The Body Keeps the Score — and Here's How to Help It Let Go

You've probably heard the phrase "the body keeps the score" — it comes from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's groundbreaking book about how trauma lives in the body, not just the mind.

But what does that actually mean for your daily experience? And more importantly, what can you do about it?

Where Trauma Hides

Think about the last time something startled you. Your shoulders probably shot up toward your ears. Your belly tightened. Your jaw clenched. Your breath caught.

Now think about this: what if your body never fully released that tension? What if layer upon layer of unreleased startle responses, grief, anger, and fear have been accumulating in your tissues for years?

This is what somatic therapists mean when they talk about "stored trauma." It's not a metaphor. It's literal physical tension that your nervous system hasn't finished processing.

Signs Your Body Is Holding Something

• •Chronic tension in your shoulders, jaw, or hips that doesn't respond to stretching
• •A feeling of "bracing" in your belly or chest, even when you're safe
• •Difficulty taking a full, deep breath
• •Feeling disconnected from your body, like you're watching life from behind glass
• •Unexplained fatigue that sleep doesn't fix
• •Getting triggered by sensations (certain touches, sounds, or movements)

The Path to Release

The good news: your body wants to let go. It has a built-in completion mechanism for stress responses — you just need to create the right conditions.

Here are three principles that make somatic release possible:

1. 1.Safety First — Your nervous system will only release stored tension when it feels safe enough to do so. You can't force healing. You can only invite it.

1. 2.Slow Is Fast — Unlike the gym mentality of "push harder," somatic work is about going slow enough to actually feel. Speed bypasses the body. Gentleness accesses it.

1. 3.Follow the Sensation — Instead of analyzing why you feel tension somewhere, simply be curious about what the sensation is. Does it have a color? Temperature? Movement? This curiosity alone begins the release process.

What This Looks Like in Practice

It might look like lying on your back with your knees bent, placing a hand on your belly, and simply noticing what you feel. Not trying to change it. Not breathing it away. Just witnessing.

It might look like allowing a gentle tremor to move through your legs — the same kind of shake that animals do after a predator chase.

It might look like humming or sighing — sounds that vibrate the vagus nerve and signal safety to your entire system.

Our Somatic Release course walks you through all of these practices with care, gentleness, and respect for your body's own timeline.

There is no rushing this. There is only showing up.

Your body has been waiting for your attention. It's ready when you are.