Your Body Remembers: How Emotions Live in the Body and Why Somatic Healing Matters
by Dr. Denise Renye
We often think of emotions as fleeting mental experiences, something we “feel” in our heads. Yet, countless studies and clinical observations show that emotions are deeply embodied. Your body remembers what your mind sometimes cannot. Tension in the shoulders, a heavy chest, stomach discomfort, shallow breathing, or even chronic pain can all be physical echoes of unprocessed emotions and past trauma.
It is important to recognize that Western approaches to therapy have often focused on the mind while neglecting the body. Many Indigenous and non-Western healing traditions have long understood that emotional and spiritual experiences are held in the body. Bringing this awareness into modern psychotherapy and yoga therapy is one way to decolonize care, honoring practices that are rooted in body-based, relational, and community-centered approaches to healing.
Emotions Are Not Just in Your Head
When we experience stress, fear, grief, or anger, our nervous system responds first. The body’s reactions, such as heart rate changes, muscle contractions, and digestive shifts, prepare us to respond to perceived danger. For some, especially those with traumatic histories, the nervous system can stay activated long after the triggering event has passed. This can lead to patterns of holding tension, anxiety, or numbness.
Trauma does not just reside in memories. It resides in the body. A person might “know” cognitively that they are safe, yet feel inexplicable tightness in their chest or a sense of dread in their belly. These sensations are the body’s way of keeping a record of experiences that were overwhelming or unsafe. Trauma is often compounded by systemic oppression, cultural erasure, and historical violence, and addressing it requires therapy that acknowledges these larger contexts.
The Role of Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapy
Trauma-informed yoga therapy offers a gentle, structured path to reconnect with your body and release what has been held unconsciously. Unlike traditional yoga classes that focus primarily on physical fitness or flexibility, trauma-informed yoga:
Prioritizes safety and choice in every movement
Encourages mindful awareness of bodily sensations
Supports regulation of the nervous system
Offers tools for grounding, self-compassion, and resilience
By centering the body and offering autonomy in practice, trauma-informed yoga aligns with decolonizing approaches that resist one-size-fits-all models of healing. It creates space for individuals to integrate practices that honor their lived experiences, cultural identities, and ancestral knowledge.
Somatic Psychology: Understanding Through the Body
Somatic psychology takes this a step further by integrating body-based awareness into psychotherapy. Trauma-informed somatic therapy recognizes that the body and mind are inseparable, and healing often requires addressing both simultaneously. Techniques may include:
Tracking bodily sensations during emotional exploration
Mindful movement and posture adjustments
Breath awareness and regulation
Experiential exercises that reconnect clients to their physical selves
This approach challenges Western-only frameworks that prioritize cognitive understanding over embodied experience. It acknowledges that for many people, healing is not just about the individual psyche, but about reclaiming connection to the body, community, and cultural roots.
Why This Matters
Emotional healing is more than talking. It is sensing, moving, and reconnecting. When we honor the body as a repository of emotion, we open the door to profound healing. Trauma-informed yoga and somatic psychology give us the language and practice to listen to our bodies, release what no longer serves us, and cultivate resilience, pleasure, and groundedness.
Decolonizing therapy means creating approaches that value multiple ways of knowing, including embodied and relational wisdom. It means recognizing that healing is not just personal but connected to culture, history, and community.
Your body remembers. With the right support, it can also help you heal.
If you are ready to explore how your body holds emotion and trauma, and to begin reconnecting with your own sense of safety, presence, and vitality, I invite you to reach out. Through trauma-informed yoga therapy and somatic psychology, we can work together to help you release what no longer serves you and cultivate a deeper connection to yourself.