From Trauma to Transformation: How Somatic Bodywork Unlocks Stored Energy

As we already know, thanks to all the work that has been done in the last couple of decades by people operating in different fields such as medicine, neuroscience, psychotherapy, and bodywork, trauma is not only a psychological experience. It lives in the body, shaping the way we breathe, move, relate, and respond to life. It reshapes and changes the natural state and functionality of our nervous system.

Even though today there is a lot of knowledge and “trauma” is mentioned everywhere and has become almost mainstream, many people still try to think their way out of it. Yet the body continues to carry the imprint of what has not been fully met or integrated. This is where somatic bodywork becomes a powerful pathway. It allows the body to release what the mind has long been holding onto.

I have personally experienced this and seen it again and again in my practice and personal journey. When the body is met with presence, attunement, and awareness, something opens. A long-held contraction softens. A previously unconscious pattern becomes visible. A breath deepens. A new choice becomes possible. The body remembers how to reorganize itself toward wholeness.

As P. Levine says, trauma is not in the event but in the way our system reacted to it. When it becomes overwhelmed, the body protects us through patterns of contraction, numbness, overactivation, or collapse. Even though these protective strategies helped us survive and function in day-to-day life, over time they shape our relationships, our sense of safety, our desires, and even our capacity to feel pleasure and connection. And this is where somatic bodywork can support and change the narrative. It meets the body where the trauma was stored, not through force but through presence, precision, and deep listening.

We have to think in terms of energy, because we are energy. Our system produces energy to respond in a healthy way to life, but when we face something that is too much, too fast, or too soon for our system, we are not able to complete the cycle of that energy. And what happens? Energy that has been interrupted or suppressed does not disappear. It becomes bound in the body. This stored energy often manifests as chronic tension, emotional reactivity, difficulty feeling desires or boundaries, shutdown in intimacy, holding back in life, repetitive relational patterns, anxiety or numbness, and a sense of living from survival rather than fullness.

When this energy is held for too long, the system becomes organized around survival, not expansion. Somatic bodywork works directly with this stagnation, inviting the body to complete what was once interrupted. When this happens, the energy that was bound in contraction becomes available again for creativity, intimacy, freedom, and expression.

Somatic bodywork works by bringing together three essential pillars:

1)Presence
Presence is the foundation of all my work. This is the first pillar I also teach in my bodywork trainings. It is even more important than technique. When a practitioner meets the body from presence rather than agenda, the system relaxes. Presence tells the nervous system that nothing must be fixed. It creates a deep feeling of safety at the deepest level. In trauma, safety and the capacity to choose have been lost. We feel powerless and unsafe. Deep presence tells the nervous system that it can relax and that it is safe to trust. This is the space where transformation becomes possible.

2)Touch that listens
In somatic bodywork, dearmouring, and myofascial energetic release, touch becomes a doorway into the unconscious material stored in the tissues, in the fascia, and in the organs. The body reveals its history through tension, texture, breath, and subtle shifts. As the tissues open, emotions, energy, and memory can surface and reorganize.

3)Tracking the nervous system
Somatic Experiencing and a trauma-informed approach allow us to track what the nervous system is doing moment by moment. We do not force anything; we trust in the natural capacity of the system to reorganize itself when the conditions are right. It is about following the impulses of the body rather than pushing into them. This creates a space where the system can renegotiate its past without re-traumatization.

ALLOWING is the key word. It is fundamental to understand that transformation is not something we force, but something we allow to happen, in respect of the body and nervous system timing. As the body unwinds, previously blocked energy becomes fluid again. The breath slows and deepens. We may witness organic and spontaneous shaking or trembling, emotional expression without overwhelm, shifts in body temperature, and a sense of openness and spaciousness that allows access to vitality and groundedness.

Clients often describe a feeling of coming back home to themselves. They start making decisions from presence instead of patterns. Relationships shift. Boundaries become clearer. Creativity returns. Life feels more aligned. These changes are not conceptual. They live inside the tissues, the breath, and the nervous system.

Ascia is one of the most important elements in this work. It is the connective tissue that keeps us together, that connects our toes to our head, and it contains the highest number of nociceptors, the pain receptors. It holds the emotional memory of our experiences. When fascia is tight or dehydrated, energy cannot move freely, and the body remains stuck in old responses.

Through myofascial work and dearmouring techniques, we soften these restrictions. The strokes I teach and practice are slow and deep, supported by strong presence and attunement to listen and feel what is underneath. They work with the direction of the tissue, the breath, and the natural movement of the body. As fascia hydrates and opens, the emotional layers stored within it can transform. This is why clients often feel lighter, clearer, or more alive after a session. The body has released what it no longer needs to hold.

Trauma often hides in the places we avoid. In the shadows. In the archetypal patterns that run our lives from the unconscious. Somatic bodywork brings these layers into the light. This is where and why transformation becomes profound and lasting. It is not only about releasing tension. Tensions are the manifestation of what is not expressed and not integrated. It is about reclaiming and meeting parts of us that have been waiting to be seen, felt, and integrated. As these parts return, we reclaim energy, confidence, and a deeper sense of who we truly are.

It is a journey from contraction to expansion, from numbness to feeling, from survival to presence. Somatic bodywork does not erase the past. We can never truly escape it; what we can do is rewrite the body’s response to it. It brings the nervous system back to a place where life can be felt, held, and embodied. It awakens and reconnects us with the intelligence that already knows how to heal and evolve. When stored energy becomes available again, life opens. Relationships deepen. Intimacy becomes safer. The heart expands. The body becomes a place of truth and connection.

This is the transformation I witness every day. It is the reason I am devoted to this work as a practitioner and in my personal healing and evolution.

Whether you are navigating trauma, longing for deeper intimacy, or seeking a more embodied life, somatic bodywork offers a clear path. It is an invitation to return to yourself. If you are ready to meet your body with presence and step into what is next for you, you can learn more about my sessions, workshops, and immersions on my website.

Your body holds your story, and at the same time, it also holds your transformation.