Do you live with a constant, low-level hum of anxiety? Perhaps you carry tension in your shoulders that never seems to release, no matter how many massages you get. Or maybe you feel disconnected from your body, as if you’re observing your own life from a distance. These physical sensations are more than just random aches or personality quirks; in fact, they are often the echoes of past experiences. The concept of trauma stored in the body reveals that our bodies keep a physical record of our life’s events, especially those that were too overwhelming for our minds to process at the time. When the energy of a traumatic event isn’t fully discharged, it remains trapped in our nervous system. As a result, it can silently influence our health, behaviors, and relationships for years to come.

This isn’t just a metaphorical idea; on the contrary, it’s a physiological reality. Healing, therefore, isn’t only about talking through memories. It’s also about learning to listen to your body and giving it the tools it needs to finally release these old wounds. Through gentle somatic exercises, you can begin to thaw the frozen parts of yourself, complete those interrupted biological responses, and build a new relationship with your body based on safety, trust, and connection.

Understanding How Your Body Remembers Trauma

When you encounter a threat, your autonomic nervous system (ANS) instantly kicks into high gear, preparing you to survive by activating a fight, flight, or freeze response. This brilliant, primitive survival mechanism is designed to protect you. In a healthy cycle, once the threat passes, your nervous system discharges this immense surge of energy through actions like shaking or crying, eventually returning to a state of calm equilibrium.

However, trauma occurs when an event interrupts this cycle. The situation may have been too overwhelming or happened too quickly. Sometimes, you may have been powerless to fight or flee. In these cases, the massive amount of survival energy remains frozen in the nervous system. While your mind may move on, your body is still braced for a threat that never fully resolved. This is the essence of trauma stored in the body. It’s not the event itself that causes trauma, but rather the unreleased energy from the experience. As pioneering trauma expert Dr. Peter Levine explains, this trapped energy can lead to a host of symptoms as the body continues to operate from a place of perceived danger.

Common Signs of Trauma Stored in the Body

Because this trapped energy dysregulates the nervous system, its symptoms can manifest in a wide variety of ways, and people often mistake them for other conditions. Recognizing these signs is the first step toward understanding the language of your body and its unprocessed experiences.

Physical Manifestations:

• Chronic Muscle Tension: Persistent tightness in areas like the jaw (TMJ), neck, shoulders, back, and hips.
• Unexplained Chronic Pain: Conditions like fibromyalgia or migraines that have no clear medical origin.
• Digestive Issues: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other sensitivities often linked to a dysregulated nervous system.
• Profound Fatigue: A feeling of being perpetually exhausted that isn’t resolved with sleep.
• Sleep Disturbances: Insomnia, nightmares, or waking up feeling unrested.
• A Heightened Startle Response: Being easily “jumpy” or overly reactive to sudden noises.

Emotional and Behavioral Signs:

• Feeling Numb or Disconnected: A sense of detachment from your body or emotions (dissociation).
• Anxiety and Panic Attacks: A constant feeling of dread or sudden, overwhelming episodes of fear.
• Depression: Persistent sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in life.
• Difficulty with Emotional Regulation: Experiencing intense mood swings or feeling easily overwhelmed.

These physical sensations and emotional patterns are often deeply connected. For instance, the tightness in your chest might be the physical manifestation of an emotional trigger. Learning How to Heal Emotional Triggers is an essential part of this work, as it involves recognizing how these bodily alarms are linked to past wounds.

The Science of Somatic Healing

Somatic (from the Greek word “soma,” meaning body) therapies operate on the principle that we must include the body in the healing process. Instead of focusing solely on the cognitive story of what happened, somatic approaches help you gently turn your attention inward to the “felt sense” of your experience. Consequently, the goal is to build your capacity to tolerate and process physical sensations connected to the trauma in a safe, slow, and manageable way.

This approach is grounded in neuroscience, particularly Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. This theory provides a map of our autonomic nervous system, highlighting the crucial role of the vagus nerve. According to the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, the vagus nerve helps our body interpret and respond to cues of safety and danger. When we feel safe, our ventral vagal system is active, allowing for connection. When we sense danger, we move into fight-or-flight. If we feel trapped, we enter a dorsal vagal state of shutdown. Therefore, somatic healing works by gently stimulating the vagus nerve to guide the nervous system back to safety, which is the foundation of the Exploring Mind-Body Connection: Harnessing Your Inner Healing journey.

Gentle Somatic Exercises to Begin Releasing Stored Trauma

This work is about building safety within your own skin. For this reason, it is crucial to approach these exercises with immense gentleness and curiosity, not force. The key is to go slowly and always stay within your “window of tolerance”—the zone where you feel challenged but not overwhelmed. If at any point you feel distressed, stop, and return your focus to something that feels neutral or pleasant.

1. Grounding Through Your Feet: This foundational exercise helps you connect with the present moment. Stand or sit with your feet flat on the floor. If it feels comfortable, close your eyes. Bring all your attention to the soles of your feet, noticing the sensation of the floor beneath you. Imagine roots growing from your feet deep into the earth. Stay with this sensation for a minute or two.
2. The Voo Sound (Vagal Toning): This exercise uses your voice’s vibration to gently stimulate your vagus nerve. Inhale deeply into your belly. On the exhale, make a low, deep, resonant “VOOOOOOO” sound, like a foghorn. Let the vibration fill your chest and throat. The goal is not to be loud but to feel the internal vibration. Repeat 5-6 times and notice any shifts in your body.

Practices for Internal Resourcing

3. Pendulation: Finding a Place of Ease: Find a comfortable seated position. First, scan your body and notice an area that feels tense or uncomfortable. Now, scan your body for a place that feels neutral, calm, or even pleasant. Gently shift your attention back and forth between the place of tension and the place of ease. Spend about 20-30 seconds on each spot. This process teaches your nervous system that it can experience discomfort without being consumed by it.
4. Self-Holding for Containment: This simple act provides a powerful sense of safety and self-soothing. You can do this anytime by placing one hand over your heart and the other on your belly. Gently feel the warmth of your hands and notice your breath. This gesture sends a signal of safety to your nervous system, reminding it that you are here now. It’s a direct act of Self-Compassion for Your Younger Self: Transforming Harsh Self-Talk into Kindness.
5. Orienting to Safety: Trauma can lock our gaze and make us hyper-focused on threat. In contrast, this exercise helps broaden your awareness to the safety of your current environment. Slowly let your eyes scan the room. Simply notice objects, colors, and shapes without judgment. Let your head and neck turn naturally until your eyes land on something that feels pleasant or neutral. Rest your gaze there for a few moments and notice how your body responds.

Integrating Somatic Awareness into Daily Life

Healing from trauma stored in the body is not just about doing exercises; it is also about cultivating a new way of being. It involves shifting from ignoring or fighting your body to partnering with it. You can do this by taking “somatic moments” throughout your day. For instance, pause for 30 seconds and ask, “What am I noticing in my body right now?” This simple check-in builds interoceptive awareness—the ability to sense your internal state.

As you become more attuned to your body, you may notice how these sensations influence your interactions. The defensive posture you adopt or the sudden urge to withdraw are often trauma responses playing out in real-time. This awareness is foundational to understanding How Your Inner Child Shapes Your Adult Relationships, as it connects your present-day relational patterns to their roots. Furthermore, the journey of releasing stored trauma is a profound act of coming home to yourself. It often involves revisiting the original experiences that led to the disconnection, which is a core part of Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood. By working with the body, you are addressing the root of the trauma where it lives.

This path requires patience and courage, but it offers the promise of true, integrated healing. By learning to listen to the wisdom of your body, you can finally release the burdens of the past. Ultimately, you can step into a future defined not by trauma, but by wholeness, resilience, and a deep sense of safety within your own skin.

Check out the author’s book here: Healing Your Childhood Wounds Workbook.