Self Healers Academy · Module 9 Resource

The Art of Intention

How to craft intentions that move your body toward healing
Paula Marie Salas · Somatic Repatterning™

What This Guide Is For

You have the whole map now. You know your emotions, your limiting beliefs, your belief systems, your patterns and feedback loops, your body systems, and your nervous system. You have been clearing in the moment — every time something feels off, asking is there anything I need to clear in relationship to what I am experiencing?

Now you are ready for something deeper. Intentional clearing is the shift from reactive to proactive. Instead of waiting for life to bring things to the surface, you choose what to clear. You build a specific intention from everything you have learned about your inner world. That intention becomes the scope. You test all charts against it. You clear the whole system in one session.

This guide teaches you how to build that intention — how to craft it, what makes it work, how your intentions will evolve as you heal, and how to use an intention as the anchor for your deepest clearing work.

In This Guide
An intention is not a wish. It is not an affirmation.
It is a precise statement of what the clearing is moving toward.
01

What an Intention Actually Is

An intention in Somatic Repatterning™ is something very specific. It is not a goal you are trying to manifest. It is not positive thinking layered on top of pain. It is not something you say to convince yourself of something you don’t believe.

An intention is a precise statement of the state your body is moving toward through the clearing. It gives the clearing direction. It tells your body’s intelligence: this is what we are working on. This is what we are releasing. This is where we are going.

Think of it this way: when you clear in the moment, the trigger provides the direction. Something happens, you feel it in your body, and you ask what needs to clear. The experience itself is the scope.

When you set an intention, you provide the direction. You are choosing, from everything you now know about your inner world, what to bring to the clearing. You are getting proactive. You are no longer waiting for life to show you what needs attention. You are going in after it.

The body moves toward presence, not absence. Your intention is not about what you are trying to eliminate. It is about what you are moving toward — and what is being released in service of that.
02

The Five Principles of a Powerful Intention

Across thousands of clearing sessions, certain patterns emerge in the intentions that produce the deepest shifts. These are not rules. They are principles — the qualities that make an intention land in the body rather than stay in the head.

It is stated in the present tense.
Not “I will feel safe” or “I want to feel safe.” The intention is “I am safe in my body” — or, when that feels too far from where you are, “I begin to find safety in my body.” Present tense tells the nervous system: this is available. This is where we are going. This is already becoming.
It names the releasing — and, when the body is ready, the receiving.
Early in the work, your intention may be entirely about releasing. That is enough. As you progress, the most powerful intentions carry two movements: what is being released, and what is being welcomed in its place. Release creates space. The intention names what fills it — when the body is ready for that.
It speaks to the body, not just the mind.
An intention that stays intellectual will produce intellectual results. The language should feel somatic — “in my body,” “in my being,” “in my system.” You are speaking to your cells, your tissues, your nervous system. Use language they understand: safety, ease, calm, grounded, whole.
It is specific enough to be felt, broad enough to clear what’s connected.
Too vague (“I feel better”) and the body doesn’t know what to work with. Too narrow (“I release the anxiety I felt last Tuesday at 3pm”) and you miss the root. The best intentions name the pattern or experience clearly while leaving room for whatever is connected underneath to surface and clear.
It includes grace and ease.
This is not a cliché. “With grace and ease” is a direct instruction to the body: this does not need to be hard. This does not need to be painful. We can do this gently. For a nervous system that has learned that healing is supposed to hurt, that change requires struggle, this phrase is quietly revolutionary.
03

The Language That Works

Certain phrases and patterns appear again and again across thousands of intentions. This is not because they are required. It is because they speak the body’s language. Here is the vocabulary that your nervous system responds to.

Powerful Opening Phrases

“I am safe in my body…” — the most foundational statement. Every healing begins here.

“I release with grace and ease…” — names the action and the quality of the action in one breath.

“I heal the root of…” — directs the clearing beneath the surface symptom to the origin.

“I no longer need…” — honors the pattern while releasing it. Acknowledges it served a purpose.

“My nervous system is…” — speaks directly to the system that holds the pattern.

“I begin to…” — invitational. Meets the body where it is. Does not demand a leap it is not ready for.

“It is safe for me to…” — direct permission from self to self.

Key Phrases That Land in the Body

“with grace and ease” — permission to heal gently

“fully and completely” — nothing partial, nothing left behind

“in my body, mind, and spirit” — the whole system

“it is safe for me to…” — direct permission from self to self

“I no longer need to…” — release without blame or shame

“whatever my body is ready to release” — respects the body’s pacing

“for my highest healing” — aligns with the body’s intelligence

“a deep knowing that…” — bridges head to body

Target State Language

When naming what you are moving toward, reach for words that describe a felt state — not an achievement, not an absence, but something the body can inhabit:

grounded · calm · safe · peaceful · steady · whole · present · connected · embodied · vibrant · free · strong · resilient · open · joyful · at ease · settled · clear · trust · spacious · home

04

Invitational Language

Here is something important about working with the body: sometimes a direct statement feels too far from where you are. If your nervous system is in a state of chronic activation and you say “I am safe in my body,” part of you might actually recoil. The body knows it doesn’t feel safe yet. Saying it does can feel dishonest — and a nervous system that does not trust the intention will not respond to it.

This is where invitational language comes in. Instead of stating the destination as if you are already there, you invite the body toward it. You acknowledge where you are while opening a door to where you are going.

Invitational

“I begin to find safety in my body.”

“I begin to release control.”

“I open myself to the idea that healing is possible.”

“I begin to trust in my body.”

Direct (may feel too far)

“I am completely safe.”

“I have released all control.”

“I am fully healed.”

“I trust my body completely.”

Invitational language is not weaker. It is often more powerful because the nervous system can actually receive it. A statement the body trusts — even a small one — lands deeper than a grand statement the body rejects.

Invitational Phrases to Use

“I begin to…”

“I open myself to…”

“I open myself to the idea that…”

“It is safe for me to begin…”

“I am willing to…”

“I allow myself to start…”

“I am learning to…”

As the body heals and the nervous system settles, you will naturally move from invitational language to direct language. The intention “I begin to find safety in my body” becomes “I am safe in my body.” You will feel the shift. The body will tell you when it is ready.
05

The Anatomy of an Intention

Most powerful intentions contain up to three core elements. In the beginning, you may only use the first one or two. As you progress, all three will weave together naturally.

Element 1: The Release

What is being cleared. What your body no longer needs to carry. This names the stored pattern, emotion, belief, or state that the clearing is addressing. Sometimes, especially early in the work, this may be the entire intention — and that is complete.

I release with grace and ease the hypervigilance within my system…
I heal the root of the anxiety I am carrying…
I no longer need the pattern of comparison in my being…

Element 2: The Safety Statement

An affirmation of safety — in the body, in the environment, in the process. This speaks directly to the nervous system. It reassures the parts of you that have been protecting you that it is okay to let go.

I am safe in my body…
It is safe for me to feel and process my emotions…
My nervous system is dynamic, regulated, and no longer needs to live in fight or flight…

Element 3: The Target State

What you are moving toward. The felt state on the other side of the clearing. This element arrives when the body is ready for it. Not an absence (“no more anxiety”) but a presence (“peace, groundedness, ease”).

I find joy in my day to day and peace within my life…
I am grounded, connected, and embodied in each moment…
I trust in my body’s innate capacity to heal…
Release → Safety → Target State
This is the arc of every clearing. Your intention maps it in words — as much or as little as the body is ready for.
06

The Four-Step Framework

When you sit down to build an intention for an intentional clearing session, here is the process.

1
Identify what is most alive.
What keeps coming up? What pattern have you noticed repeating? What activation keeps returning? What did your clearings this week or this month keep pointing to? Look at your inner world — is it a belief system that’s dominant? A feedback loop that keeps running? A body system that keeps showing up? A symptom that is persistent? This is where you start.
2
Name the root, not just the symptom.
If anxiety is what’s showing up, look underneath it. What is the anxiety protecting you from? What belief is feeding it? What part of you is activated? Your intention should speak to the deeper layer when you can see it. If you cannot see it yet, that is okay — you can set an intention around the symptom itself, and what comes up in the clearing will give you clues to what is driving it.
3
Check in with where you are.
Is the body still in survival? Then focus on releasing and safety. Has the body started to settle? Then you can begin to name what you are moving toward. Be honest about where you are. The intention does not need all three elements to be powerful. It needs to be true to where you are right now.
4
Weave it together with grace.
Bring the elements into one flowing statement. It does not need to be perfect. It does not need to be poetic. It needs to be true to what you are experiencing and, if you are ready, where you want to go. Read it back to yourself and feel whether your body responds to it. If it does, it’s ready. If it feels too far from where you are, soften it with invitational language.
07

Working With Symptom-Based Intentions

You do not need to understand the root cause of a symptom to set an intention around it. This is one of the most freeing things about this work.

When you set an intention around a specific symptom — gut dysregulation, mast cell activation, food sensitivities, fatigue, brain fog, hormonal imbalance — what comes up in the clearing session gives you clues to what is driving the symptom. The emotions that surface, the beliefs that test, the patterns that emerge — these are the body showing you what is underneath. You do not need to figure it out in advance. You set the intention and let the body’s intelligence do the rest.

That said, if you do understand what is happening in the body — if you know your mast cells are activated, if you know your drainage is sluggish, if you know your thyroid is under-functioning — that becomes helpful information for your intention. You can speak to the specific system. You can name the physiology. The more the body recognizes in the intention, the more precisely it can direct the clearing.

How to Build a Symptom Intention

A symptom-based intention names the symptom, addresses the body system, and invites the body toward balance. It does not need to diagnose or explain — it just needs to point the clearing in the right direction.

Mast Cell / Histamine
I heal with grace and ease the root of the mast cell activation in my body. My mast cells and histamine levels are calm and stable. My body and immune system find balance and homeostasis with ease. I am safe.
Gut / Digestion
I heal with grace and ease the root of the gut dysregulation in my system. My digestive system finds balance and optimal function. It is safe for my body to digest, absorb, and eliminate with ease.
Fatigue / Energy
I release with grace and ease whatever is depleting my energy and vitality. My mitochondria function optimally. My body produces and sustains energy with ease. It is safe for me to feel alive and vibrant.
Food / Environmental Sensitivities
I heal with grace and ease the root of the sensitization response in my body. My nervous system no longer needs to treat food and my environment as threats. It is safe for my world to expand.
Hormonal Imbalance
I heal with grace and ease the root of the hormonal imbalance in my system. My hormones, body, and cells come back into balance with grace and ease. I am safe in my body.
Nervous System / Anxiety in the Body
I heal the root of the chronic activation in my nervous system. My nervous system is dynamic, regulated, and no longer needs to live in survival. I am safe. My body finds a calm and settled baseline with ease.
A separate Symptom Intention Bank is available as a companion resource with a more comprehensive library of symptom-based intentions organized by body system and condition.
08

The Intuitive Clearing

Not every clearing needs a crafted intention. Sometimes you know something is up but you cannot name it. Something was triggered but you do not fully understand what or why. A symptom is flaring. Life is a lot. You just need to clear.

This is the intuitive clearing. It is the simplest form of intentional work — and sometimes the most powerful.

An intuitive clearing still has a direction. It is not aimless. You name what the clearing is around — the situation, the symptom, the experience, the thing that got stirred up — and then you let the body do the rest. You do not need to craft a full intention statement. You do not need to name the releasing and the receiving. You point the clearing at what is alive, and trust the body’s intelligence to show you what is underneath.

What an Intuitive Clearing Looks Like

In practice, an intuitive clearing is short and direct. The structure is simple: name what the clearing is around, and optionally, name where you want to land.

The Core Structure

Intuitive clearing around   [what is alive right now]  .

What fills that blank depends on what is present for you. It might be a trigger, a symptom, a situation, or simply what your body is holding. Here is how this plays out:

Around a trigger or experience

Intuitive clearing around   [what was stirred up — a conversation, a fight, a piece of news, an interaction]  .

Around a symptom

Intuitive clearing around   [the symptom or what the body is expressing]  .

Around your current state

Intuitive clearing around   [what you are experiencing — the anxiety, the heaviness, the activation, the feeling of being off]  .

Around what came up in other work

Intuitive clearing around   [what surfaced in a session, a therapy appointment, a healing modality, or a life experience]  .

You can also add a simple optimal state at the end — where you want to land after the clearing. This is not required, but it gives the body a reference point for where it is heading:

Intuitive Clearing + Optimal State

Intuitive clearing around   [what is alive right now]  .   [where you want to land — I am safe / my body comes back to homeostasis / I find ease]  .

From session
Intuitive clearing around what has been stirred up and coming back down into equilibrium.
From session
Intuitive clearing around current symptoms. My body comes back to homeostasis with ease. My cells and mitochondria are optimal and healthy.
From session
Intuitive clearing; supporting with ease my body, mind, spirit and nervous system. My mast cells are stable. I am safe.

Energetic & Emotional Recalibration

You may also hear this called an energetic and emotional recalibration. This is the same idea — an intuitive clearing where the body is coming back to center. After a big life shift, a stressful stretch, a series of clearings, or just a period where everything felt like a lot, a recalibration session lets the system resettle.

Recalibration
Emotional and energetic recalibration. I am safe.
Recalibration
Intuitive healing session — bringing body, mind, and spirit back into alignment with grace and ease.
Recalibration
Releasing whatever the body, mind, and spirit are ready to let go of with grace and ease and coming back into a grounded and connected state. I am safe.

When to Use an Intuitive Clearing

You feel activated but cannot pinpoint the source. Something is off but you cannot name what.

A symptom is present but you do not understand what is underneath it yet. You do not need to figure it out first.

Something specific happened and you want to clear what it stirred up. A fight, a conversation, a trigger, a piece of news.

You want a broad clearing after a stressful period or big life shift. A catch-all to let the body process whatever it needs.

You have been doing specific work and want to let the body lead. After several targeted sessions, an intuitive clearing can catch what you may have missed.

You simply feel called to clear without a specific direction. Trust that.

An intuitive clearing is not a lesser clearing. It is a different kind of trust. You are saying to the body: I do not need to know everything. You know. Show me.
09

What Doesn’t Work — and Why

Understanding what weakens an intention is just as important as knowing what strengthens one. These are not failures — they are patterns that keep the intention in the head rather than landing it in the body.

What Works

“I am safe in my body. My nervous system is dynamic and regulated.”

“I release with grace and ease the hypervigilance within my system.”

“I begin to find safety in my body.”

What Doesn’t

“I want to not be anxious anymore.” — future tense, focused on absence

“I will stop being triggered.” — fighting the body, not working with it

“I feel great!” — too vague, nothing for the body to work with

Common Patterns to Watch For

The fixer intention. When the intention reads like a to-do list of things you need to fix about yourself. This is the old wiring — identifying what’s wrong and trying to correct it. Your intention is not a repair order. It is a direction of travel.

The absence-focused intention. “No more anxiety. No more triggers. No more symptoms.” The body does not move toward absence. It moves toward presence. Name what you want to feel, not what you want to stop feeling.

The too-far intention. If the intention makes part of you tighten or resist, it may be too far from where you are. This is not failure — it is important information. Soften it with invitational language. “I begin to…” or “I open myself to the idea that…” Meet the body where it actually is.

The too-safe intention. If the intention does not make you feel anything when you read it — if it is comfortable and familiar — it may not be reaching the layer that needs attention. A powerful intention often produces a subtle emotional response. That response is the body recognizing that the intention is touching something real.

The intellectualized intention. Written from the head, using clinical language, describing the pattern in analytical terms. The intention should feel warm, personal, embodied. Speak to your body the way you would speak to someone you love.

10

Intentions by Emotional Theme

These are real intentions from Somatic Repatterning™ sessions, shared anonymously. They are here not for you to copy, but to show you the range of what intentions can address and the many ways they can be worded. Let them inspire the language for your own.

Safety & Nervous System Regulation

Example
I am safe in my body. I heal with grace and ease the hypervigilance within my system. My nervous system is dynamic, regulated, and no longer needs to live in fight or flight. I am safe. I am strong. I am grounded.
Example
I begin to find safety in my body. I release with grace and ease the survival patterns that my nervous system no longer needs. It is safe for me to settle.

Releasing Anxiety, Stress & Overwhelm

Example
I release the chaos, anxiety, and overwhelm from my body, mind, and spirit with grace and ease. I find joy in my day to day, and joy in my life.
Example
I release and heal with grace and ease the fear and anxiety in my system. I am safe. I let go of control with ease and instill trust and calm and safety into my being.

Self-Worth, Confidence & Enough-ness

Example
I am secure and fully confident in myself and release any underlying insecurities with grace and ease. I am deeply connected to myself. I live my life in the present moment.
Example
I am enough. I let go with ease of my parents’ expectations of me and allow myself to be who I am and step into my highest expression of self. I know deeply that who I am is enough.

Letting Go, Trust & Surrender

Example
I release with grace and ease the worry and anxiety from my mind, body, and spirit. I let go of negativity and the need to control. I am worthy and deserving of peace.
Example
I have an innate belief that I am capable. I trust in the divine timing of my life and that it will figure itself out. I move through my life feeling grounded, connected, and embodied in each moment.

Relationships & Connection

Example
I attract healthy and secure relationships that match and amplify my frequency and vibration and bring out the best version of myself. I release with grace and ease the patterns of insecure attachment in my being.
Example
I heal whatever is being brought to the surface within my relationship. I heal with grace and ease the anxiety I am carrying around relationships and trust in my true inner knowing. It is safe for me to be vulnerable and open.

Forgiveness & Releasing the Past

Example
I integrate with grace and ease what has come to the surface to be healed. I release the anger, disappointment, and sadness and any patterns, beliefs, and programs connected underneath. I forgive. I let go.
Example
I find compassion and acceptance for myself as I am. I forgive myself for what I did not know before I knew it. I release the guilt and shame I have been carrying with grace and ease.

Purpose, Identity & Authentic Expression

Example
I am stepping into my highest expression with ease. I no longer need to push and force my way through life and am opening myself to life. I build capacity within my system to experience life, and choose to experience it fully.

Fear, Courage & Expansion

Example
I am safe in my body. I build capacity in my system for life with grace and ease. It is safe to expand. I release with grace and ease whatever my body is ready to release for my highest healing.
Example
I release the fear of rejection, judgment, and the need to be perfect. I welcome calm, safety, total self-acceptance, and permission to fully be me.
11

Build Your Own — Templates & Prompts

Use these as scaffolding. Fill in the blanks to start, then let the intention become your own. You may find that what you write surprises you — trust that.

Template 1 — Release-Only

I release with grace and ease   [what you are releasing]   from my body, mind, and spirit. I am safe.

Template 2 — Invitational

I begin to release   [what you are releasing]   with grace and ease. I open myself to   [what is becoming possible]  . It is safe for me to begin.

Template 3 — Full Clearing

I release with grace and ease   [what is being cleared]  . My nervous system is   [target state for nervous system]  . I no longer need   [old pattern or program]  . I am   [what you are stepping into]  .

Template 4 — Pattern Release

I no longer need the pattern of   [name the pattern]   in my being. I find   [what replaces it]   for myself as I am. It is safe for me to   [new way of being]  .

Template 5 — Symptom-Based

I heal with grace and ease the root of   [symptom or physical pattern]  . My   [body system / organ]   finds balance and homeostasis with ease. I am safe in my body. I trust in my body’s innate capacity to heal.

Template 6 — Intuitive Clearing

Intuitive clearing around   [what is alive / what happened / what got stirred up]  .

Template 7 — Intuitive Clearing + Optimal State

Intuitive clearing around   [what is alive / what happened / what got stirred up]  .   [where you want to land — e.g. I am safe / my body comes back to homeostasis / I find ease]  .

Template 8 — Energetic & Emotional Recalibration

Emotional and energetic recalibration. Bringing   [body / mind / spirit / nervous system — whatever feels right]   back into alignment with grace and ease.   [optional: optimal state — e.g. I am safe / I am grounded]  .


Reflection Prompts

If you are not sure where to start, sit with these questions. Let the answers come from the body, not the mind.

What keeps showing up in my clearings? What emotion, belief, or pattern has appeared more than once this week or this month?

What am I most afraid of feeling? That edge — the thing your system keeps you away from — is often exactly where the intention needs to go.

If this pattern were fully resolved, what would my life feel like? Not look like. Feel like. In my body. In my mornings. In my relationships.

What does my body need to hear right now? Sometimes the intention is simply the permission your nervous system has been waiting for.

Where am I right now? Am I still in survival? Has the body started to settle? That will tell you what kind of intention to build.

12

Running a Full Intentional Clearing Session

Once your intention is built, here is how to use it as the anchor for a complete clearing session.

1
Set your intention.
Read it out loud. Feel it in your body. Notice what happens — a tightness, an emotion, a subtle shift. That response is your body acknowledging that the intention is touching something real. If you feel nothing, the intention may need to go deeper. If you feel resistance, soften the language.
2
Test all charts against the intention.
Starting from the base of the stack (emotions) and moving up. Ask: Is there anything to clear in relationship to this intention? For each chart — emotions, limiting beliefs, belief systems, patterns, negative feedback loops, body systems, organs, nervous system, CDR — test what comes up. Write down what you find.
3
Map everything connected.
As you test each layer, check what is connected underneath. A belief system may have a limiting belief and three emotions underneath it. A CDR state may have patterns, organs, and feedback loops connected. Let the body show you the full picture.
4
Clear the whole system in one intention.
Everything you identified — the emotions, beliefs, patterns, feedback loops, body systems, nervous system states — clears together, held by the intention. One sweep. One clearing. One integrated release.
5
Integrate.
After the clearing, give your body time. Hydrate. Rest if you need to. Move gently. Journal what came up. The clearing does not end when you put down the pendulum. Integration is where the shift settles into the body and becomes the new baseline.
13

Making It a Practice

This is not a course you graduate from. It is a practice you live in. Intentional clearing is something you return to — weekly, monthly, whenever you feel called. Some seasons it will be light. Other seasons it will go deep. Both are right.

When to Set an Intention

You do not need an intention for every clearing. In-the-moment clearing — the reactive practice you have been doing since Module 3 — will always be your most-used tool. Intentional clearing is for when you want to go deeper. When you notice a pattern that keeps returning. When a symptom is persistent. When you are ready to address something you have been circling around. When you feel called to do a bigger piece of work.

How to Know Your Intention Is Working

You may not feel a dramatic shift in the moment. What you will notice is that the pattern loosens over time. The trigger still happens, but the charge is less. The belief is still there, but it feels less true. The symptom is still present, but your relationship with it has changed. You are no longer afraid of it. You understand it. You are on the same team as your body.

When to Revisit an Intention

Some intentions are one-time. You clear what is connected, and the pattern resolves. Others are layered — the same intention returns across multiple sessions, each time clearing a deeper layer. This is not failure. It is the body releasing at the pace it can handle. Trust its timing.

Noticing Your Evolution

Pay attention to how your intentions change over time. When the language naturally shifts from “I begin to find safety” to “I am safe in my body” — that is evidence of real change. When your intentions start to be less about survival and more about expansion, joy, purpose — that is growth. You are not the same person who started this course. Your intentions will show you that.

You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed.
You are coming home to a body that is fundamentally trustworthy —
and a self that was never broken.