With the growing recognition of the face's vital role in heart health and nervous system regulation, many approaches focus on external actions, like relaxing facial muscles or shifting expressions. Somatic Science® offers a more refined, inside-out skillset to reconnect with this essential tool for connection and expression, approaching the face as more than a surface; it’s a gateway to the Essential Self.
Reclaiming Our Right to Be
Our own face is the primary tool for emotional regulation, expression and connection. In our journey through life, we are often disconnected from our natural state of being - an experience described as being ruled by the "Monkey Mind" or trapped in the "Pain Body." This disconnection manifests in subtle ways, one of the most profound being our relationship with our face. By reclaiming the freedom of our expressions, we rediscover the union between body and being, expression and experience.
The Loss of Innocence: Suppression Begins
The process of fear conditioning that results in our losing our natural connection to our face begins in childhood. Initially, we express ourselves freely, unaware of our faces as separate entities. Then come the reprimands: “Wipe that look off your face!” or “Don’t look like that!”. There may also be more subtle cues that muffle any "excessive" joy, rage, disgust or excitement. These seemingly trivial moments at a time when our nervous system is still organizing itself disrupt the natural developmental flow of our essential being, creating disconnected zones in our metabolic and nervous system energy.
Over time, these experiences teach us to suppress our natural expressions. What was once an organic part of being becomes subject to self-conscious scrutiny and control.
This suppression often becomes so ingrained that we stop noticing it. As some might experience, it feels almost structural, embedded into the fascia and muscles. The suppression becomes an automatic behavior, a silent "pushing down" that separates us from our natural, essential state. We mistake this conditioned self-monitoring as “just who I am.” Then we become identified (give our identities) to a protective mechanism whose main purpose is to avoid experiencing novelty, aliveness and connection at all costs.
Awakening to Awareness
Moving beyond the magnetic pull of this identification requires awareness. This isn’t a theoretical exercise—it’s a deeply embodied practice. By noticing the tension in our facial muscles, we can begin to observe the patterns of suppression elsewhere in the organism. This awareness allows us to reconnect with our original, uninhibited state. As many of my clients reflect, rediscovering the face is transformative, a process that connects the physical sensation of the face with the broader experience of being present.
We could liken this process to yoga, which means “union.” In this context, yoga is about uniting the self that has a face with the self that experiences it. This is more than physical alignment; it’s a reunification of being and awareness, a bridge across the chasm created by years of conditioning.
The Role of Resistance and Acceptance
Resistance is a central theme in moving beyond fixations of any type. Our faces often betray a mismatch between our internal experiences and external expressions. This resistance can feel like an ever-present backdrop, an invisible force separating us from our essential selves. Yet the opposite—acceptance—feels equally ordinary once glimpsed and embodied. In acceptance, our expressions align naturally with our inner state, dissolving the fractious resistance that once felt all-encompassing.
The Biological Basis of Freedom
Somatic Science® provides a clear lens into our biology to help us understand this process. It offers the possibility to understand that suppressed expressions create a disconnect between the face and the body’s internal regulation systems. When we liberate this suppressed energy, it travels to the face, allowing us to fully register how we feel about ourselves.
This congruence between the physical and emotional selves is a form of self-updating, a natural evolution of awareness available at any instance.
The self-punishment that perpetuates suppression, rooted in early conditioning, is unnecessary. Yet, this cycle is not inevitable. Nature is innocent.
The punitive conditioning we inherit is a human creation, not a biological imperative.
Reclaiming Freedom Through Experimentation
The way forward lies in experimentation. Somatic Science® encourages us to play with these ideas, observing their practical application in our own lives. By becoming curious about our expressions, allowing them to emerge without judgment, and releasing the fear of being punished for simply having a face, we begin to reclaim our freedom.
This process is not merely an exercise in self-awareness; it is a profound step toward the Essential Self. When we dissolve the layers of suppression, we step out of the illusions of "Maya" and quiet the "Monkey Mind." We free ourselves from the "Pain Body," allowing our expressions to align with our true nature.
The Face as a Gateway
In the end, the face is more than a surface; it’s a gateway to the Essential Self. By reclaiming the freedom of our expressions, we rediscover the union between body and being, expression and experience. This journey—rooted in awareness, acceptance, and play—is not only a path out of suffering but a return to the natural, unconditioned state of simply being.
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