Reconnecting with the Body: The Impact of Somatic Experiencing on Trauma Healing
When you've been through trauma—especially trauma that touches the core of your identity or relationships—it’s easy to feel like your body has become a battlefield. You might live with chronic tension, unpredictable anxiety, emotional numbness, or the strange sensation of being “here but not here.” These aren't just emotional responses. They’re signs your nervous system has been impacted in ways that words alone can’t always access.
That’s where somatic experiencing comes in.
What Is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing® is a gentle, body-centered approach to healing trauma. Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, it’s based on the understanding that trauma isn’t just what happened—it’s what happens in the body as a result. When our fight, flight, or freeze response is overwhelmed and can’t complete its cycle, the body stores that unresolved survival energy. Somatic experiencing helps release it—bit by bit—so the nervous system can find balance again.
Rather than diving into painful stories, this work invites you to build awareness of sensations, movements, and shifts in your internal landscape. It honors the pace your body is ready for. It doesn’t force; it listens.
Trauma Lives in the Body—And So Does Healing
Many people I work with—especially those navigating betrayal trauma or the ripple effects of sexual addiction—struggle with feeling disconnected from their bodies. That disconnection is a natural survival strategy, but over time, it can block healing. Somatic work begins to rebuild the bridge between your body and your sense of self.
As you learn to recognize and respond to your body’s cues with compassion, you start to reclaim your agency. You begin to experience safety not just as a concept, but as a lived, embodied reality.
The Role of Yoga in Somatic Healing
While somatic experiencing is a clinical approach, there are other body-based practices that beautifully support this work. Yoga—especially when offered in a trauma-informed way—is one of them.
Trauma-sensitive yoga isn’t about achieving perfect poses. It’s about choice, awareness, and presence. It helps you tune in to your breath, your muscles, your inner world. Over time, yoga can help regulate the nervous system, increase bodily awareness, and reestablish a sense of safety and trust in your own body.
In fact, research led by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk—one of the leading experts in trauma—found that trauma-sensitive yoga was more effective than traditional talk therapy in reducing PTSD symptoms. In one study, over half of the participants who practiced yoga no longer met the criteria for PTSD, compared to just 21% in the talk therapy group. That’s a powerful testament to the role of the body in trauma recovery.
For many of my clients, gentle movement becomes a gateway to healing. It helps them begin to experience their bodies not just as places of pain or betrayal, but as sacred spaces where restoration is possible.
Other Somatic Practices That Support Healing
Yoga isn’t the only path to somatic healing. Here are several other practices I often recommend, depending on a client’s needs and readiness:
Breathwork – Helps regulate the nervous system and bring awareness to internal states
TRE® (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises) – Uses gentle tremors to discharge stored stress and trauma
Dance or intuitive movement – Invites joyful, expressive reconnection with the body
Grounding exercises – Engage the senses to create safety and presence in the here and now
Massage or bodywork – Can gently release stored trauma and tension when approached with consent and care
Nature-based movement or walking meditations – Combines the healing power of nature with mindful embodiment
All of these tools support a common goal: bringing your body back into relationship with your self.
Healing at the Nervous System Level
Talk therapy and insight can be deeply valuable—but they often don’t reach the layers where trauma is held. Somatic work adds a critical piece to the healing puzzle. It helps you move from being stuck in survival mode to living with a sense of groundedness, ease, and vitality.
At Wholeness Restored, I believe healing doesn’t have to be forced or rushed. Your body knows what it needs. My role is simply to help you listen—and to walk with you as you begin to trust it again.
If you’re ready to explore how somatic work might support your healing, I offer a free 20-minute consultation. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just a willingness to take the next small step.
Let’s begin the journey back to your body. Back to yourself.
