The Body’s Capacity for Wonder
Exploring Somatic Experiencing, Co-Regulating Touch, and the Return to Curiosity
WHITNEY BRESHEARS · LPC, SEP, KAP
I have become increasingly interested in exploring how wonder is connected to the state of our nervous system and our relationship with our bodies. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner specializing in therapeutic touch, I find that wonder invites me to remain deeply curious, both personally and professionally.
I am fascinated by the intersections of trauma healing, somatic therapy, attachment, and neuroscience, and how these interconnected systems influence the ways we experience ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us.
Wonder as an Invitation
Throughout my work supporting clients in therapy, wonder is often an invitation to turn inward, become curious, and listen to the body’s messages.
I have the honor of being an empathetic witness to moments when the nervous system begins shifting from survival toward connection. I continually witness the body’s remarkable capacity for adaptation and healing through experiences of attunement, curiosity, and supportive relationships.
I am often moved by the opportunity to witness someone reconnect with parts of themselves that have felt disconnected through trauma. Sometimes, it is as subtle as noticing a fuller breath after recognizing they are no longer bracing for danger.
To me, wonder is an invitation to explore the possibilities of authentic self-embodiment.
Personally, wonder influences how I show up and move through the world. I often approach each day through the lens of, “I wonder what today will bring me?”
My own experiences with autoimmune disease drew me toward Somatic Experiencing as I began exploring the relationship between emotional experiences, early life stress, and the ways our bodies can carry unresolved activation.
The healing I have experienced within my own nervous system through slowing down, safe co-regulating touch, and attunement has deepened my ability to remain present, even when noticing activation or triggers. Through reconnecting with joy, curiosity, and self-embodiment, I have discovered a greater capacity to explore and wonder again.
The Body’s Protective Wisdom
With Somatic Experiencing and co-regulating therapeutic touch, I believe wonder often lives in the quiet spaces. It may emerge when a client begins noticing a new sensation, recognizes their capacity for choice, or experiences a moment of connection with themselves that once felt inaccessible.
I do not enter sessions with the impulse to “fix” the person sitting before me. Instead, I approach each individual’s nervous system with curiosity, compassion, and respect for its unique experiences and protective responses.
I wonder what might become possible when someone experiences greater support, attunement, and the freedom to explore their internal world without judgment.
Our nervous systems are constantly responding to the world around us, helping us recognize potential threats, respond to challenges, connect with others, and navigate everyday experiences. When we encounter stress, our bodies may shift into protective responses such as fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or shutdown. These responses are not signs of weakness. They are part of our biological capacity for survival.
However, when stress becomes persistent or overwhelming, our attention may become increasingly organized around protection. We may find ourselves anticipating what could go wrong, scanning our environments, or becoming disconnected from our bodily sensations and relationships.
When our energy is devoted primarily to protection, our capacity for curiosity, exploration, play, and wonder may become more difficult to access.
From Protection to Possibility
Our bodies are not only places where we experience stress and survival. Our inner worlds can also become places of curiosity, connection, discovery, and wonder.
Emotional safety and attunement can have profound influences on our physiological and emotional experiences.
From the beginning of life, our capacity for regulation develops within relationships. We learn about safety and connection through voices, facial expressions, proximity, rhythm, responsiveness, and touch from our primary caregivers.
Supportive relationships can influence our stress responses, breathing patterns, muscle tension, and capacity to settle. These experiences are deeply individual, and what feels supportive or safe for one person may feel different for another.
This is one reason I find the exploration of co-regulating therapeutic touch so meaningful. Through intentional presence, attunement, consent, and respect for personal boundaries, we can explore how connection influences our experience of being in our bodies.
I wonder whether these experiences of support might also expand our capacity to engage with the world through curiosity rather than primarily through protection.
Perhaps this is one of the beautiful possibilities of somatic healing: not simply learning to navigate distress, but developing a greater capacity to experience life.
To feel connected. To discover. To explore. To play. To experience wonder. An Invitation to Wonder Again
My hope is that this exploration encourages us to reconsider the relationship between our nervous systems and the ways we engage with the world. Perhaps the invitation is not to force ourselves into wonder, but to become curious about the conditions that allow it to emerge.
To slow down.
To notice.
To reconnect.
And to consider what might become possible when we experience our bodies not only as places of protection, but also as places of discovery.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to wonder?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney Breshears, LPC, SEP, KAP, is the founder of Somatic Healing Touch. Her clinical work integrates Somatic Experiencing®, co-regulating therapeutic somatic touch, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. She is a TU Humanities Fellow and is developing nature-based somatic healing experiences at Hummingbird Farm.