When the Body Remembers: Hemorrhoids, Pelvic Floor Tension, and the Root of Early Trauma
by Dr. Denise Renye
As a trauma-informed psychologist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, sexologist, and yoga therapist, I often sit with patients who have done years of talk therapy and self-development work, yet still experience physical symptoms that don’t seem to resolve. Hemorrhoids. Pelvic pain. Chronic constipation. Tension deep in the lower pelvis. These aren't just medical issues. They are often silent messengers from the past, rooted in the earliest layers of experience.
The Body Holds the Story
In yoga therapy, the root chakra (Muladhara) governs safety, stability, and our sense of belonging in the world. It is associated with the base of the spine, the perineum, and the pelvic floor. These are the exact areas where many people carry unconscious tension. When safety is threatened in early life, whether by overt trauma such as physical or sexual abuse, or covert trauma such as chronic emotional neglect, unpredictable caregiving, or a household steeped in fear or shame, the body adapts. The pelvic floor, which is meant to support, ground, and release, often tightens in protective holding.
Over time, this holding creates tension patterns that can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction. This might include hemorrhoids, pain during bowel movements, pelvic congestion, or difficulties with sexual response. These symptoms are often treated in isolation by the medical system. But from a somatic, sexual health, and yogic perspective, they are part of a much larger story.
Trauma Isn’t Always Loud
Many patients I work with hesitate to name their experience as trauma because it wasn’t dramatic. There were no police reports or visible signs of violence. But chronic emotional disconnection, parental enmeshment, conditional love, or being expected to perform emotionally or physically for parental approval can be just as disruptive to the developing nervous system. These subtle yet pervasive patterns often go unnamed, and therefore unhealed.
They shape how we relate to grounding, to letting go, and to trusting the body's instinct to rest. The root chakra, instead of offering a sense of stability, can become a place where anxiety, control, shame, or dissociation live.
From Armor to Awareness
Pelvic floor issues like hemorrhoids can develop after years of bracing and holding tension in areas that were never allowed to soften. Many people don’t realize how often they are squeezing their base — tightening the anal sphincter or pelvic muscles without awareness. Over time, this kind of unconscious holding can lead to vascular congestion, muscular fatigue, and poor elimination. All of these factors can contribute to conditions like hemorrhoids.
In yoga therapy, the focus is not just on stretching or strengthening. We work to repattern the body's relationship to gravity, trust, and release. Root chakra practices often begin with the breath. This might involve softening the pelvic floor on the inhale, feeling the support of the ground, and allowing the body to release weight downward rather than lifting or gripping.
When combined with trauma-informed therapy and sex therapy, these practices offer a powerful pathway for deep healing.
Mindfulness for the Root: A Grounding Practice
Here is a simple, trauma-sensitive mindfulness exercise you can try to begin connecting with the pelvic floor and root chakra:
Ground and Soften
Sit or lie down in a position that feels supportive. Let your spine be long and your body supported by the surface beneath you.
Bring your awareness to the contact points between your body and the ground. Notice your feet, your thighs, your sit bones, or the back of your pelvis if you're lying down.
Begin to observe your breath. No need to change it. Simply notice the natural rhythm of inhale and exhale.
On your next inhale, imagine the breath gently expanding the lower belly and pelvis. Let the pelvic floor soften slightly, as if you are creating space deep within the bowl of your body.
On the exhale, feel the weight of your body resting into gravity. Sense the ground holding you.
Repeat this for a few minutes. If your mind wanders, gently return to the sensations in your pelvis and the rhythm of your breath.
If tension, emotion, or numbness arises, simply notice it without judgment. You can always pause or open your eyes if it feels like too much. Go at your own pace.
This practice isn't about control or release. It’s about awareness, connection, and safety — learning to feel what’s there, with kindness.
Healing is Slow, Subtle, and Somatic
Unraveling pelvic floor tension is not about fixing. It is about listening. It is about learning to befriend a part of the body that may have been armored or ignored for years. It is about making space for the shame, grief, or confusion that might be stored there, and doing so gently and with support.
If you’ve been dealing with persistent pelvic symptoms that don’t resolve with conventional treatment, you are not alone. The body remembers what the mind does not always know how to speak. And healing does not always begin with words. Sometimes, it begins with breath, with ground, and with the slow return to a sense of safety in your own skin.
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If you are interested in exploring pelvic tension and early trauma through an integrative lens that includes somatic work, yoga therapy, sex therapy, and psychological care, I offer one-on-one sessions both in person and online. Feel free to reach out to see if we are a good fit.