Somatic Healing: The Missing Link in Trauma Recovery
by Cherie Lindberg, PhD
The path to where I am now hasn’t always been smooth. Before I became a mental health professional, I was on the other side of the couch, trying to piece together the puzzle that was my past. The work I did back then to better know and understand myself was vital, but something was still missing.
Knowing I was safe didn’t stop me from feeling like I wasn’t. Alarm bells sounded in my head, warning me of a danger that had already passed. I went through the motions, always on edge. Always a hair’s breadth away from panic. My body was holding onto a story my words couldn't reach.
It was when I discovered somatic healing that I finally found the missing link I’d been searching for. Trauma is an imprint left on our nervous system—a story told through sensation and instinct. Somatic healing is an approach to trauma recovery and nervous system regulation that focuses on the body's physical aspects, helping you tune into physical sensations and nervous system responses. By connecting with your body, a more complete version of healing can be achieved.
The Benefits of Somatic Healing
Listening to your body gives it the chance to finally break free from the loop of survival responses playing over and over like a broken record, finally allowing you to relax and live life the way you want to live it.
Greater Emotional Regulation
Society pushes us to repress ourselves, to fear judgment, to shut our emotions down. Somatic healing taught me how to accept my feelings without letting them drown me. By learning to track sensations in my body, I could feel anxiety or grief start to rise and meet it with resources instead of panic.
Tracking sensations helps you with emotional and nervous system regulation, thereby increasing your ability to experience life without becoming overwhelmed by it. You go from being controlled by your emotions to being in a compassionate relationship with them.
Improved Nervous System Function
Imagine your nervous system is a car alarm that’s been set off by some past threat. Unfortunately, it never got the signal that the danger had passed, so it’s been blaring ever since, leaving you perpetually exhausted.
Somatic practices remind the alarm system that the threat is over, so you can reset your nervous system. Once your nervous system isn’t constantly sending false alarms to your brain, you’ll be able to accomplish daily tasks more easily and not get stuck in fight, flight, and freeze states.
Increased Embodiment and Presence
Feeling safe and grounded is one of the greatest gifts of this work. You’ll find yourself able to take a breath again as you engage more fully with the present moment. You’re not just surviving anymore. You’re living.
Even more important than knowing why you want to start your somatic healing journey is knowing how to take that first step. Here’s how you can start.
Making Somatic Healing a Part of Your Daily Life
This might all sound like a lot to take in, but my own journey started with the smallest of steps. By simply creating a space where I could finally exhale, I was able to begin the process of creating a healthier baseline for my nervous system. Like a dog with a bone, your body has to learn that it’s okay to let go.
Create a Safe Space for Healing
The first step is to create a safe and healing environment. Your nervous system is constantly scanning your environment for cues of safety or danger. You can consciously create a “nest” that sends signals of safety, allowing you the room you need to relax and decompress from daily stressors. Explain to your loved ones why it’s important that you be permitted a space where you can come to terms with your thoughts and feelings without distraction or demand.
Integrate Somatic Awareness into Your Daily Life
Somatic awareness can be a part of your daily life. It’s simple, but takes practice. Pause for thirty seconds to feel your feet flat on the floor while you wait for your coffee to brew or notice the warmth and weight of the mug in your hands. These tiny check-ins can be powerful tools in your toolbox.
They pull your attention out of the chaotic stories in your mind and into the physical reality of the present moment. The key is to choose activities that don’t fill you with dread, such as listening to calming music or a sound bath. Somatic awareness shouldn’t feel like pulling teeth. If sitting still feels agonizing, perhaps a slow, mindful walk is a better option. Don’t force anything; let your curiosity and your body’s comfort be your guide.
Strategies to Begin Your Healing Journey
Every journey begins with a single step, but knowing where to place your foot can feel overwhelming. These principles will help to guide you along the way.
Set Gentle, Realistic Intentions
First, set gentle, realistic intentions. When we’ve been through trauma, setting ambitious goals can feel paralyzing and even trigger a sense of failure before we’ve begun. So, we start small.
For example, take a minute to notice your breathing. Don’t try to fix it or change it. Break the larger intention of healing into these small, accessible moments of awareness.
Offer Yourself Compassion When You Feel Resistant
Next, and most importantly, offer yourself compassion when you feel resistant. Our minds are programmed to protect us, and sometimes that protection looks like shutting down or distracting us. The most powerful tool is not force, but compassion.
Whenever you feel frustrated with your progress, say to yourself, “It’s okay that this is hard. Thank you for doing your best. “Your body has carried your story for long enough. Somatic healing is about finally letting that story be heard—not through words, but through sensation, presence, and compassion. This isn’t about fixing the parts of you that are broken. It’s about finding peace within yourself and the strength to move forward.
If you’re a practitioner or someone ready for a deeper, narrative exploration of how the body holds and heals trauma, I offer more details about my experience in my new book, Sacred Knowing.
