Pride is often framed through the lens of struggle—and yes, the road to authenticity has been marked by resistance, survival, and pain for so many in the LGBTQ+ community. But what if we made space for another truth this month?
That joy is just as important.
That laughter, pleasure, play, softness—are not just welcome in healing, they’re essential.
As a somatic practitioner who works closely with LGBTQ+ clients, I often remind them:
You don’t have to earn your joy. You only have to feel safe enough to hold it.
Pleasure Is a Nervous System Skill
Joy, like grief, lives in the body. But if your nervous system has been trained for vigilance, rejection, or performance, joy can feel… unfamiliar. Even unsafe.This is especially true for queer, trans, and nonbinary clients who’ve had to fight just to exist. Their systems have become fluent in survival, but not always in celebration.
That’s where somatic healing comes in.
We don’t rush.
We don’t bypass the pain.
But we do make room for what’s possible:
The breath that expands instead of contracts
The moment you dance without apology
The simple act of being seen, without performance
LGBTQ+ Joy Is Revolutionary
Choosing to feel good in your body, as you are, is a radical act.
Choosing to rest is a protest.
Choosing to soften is a reclaiming.
Choosing to celebrate yourself out loud is Pride.
When we work together, we explore what your joy feels like in your body—not what it “should” look like.
Maybe it’s warm.
Maybe it tingles.
Maybe it’s messy and untamed.
Maybe it lives in stillness, not sparkle.
There’s no right way. There’s only your way.
Pride Is the Permission to Feel Fully
This month, I invite you to not only show your colors, but feel them.
Let your nervous system taste celebration.
Let your shoulders drop.
Let your breath move freely.
Let yourself imagine a world where your joy isn’t a surprise, but a baseline.
Because healing isn’t just about what we’ve been through. It’s about what we’re moving toward.
And for so many of us, that future is vibrant, embodied, and unapologetically authentic.
With deep joy and pride,
Candis Zimmerman
Somatic Healer | LGBTQ+ Affirming Practitioner
Because your joy matters. And your body deserves to feel it.
