awakening who want grounded, personal support to stay with what is unfolding, and for anyone who feels stuck in patterns that insight alone has not shifted. Together we bring gentle attention to sensation, emotion and the subtle signals of the nervous system, so that what has been held, or what has opened, can be met with care and gradually integrated.

This work unfolds slowly and at your pace. My approach brings together somatic awareness, relational attunement and, where appropriate and with clear consent, gentle therapeutic touch to support regulation, connection and embodied presence. Sessions are available online or in person in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

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HeartSomatics™ Micro-Practices

2-minute somatic practices for nervous system regulation

This course takes a microdosing approach to somatic practices, with 2-minute practices you can take in small doses throughout your day, while the kettle boils, at a red light or in the supermarket queue, so there is no need to find an hour a day. It is for people who are curious about a somatic approach but are not yet ready for one-to-one work. Over time, these small doses help your nervous system build the flexibility to move between states rather than getting stuck in one, and forgetting and coming back is simply part of the practice.

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“Laura was a revelation. For the first time I learned how to truly recognise the patterns in my body and what it feels like to be deeply relaxed.”

Sally

Integration happens gradually

It grows as the body becomes safe enough

Whatever has opened in you, it does not need to be forced, analysed into place or released all at once. Integration happens gradually as the body becomes safe enough to feel, to slow down and to say no, and it does not depend on dramatic release or going back over painful memories. When the right conditions for safety and connection are in place, the nervous system can soften, and new experiences of belonging, trust and aliveness can begin to emerge.

If something in your body softened while reading this, that is enough for now. You are welcome to explore at your own pace, or take the next step when it feels right.

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Dive Deeper with Me

Somatic Therapist Laura Starky smiling at 1:1 client laid down in therapy room with plants, a lamp, and a colorful blanket, based in Beverley East Yorkshire

NeuroAffective Touch® Therapy in the UK

You might be wondering how NeuroAffective Touch actually works, and what a session looks like. I recently had my own experience of it, on the table with the founder of this approach, and it changed how I understand this work from the inside out.

What is Somatic Healing?

After years of therapy, self-help books and trying to heal from the neck up, I found somatic healing, a gentle way of listening to the body and helping the nervous system find safety and ease.

What to Expect in a Somatic Therapy Session (UK)

If you are thinking about somatic therapy, it helps to know what actually happens in a session. A UK somatic therapist explains the first session, pacing, touch, consent and how sessions end.