What I love about the Hakomi Method

The Hakomi Method was first created in the 80s and 90s by Ron Kurtz, and since his death in 2011 has evolved under the stewardship of dedicated legacy holders. Where the Light Hides combines the Refined Hakomi Method with Somatic Experiencing, and operates in alignment with the international Hakomi Education Network.

The power of the Hakomi Method resides in the loving presence of others.

Hakomi is a form of assisted self-study that includes you and your Hakomi practitioner, and sometimes others. The Practitioner and those assisting all hold space with loving presence, a state of being that recognizes your whole humanity, and reminds you that you don’t need to face suffering alone.

The Hakomi Method connects you to what’s unfolding in the present.

Inner turmoil rooted in the past, present or future is explored through experiments in mindfulness: by attending to new information arising from within you moment-to-moment.

Bear illustration as a symbol of the wild.

The Hakomi Method respects trauma as sacred and wild.

Together, we will tread tenderly through the mysticism of the unconscious, we will approach trauma with patience and care, and we will honor each glimpse with reverence.

The Hakomi Method opens you to the innate wisdom of the body.

It shows you how the nervous system learned to protect you and how the body holds both your wounds and the way forward.

Lotus illustration as a symbol of opening and healing

The Hakomi Method carries you through deep pain with the gentlest touch.

Every aspect of the work honours your pace, boundaries, and natural unfolding.

A typical
Hakomi
session

  • Opening

    You are welcomed in your wholeness to share your experience. Your Hakomi practitioner holds space with loving presence, compassionately noticing what arises from the unconscious as open to self-study.

  • Inspiration

    Your Hakomi practitioner listens deeply with all their senses, as small details begin to inspire the awareness experiments they will design for you.

  • Experimentation

    Your practitioner helps you hold yourself in mindfulness for 20-30 seconds at a time, as they introduce precise awareness experiments in the form of ideas, questions, noticing, gestures, and more. They then guide you in noticing any spontaneous reactions to these experiments in the present moment, such as internal monologue, memories, shifts in your nervous system, and intelligence from your body.

  • Discovery

    Collaboratively you allow this self-study to slowly reveal an organizing belief that has shaped how you stand in relationship with the world, blocking nourishing experiences and causing unnecessary suffering.

  • Healing

    You use the Hakomi container of trusted relationships and a present-moment focus to gain insight into obsolete organizing beliefs, receiving the missed nourishing experiences, and enabling natural healing to begin.

How to Begin