Where the Body Remembers: How Trauma is Stored—and Released—on a Physiological Level
By: Kyla Otto
When we think of trauma, we often picture emotional scars or mental distress. But what’s often overlooked is how deeply trauma imprints itself into the physical body. Science and somatic practices alike are now confirming what many healers have known for centuries: the body keeps the score.
Let’s dive into how trauma embeds itself at a physiological level—and how practices like acupuncture and craniosacral therapy can help you gently release it.
The Body’s Automatic Response: Stress Reflexes and Stored Patterns
When faced with a threat—real or perceived—our nervous system activates a survival response. This includes the classic fight, flight, freeze, or fawn reactions. While these are protective in the moment, problems arise when the nervous system doesn’t complete the cycle and reset.
Instead, it stays on high alert, trapped in survival mode.
Here’s how it happens physiologically:
Muscle tension becomes chronic. The psoas, jaw, diaphragm, and neck muscles often carry unresolved tension.
Breath becomes shallow, locking the body into sympathetic dominance (fight or flight).
The vagus nerve, which governs relaxation and digestion, becomes dysregulated.
Neurochemical imprints like cortisol and adrenaline keep cycling through the body, reinforcing fear or vigilance.
These are more than just symptoms—they are the body’s memory of trauma.
Joe Dispenza & the Science of Reconditioning
Dr. Joe Dispenza, a researcher and author known for bridging neuroscience and healing, explains that emotions are the chemical residue of past experiences. When we repeatedly revisit stressful or traumatic memories—consciously or subconsciously—the body relives those experiences on a cellular level.
In other words, your body doesn’t just remember the trauma. It becomes the trauma, operating from the same patterns until something changes.
Dispenza teaches that healing begins by interrupting old patterns and creating new ones—physiologically, emotionally, and energetically.
That’s where body-based therapies come in.
Releasing Trauma Through the Body: How Acupuncture Helps
Acupuncture works through the nervous system and the body’s energetic pathways (meridians), helping to:
Regulate the parasympathetic response, shifting you out of survival mode
Release blocked energy where trauma may be stored
Calm the amygdala, the brain’s fear center
Rebalance the flow of Qi, helping the body process and let go
Clients often report feeling a profound sense of stillness or emotional release during or after a session—signs that the body is unwinding old patterns and returning to safety.
Craniosacral Therapy: Subtle, Deep, and Transformational
Craniosacral therapy (CST) is a gentle, hands-on modality that works with the fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It’s subtle, but incredibly powerful for trauma healing.
Here’s how CST helps:
Releases fascial restrictions that hold trauma in the body
Tunes into the body’s internal rhythms, supporting self-regulation
Supports the nervous system’s shift from fight/flight to rest and repair
Gently processes deep-seated emotional and somatic trauma without re-triggering
Many clients experience spontaneous emotional release, dream-like visions, or sensations of unburdening—sometimes without words, just through the body’s own intelligence.
True Healing is Multidimensional
Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind—it’s woven into the fascia, muscles, breath, and even cellular memory. That’s why body-based therapies are essential in any trauma-informed healing journey.
At The Den Wellness Collective, we offer both acupuncture and craniosacral therapy within a safe, inclusive, and affirming environment. Our practitioners understand the delicate relationship between emotional experience and physical health, and work gently with your body’s own timing.
You don’t need to re-tell the story for healing to happen. Sometimes, the body speaks for you.
Start Where You Are
If you’ve been carrying something for years—or even decades—you’re not alone. Whether you’re navigating complex trauma, chronic tension, or just a lingering sense that something needs to shift, we’re here to support you.
Come as you are. Let your body exhale.
The healing journey can begin from the inside out.
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