12/08/2025
The Path to Healing Through Your Body
Developing an attunement to your own body is vital if you want to heal and release trauma and repressed emotion, and generally feel a consistent sense of well-being.
And I’m not talking about dogmatic rituals like practicing yoga every day, eating perfectly, or any of those more rigid approaches.
What I mean is simply taking time to sit and feel the sensations within you..the tightness, the fluttering in your stomach, the heaviness in your heart, the stiffness in your legs. Whatever is happening in the present moment, inside your body.
When you do this, you often find your mind racing, keeping you distracted with looping thoughts.
The challenge is, if your nervous system is dysregulated, your protective parts will continue to pull you up and out of your body.
These parts don’t want you to be overwhelmed with feelings you can’t handle. They come in and say, “Okay, that’s enough. Let’s go back to thoughts, to figuring things out, where we're nice and safe and don’t have to feel that deep well of sadness.”
You can think of your protective parts as a bouncer at the door of a nightclub. They're there to keep you safe, to make sure no one gets in who might cause trouble.
But because of past painful experiences, they've become a little too protective. Now, they won't let you in to feel the sadness or the fear, even when it's just a feeling that wants to be seen.
The work isn't about getting rid of the bouncer, but about showing them that it's safe to open the door, just for a little while, and that you can handle what's on the other side.
For this reason, it isn't as simple as just saying, “Stay in your body.” What you need to make that possible for longer increments is to bring some sense of safety with you into that place.
That will look different for everyone. Maybe it’s a hot water bottle on your stomach or laying in a bath, so the warmth provides comfort. Maybe it’s a specific breathing pattern that helps move the energy and keeps you anchored. Or maybe it’s some music that opens the heart and softens things.
Whatever works to make it just a little bit more bearable to stay with the body and the rawness showing up there. The goal isn't to get rid of the feeling, but to have some little anchor - a warm hand on your stomach, a deep breath - that reminds you that in this very moment, you are safe and capable of holding this feeling.
But you might ask (and I hear from many clients), “But what’s the point? It doesn’t feel good to sit with that knot of anxiety in my stomach or the pain in my shoulders. Why would I do that?”
The answer is this: when you are able to focus your conscious awareness on these aching and unpleasant places, you ignite your body’s innate capacity for healing and integration.
Suddenly, the body becomes self-aware that there is something that needs to be regulated, and most of the time, it knows exactly what to do to bring the whole system back into balance. The only exception seems to be when there is a need for co-regulation, which is where therapy comes in.
I knew this theoretically, but it wasn't until I began this practice regularly for myself that I truly understood how it worked.
After each trigger, I would sit with myself, making sure to bring a resource to ground me.
Then, I would stay for as long as I could, focusing my attention on where the trigger was showing up in my body. I would simply feel, and disengage from all the mind’s stories.
After some time, I would always start yawning, sighing, feel my digestion activating again, or my eyes would start watering. These were all signs that my nervous system was regulating itself and I was relaxing. Sometimes there were tears that seemingly had no story or cause attached to them. Or a memory would come that I had completely forgotten about, alongside the tears.
This is what it feels like: Imagine two people dancing, and one is following the lead of the other. The follower is just listening and responding to the movements of their partner, not trying to control the dance. This is what it feels like to listen to your body in this way.
Nowadays, there is more than just yawns and sighs. My body will shake, my neck will stretch itself, and I might make strange sounds or even sing spontaneously.
When this is happening, I am not in control. I am just listening and following. My body is leading me in the most direct way back to balance and integration.
It knows exactly what to do. It’s pretty miraculous, really.
Sometimes I laugh at the surprise of what comes up. Sometimes tears run down my cheeks in quiet wonder as this process unfolds all on its own.
There is a big incentive for me to not give any attention to my mind during these moments, because when I do, I lose connection with my body and this wondrous dance that feels like such a gift to even witness.
At times, it feels as if the mind and body are two entirely different worlds. And from offering somatic therapy, I’ve recognized that most people live entirely within the world of their mind, and miss out on this magic and wisdom of their body, because they've learned through painful and overwhelming experiences to disconnect from the neck down.
Yet when we cultivate a genuine connection to our bodies, we find ourselves naturally regulated and centered.
This isn't just about feeling good, it's about knowing our worth and our power. It’s about having a clear understanding of our needs and the ability to hold our boundaries.
We can feel the full range of emotions, the joy and the sadness and everything in between, without feeling overwhelmed, and experience our humanity fully, connecting deeply to ourselves, to others, and to the world.
This capacity for regulation and connection is available to all of us. It is who we are. It is our essence and our birthright, something we were simply taught to disconnect from.
My work provides a map to find your way back to this. It's about reconnecting with a wisdom that is already inside you. Sometimes, all it takes is a little support to feel safe enough to walk there again.
