You ever stretch your neck and suddenly feel like crying? Or take a deep breath and realize you’ve been not breathing for the last four hours?
Yeah. That’s your body keeping the receipts.
See, most of us think trauma lives in our minds. But our bodies? They remember everything. Every car ride that went sideways. Every “I’m fine” you said when you absolutely weren’t. Every moment you froze, flinched, or faked your way through something hard.
Now here’s where it gets interesting: somatic movement therapy is like giving your body a safe space to finally exhale.
Wait… Movement Therapy? Like Yoga?
Sort of, but not quite.
Somatic movement therapy isn’t about hitting perfect poses or pushing your body to its limits. It’s not CrossFit with candles. It’s gentler. Slower. Way more curious.
Instead of performance, the goal is awareness. You’re not trying to do the movement “right” – you’re trying to notice what’s happening as you move. That small shift changes everything.
A simple arm circle? That might be where you discover how much you brace your shoulders. Shifting your weight from one foot to the other? That could be the moment your body remembers how to feel grounded again.
But How Does This Help with Trauma?
Let me back up a second.
When something overwhelming happens – big T trauma or little t trauma – your nervous system kicks in. Fight, flight, freeze. It’s instinct. And sometimes, those responses get stuck. Your body stays revved up, even when the danger’s long gone.
This is where somatic movement therapy comes in. By guiding you through intentional, mindful movements, it helps you gently shake loose those frozen responses. It gives your nervous system a second chance to finish what it started.
And no, it’s not about reliving the trauma. It’s about completing the cycle your body never got to finish, like finally pressing “end” on a phone call that’s been hanging for years.
So What Does a Session Actually Look Like?
Honestly? It might look boring from the outside. But from the inside, that’s where the good stuff happens.
You might lie on the floor, tuning in to how your back meets the ground. You might gently sway, shift your hips, or experiment with how it feels to move without effort. Sometimes you move a lot. Sometimes you barely move at all.
It’s less “exercise” and more “exploration.” Think Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, or even certain kinds of trauma-informed dance. If you’ve ever done those, you’re in the ballpark.
The magic happens in the micro-movements. In the moment you notice your jaw unclench. Or your chest expand. Or that your stomach, which has been in knots since middle school, just… lets go.
What If I’m Not a ‘Movement Person’?
You don’t need to be. Truly. No yoga mat mastery required. No flexibility awards. No prior knowledge of anything besides being in a body.
If you’ve ever thought:
• “Why does my back always hurt when I’m stressed?”
• “I don’t feel like myself, but I don’t know why.”
• “I can’t seem to relax, even when nothing’s wrong.”
Then this work might be worth exploring.
Somatic movement therapy meets you where you are. Whether you’re a lifelong athlete or someone who hasn’t exercised since high school PE, it’s about tuning in, not pushing through.
But Does It Actually Work?
Let’s be real. If you’re skeptical, that’s fair. “Move your body and heal your trauma” sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true Instagram slogans.
But here’s what I can tell you: when people give this work a real shot, something starts to shift.
Not always dramatically. Not all at once. But over time, the body softens. The breath deepens. The tension you didn’t realize you were carrying? It starts to unravel. And sometimes, without warning, a movement unlocks a wave of emotion that finally makes sense.
It’s not magic. But it feels like magic, because the changes are happening from the inside out.
One More Thing Before You Go
You don’t have to “get it right.” You don’t have to understand every step. You definitely don’t need to fix yourself, because you’re not broken.
But if your body’s been trying to get your attention, if your stress lives in your shoulders or your grief shows up as tightness in your chest, somatic movement therapy might be exactly the kind of quiet, powerful shift you’ve been needing.
If you’re local to Lake Arrowhead or nearby and you’re curious about what this work could feel like in your body, not your head, I’d love to talk.
No pressure. No yoga pants required.
Just bring yourself. Let’s see what your body wants to say when it finally gets the mic.