We practice Orienting in Somatic Experiencing because it is a tool for settling the nervous system and a crucial survival skill- where am I right now? What is actually happening around me? Do I need to respond? With those questions answered, our animal bodies can either respond or relax.
Sometimes our bodies get stuck or lost in time, or we dissociate because what is happening inside of us (interoception) is overwhelming. We practice Orienting in Somatic Experiencing to bring us into the present moment by putting our attention on what is outside of us (exteroception): “I am here, in this room, and this is what is happening here.” Orienting can also override the frantic action of the amygdala (the part of the brain that triggers the fight or flight response) by emphasizing the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that sorts and categorizes). Simply naming the objects in our immediate environment can be tremendously helpful, and using all of our senses to locate ourselves in time and space really grounds us in the Now. This assumes that the Now is ok!
Here’s a “Quick and Easy” orienting exercise led by Steve Hoskinson of Organic Intelligence.
I assisted Steve for a couple of years when he was teaching for the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Since then he has moved into teaching in his own unique way, still focused on helping people integrate their whole selves into the present.