Somatic Internal Family Systems: A Pathway to Embody Eating Disorder Recovery
At Reclaiming Beauty in Asheville, NC, we walk alongside clients on the courageous journey of eating disorder recovery through a lens that honors the wholeness of each person. We believe in a healing process that is not only psychological but somatic—rooted in the wisdom of the body. One of the transformative frameworks we integrate into our work is Somatic Internal Family Systems (SIFS) as articulated by IFS therapist Susan McConnell, a practice that invites connection with our internal parts through the body and gently guides us toward reclaiming the Self energy that is our truest essence.
Somatic IFS teaches us to listen to our parts—those protective, wounded, and wise inner voices—not just through thoughts or words, but through felt sensation, breath, movement, and touch. This approach is supported by five core practices:
Somatic Awareness
Conscious Breathing
Radical Resonance
Mindful Movement
Attuned Touch
Each of these offers a pathway to embodiment—the experience of being safely and fully at home in your body—and becomes a sacred tool in the process of releasing the legacy burdens of diet culture.
Somatic Awareness: Grounding in the Earth Element
Somatic Awareness is the practice of turning inward to feel and sense what’s happening in the body in the present moment. In our practice, we often start here—just noticing where the body is in space, what it’s touching, where there are potentially supportive surfaces and what signals are arising. We connect this practice to the element of Earth, the foundation beneath us, offering steadiness and containment.
This grounded awareness invites clients to feel the parts of them that hold stories of body shame, control or weight stigma, often passed down generationally or shaped by societal ideals. When we learn to stay with sensation rather than escape it, we begin to release. We anchor into the stability of the Earth, remembering that we are held and supported just as we are.
Conscious Breathing: Opening with the Air Element
Breath is life. Through Conscious Breathing, clients are guided to notice their breath as a way of connecting with the present moment, learning more about what’s happening with the parts of the internal system and accessing the spaciousness of Air. When a part is activated—such as the inner critic or the food police—bringing attention to the breath allows more space for Self energy to enter.
Air reminds us that healing is not about restriction, but about expansion. With each inhale, we invite compassion; with each exhale, we release the weight of perfectionism. Breath becomes a bridge to the body and a gentle invitation for our parts to soften.
Radical Resonance: Flowing with the Water Element
Radical Resonance is the practice of deeply attuning to and resonating with the emotional and energetic experience of our parts. It is the art of being with, not fixing or silencing. This practice is aligned with the element of Water, which teaches us about emotional flow, adaptability, and connection.
In the context of eating disorder recovery, many parts have learned to guard vulnerability through numbing or control. When we resonate with those parts with curiosity and care, we melt the internal ice. We learn to feel emotions without being overwhelmed by them. We become the compassionate witness, offering our parts the love and presence they never received when their burdens were formed.
Mindful Movement: Igniting the Fire Element
Mindful Movement is movement that arises from an inner impulse, rather than from external expectations or punishment. Whether it’s a stretch, a sway, or a dance, movement becomes a vehicle for presence, expression, and freedom. We connect this practice with the element of Fire, which represents transformation, energy, and agency.
Fire fuels the reclamation of the body as a source of joy and vitality. It challenges the inherited belief that our bodies exist to be shaped or shrunk. Through mindful movement, clients begin to trust their bodies again—to listen, respond, and express. Movement becomes a ritual of reclaiming autonomy.
Attuned Touch: Embracing the Ether Element
The final practice, Attuned Touch, can take many forms: self-touch or energetic presence. It’s not about technique, but about the quality of connection. In Somatic IFS, attuned touch is a way to co-regulate and nurture parts of us that hold pain, trauma, or disconnection. It corresponds with the element of Ether, or space, reminding us of the unseen but deeply felt field of connection that surrounds and holds us.
Touch, when consensual and attuned, helps parts feel seen, soothed, and supported. It invites in the sense that healing is not a solo endeavor—that we are held by something larger. Ether opens us to connection with Self energy and with others.
Note: We do not offer therapeutic touch between therapist and client at this time because we do not have any providers with this specific training. We can offer referrals for this work.
Embodied Self Energy and Releasing Legacy Burdens
At the heart of Somatic IFS is Embodied Self energy—a felt sense of compassion, clarity, courage, and calm that arises when we are no longer dominated by our parts. These somatic practices are portals that help us embody Self, not just intellectually but viscerally.
In the process, clients often encounter legacy burdens—internalized beliefs and protective strategies passed down from families and reinforced by diet culture. “My body is not good enough,” “I must control food to be worthy,” “Emotions are dangerous”—these are not personal flaws but inherited burdens. Through Somatic IFS, we can lovingly unhook from these burdens, thank the parts that carried them, and invite them to experience life from a place of freedom, presence, and trust.
A Path to Reclaiming Beauty
Recovery at Reclaiming Beauty is not about fixing the body—it’s about coming home to it. It’s about building an internal ecosystem where all parts are welcome, where Self energy leads with love, and where the body becomes a trusted ally instead of a battleground.
Somatic IFS offers a gentle, powerful pathway into that healing. By aligning with the elements, embodying Self energy, and releasing legacy burdens, our clients step into a deeper sense of connection—with themselves, with their bodies, and with the world.
You are not broken. You are a being of Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Ether—resilient, wise, and already whole.
Come home to your body. Reclaim your beauty.
Get Started with Somatic IFS Therapy Informed Eating Disorder Recovery Support in Asheville, NC Today
At Reclaiming Beauty, we're here to help you on this journey. Our therapists are all IFS informed and are dedicated to providing a somatically integrated,weight-inclusive and understanding space for you to explore your own trailheads to deeper embodiment. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take a step towards your healing.
Schedule a consultation with us here so we can get to know your story and your therapeutic interests and match you with the best fit provider at our practice.
Discover more about Somatic IFS and embodiment through our IFS blogs and podcasts.
Are you a professional interested in using IFS with your clients with disordered eating? Join our monthly consult group.
Other Services We Offer in Asheville, NC
Discover an integrative approach to well-being at Reclaiming Beauty. In addition to body-centered psychotherapy and eating disorder therapy, we offer personalized embodiment coaching to unlock the wisdom within, fostering self-compassion and resilience. Or, explore the transformative benefits of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP). This is a non-invasive auditory intervention that enhances social engagement and reduces stress.
