You Might Be Overlooking the Role Your Body Plays in Your Healing Journey
Learn How the Mind, Body, and Soul Work Together, and Why Your Body Might Be the Missing Piece
You may have heard the phrase “the body keeps the score” and most likely heard of the book, but what does this statement really mean? Holistically?
It suggests that your body remembers things your mind might not, especially traumatic or overwhelming events. Rather than seeing trauma purely as a problem of thoughts, emotions, or memories, this change of thought invites you to consider that your body often carries the actual physical burden. And if the body is carrying trauma, then healing must include the body, not just the mind.
At Internal, we believe in the philosophy that true change begins within, with the mind, body, and spirit all working in harmony. Your experiences and the traumatic events don’t mean that you’re broken; your system is just signaling you need support.
In this guide, you’ll begin to understand what it means to hold trauma in your body, why traditional talk therapies can sometimes fall short, and how somatic approaches such as EFT tapping, pelvic-floor work, vagus nerve practices, and more can help you start releasing what’s trapped. You’ll leave with tools, inspiration, and a deeper sense of how to reconnect with your body in the healing process.
You Have a Body for a Reason
Your body isn’t just a vessel or a passive shell that carries your thoughts around all day. It’s a living, breathing, feeling system with its own wisdom, and it holds on to more than you may realize. Yes, it's made of muscle, bone, and blood, but you're not just flesh and function. You're an energetic being.
That means everything you experience, stress, joy, heartbreak, trauma, and celebration leaves an imprint on this system. You could have experiences such as a tense exchange at work or a childhood wound, and if not properly processed, your body is always listening, absorbing, and adapting, and moving forward with what it knows.
When overwhelming experiences happen and can’t be fully processed in the moment, that energy doesn’t disappear. It gets stored. Sometimes in your jaw, your hips, your shoulders. Sometimes in your breath, posture, or digestive system. Sometimes, in your chakras, or energy centers, and when blocked, they can impact how you move through life, love, and self-worth.
You weren’t meant to carry it all. But when that energy isn’t released, it gets stuck, and stuck energy holds you back. It keeps you in fear, in contraction, in hesitation. It’s not your fault, like most traumatic and unpleasant things that happen in your life. But it is your responsibility to take ownership of healing them. You deserve to move throughout this short journey here on earth with self-love and self-compassion, and once you do something, within you begins to shift.
That’s why it’s so important to bring your body into the healing process, not just your mind.
Why the Body Remembers (Even When Your Mind Doesn’t)
When a distressing or overwhelming event happens, your nervous system springs into survival mode: fight, flight, or freeze. Ideally, once danger passes, your body completes this response and returns to a regulated state. But often, especially when trauma is intense, prolonged, consistent, or early in life, the system doesn’t fully reset. Some energy stays “dangled”, unprocessed and unresolved.
That unprocessed energy gets stuck in muscles, connective tissue, organs, and nerve pathways. Your body may tense around it, squeeze it, brace against it, or shut down around it. Over time, these patterns become habits, chronic muscle tension, restricted breathing, pelvic tightness, jaw clenching, and postural collapse are all common manifestations.
When that happens, your body is literally holding parts of your story, your fear, grief, defense, even when your conscious mind has moved on. As the saying goes, the body keeps the score.
And that matters, because if the body is in a state of activation or holding tension, your mind can only do so much. You may intellectually know you’re safe, but your physiology hasn’t received that message (and we know that the human condition isn’t always objective and logical). You may restructure your thinking, but your body keeps reacting. It’s common to treat mental and emotional health primarily with talk therapy, and although that has value, it can leave out this critical component of holistic healing.
Somatic Healing: What It Means, Why It Matters
“Somatic” comes from soma, meaning the body as lived from within. In practice, “somatic therapy” is an umbrella term for methods that speak the language of bodily sensation, movement, and nervous system regulation.
Rather than thinking, “What do I believe?” What do I remember?” Somatic work asks, “What does my body feel?” “Where is there tension, holding, numbness?” “Where does it want to move or shift?”
Somatic methods do not require you to forcefully re-experience traumatic narratives. Instead, they guide small, gentle movements, breath awareness, sensory attunement, vibration, and release. Over time, these practices help your nervous system rewire old patterns and learn new pathways of safety, alignment, and flow.
Here’s why somatic healing matters:
It accesses parts of your system that talk therapy can’t reach (deeper neural, autonomic, physiological pathways).
It helps release energy that’s been stuck in your tissues.
It teaches you to become fluent in your own body’s language.
It supports integration, so healing isn’t fragmented but whole.
How Trauma Shows Up in Your Body (and What That Does to You)
Common signs of embodied trauma
Chronic muscle tightness in the neck, shoulders, jaw, hips, and lower back
Pelvic floor tension/discomfort/disconnection
Restricted, shallow breathing or difficulty fully expanding your lungs
Digestive issues, gut dysbiosis, irritable bowel symptoms
Sleep difficulties, insomnia, restless sleep
Automatic tension/bracing in response to stress
Hypervigilance or jumpiness, chronic “on-edge” state
Numbness, dissociation, “not feeling in your body”
Autonomic symptoms: heart palpitations, temperature dysregulation, and digestion slowdown
Chronic pain or unexplained illnesses
These all suggest that your nervous system is operating from a place of stuck survival patterns.
The Vagus Nerve: A Key Pathway to Embodied Healing
One especially crucial system in all of this is the vagus nerve, a major conduit connecting your brain and body, especially regulating your parasympathetic nervous system. When trauma or stress persists, that line can become muted or dysregulated, leaving parts of your body feeling disconnected or stuck.
Resetting or stimulating the vagus nerve can help restore regulation and safety, unlocking pathways for the body to signal release instead of constant tension.
Because the full body–mind–nervous system loop is in play, trauma healing needs to invite your body back into the conversation.
Somatic Tools That Help You Release What’s Held
Below are somatic approaches that can help you safely begin to release stored tension and re‑teach your body to move from holding into ease. Always move gently, no forcing, and consider working with a trauma‑informed somatic practitioner if possible.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) uses gentle tapping on acupressure or meridian points while focusing on emotions or tension held in your body. The idea is that this tapping helps move "stuck energy" and stimulate the vagus nerve. When you tap while naming the emotion or tension, you send a message that you are witnessing this sensation, it’s okay, and it can shift. This activates regulation and forward movement.
Pelvic‑Floor & Core Release Work
The pelvic region is a powerful storage place for trauma, especially for people who have had medical trauma, sexual trauma, or early stress. The pelvic floor muscles often contract or clamp in an attempt to protect. Over time, that contraction can become habitual.
To begin releasing:
Bring awareness into the pelvis, noticing tension, tightness, or numbness, then engage in gentle diaphragmatic breathing (extend exhale) while allowing the pelvic floor to soften. If vulnerable, it’s wise to do this under guidance; the release may trigger emotion or activation. Releasing is not about “doing more,” but allowing small shifts in how your system adapts.
Conscious Movement, Shake, Tremor, Squeezing
Animals shake after trauma to discharge trapped energy. We suppress that impulse. Somatic therapies often invite conscious shaking, trembling, or pulsation to help the body complete what was cut short.
A simple exercise:
Stand with feet grounded
Gently begin shaking hands, arms, and torso, letting the impulse spread
Slowly increase or decrease intensity
Notice where it wants to stop, rest, or settle
Breathe into areas that feel tight during or after
It’s subtle, not forced. Over time, it helps release micro–defensive energy locked in your muscles. You can also use contract‑release techniques: intentionally tighten a muscle more than usual, hold briefly, then slowly release with awareness. That invites expansion and integration.
There are plenty of YouTube videos and creators who specialize in TRE or pelvic floor trauma releasing that you can practice yourself.
Active Breathwork Practices
Breathing practices are among the most accessible ways to engage your parasympathetic (rest/digest) system and activate your vagal nerve.
Try:
Extended exhale breathing (inhale 4 counts, exhale 6–8)
Diaphragmatic breathing (belly rather than chest)
Humming / vowel sounds on exhale (vibrations help stimulate the vagus nerve)
Sigh or “let go” breath after holding tension
Because the breath straddles conscious and unconscious systems, it can help you slowly shift from tension into ease.
Gentle Somatic Movement & Body Scans
Slow, mindful movement, yoga, somatic yoga, and gentle stretching allow your tissues to remember fluidity. A body scan (moving awareness from head to toes) helps you notice tension, holding, and sensations without judgment. The goal is not perfect form, but listening: what is your body telling you now?
How the Body Holds Fear & Why It Can Hold You Back
Trauma and fear imprint themselves in your nervous system. Over time, patterns of contraction and vigilance become part of your baseline. That underlying tension or fear may be what’s blocking your forward motion: you might resist new experiences, shut down around intimacy, or hesitate to explore growth, not because your mind is against it, but because your body cannot yet trust it.
When your physiology is in a low-grade fight/flight or freeze mode, any new stimulus, even a positive change, can be perceived as a threat. Your system will clamp down, freeze, or resist. The “stuck” energy in your body becomes the quiet brake on your change.
In other words, inner work that engages the body is necessary. You have to invite the body to let go in safe doses so new vitality can emerge. That is why Internal’s approach is holistic, not purely psychological.
Physiological Effects of Trauma: Why the Body–Mind Loop Matters
This isn’t just a metaphor. Trauma rewires neural pathways, affects hormone regulation, inflammatory responses, immune functioning, and autonomic balance. When your body is in a chronic stress state, you run more cortisol, your nervous system remains in imbalance, and systems like digestion, sleep, immunity, and even brain connectivity suffer.
When trauma work is only cognitive, your physiology may not catch up. You might still feel body pain, fatigue, or disconnection, even when your thoughts are healing. By including somatic practices, you support real, embodied neuroplastic change, and the nervous system gets new options, not just simply “thinking better thoughts.”
Getting Started: Ways You Can Begin Releasing Stored Trauma
You don’t need to jump into deep somatic therapy immediately. Start with orientation and grounding, conscious breathing, and explore the different exercises we mentioned above. Please don't overwhelm yourself with trying them all, just start with one and explore which ones you feel the most difference with. Remember, everyone’s body is different; what might work really well for someone could have a different effect on you. You can also journal your reflections on how your body responded to each exercise to track which ones worked best. And if possible, work with someone trained in somatic modalities (somatic experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy, bodywork with nervous system awareness).
Caution & Compassion: Why Move Slowly, Not Forcefully
While somatic healing offers immense possibilities, it also must be gentle and paced. Release work can evoke strong sensations and emotions. If pushed too quickly, it may retraumatize rather than heal. So use your own discernment and don’t push yourself too soon.
Integrating Somatic Healing Into Your Internal Journey
At Internal, our mission is to guide you back to your truth through holistic support of mind, body, and spirit. Somatic healing is a natural extension of that mission. By honoring the body’s memory, by teaching you to listen to what is held, by inviting release gently and safely, you begin to dismantle layers of tension that block your authenticity and wellbeing.
This isn’t about “fixing” you. It’s about inviting your body, nervous system, and internal wisdom to unfold in alignment with strength, curiosity, and self‑care. Your body is a source, not the problem. When tended to, it becomes a medicine, a guide, and a vehicle to integration into a more fulfilling life.
Your body carries more memories than your mind may not fully grasp. So allow it to speak and hear it out. Let it breathe. Let it move and release what no longer needs to be held on to. Talk therapy, insight, and self‑reflection all have their place. But they cannot carry the full weight alone. When your mind, body, and spirit interact, real change takes place.
As you explore somatic practices, be gentle. Be curious and tune into resources, guidance, and community. Let your body show you what healing looks like; it knows a lot more than you give it credit for!
We thank the following resources for their valuable contributions to this guide. Please click the links to explore and learn more about their missions:
Alchemy Collective. (n.d.). Specialized Therapy, Intensive Retreats & Integrative Wellness. Retrieved from https://alchemycollectiveaustin.com/
Rinnert, R. (n.d.). Roots to Safety: Holistic psychology & trauma therapy. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from https://www.rootstosafety.com/
The Pelvic Floor Project. (2021–present). The Pelvic Floor Project. Buzzsprout. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1722389
Beri, A. (n.d.). Somatic Therapy Ireland. Retrieved October 1, 2025, from https://somatictherapyireland.com
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