When was the last time you truly felt at home in your body? For many, the answer might be, “I’m not sure I ever have.” Trauma has a profound way of disrupting our connection to ourselves, leaving us feeling detached, numb, or out of sync with not just ourselves but with others and the world around us. But know that there is hope. Becoming safely embodied—learning to fully inhabit your body—is a powerful and necessary step in healing and resolving trauma.

In this blog, we’ll explore what embodiment means, how trauma causes disembodiment, and the steps you can take to reclaim the connection between your body and mind.

What Does It Mean to Be Embodied?

Embodiment is the experience of being present in your body, aware of its sensations, emotions, impulses and needs. It’s the ability to feel grounded, connected, and in sync with your physical and emotional self.

When you’re embodied, you:

• Recognize and respond to bodily sensations like hunger, fatigue, temperature or tension.

• Feel your emotions without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down.

• Can track your levels of activation and deactivation as you move through the day.

• When you experience an emotion like anger, your awareness expands beyond just the external situation or your thoughts. You simultaneously tune into how the sensation of anger manifests in your body—how it moves, how it feels, and how your body responds with that emotion.

• Live in the present moment, rather than living in your head, feeling stuck in the past or disconnected from reality.

Being embodied isn’t just about being aware of your physical body; it’s about cultivating a deep connection to the sensations, emotions, and experiences that arise within you and allowing them to guide your presence, actions, and understanding of yourself and the world around you.

Trauma and Disembodiment

Trauma, whether acute (such as an accident or assault) or chronic (like childhood neglect or relational wounds), impacts both the mind and body. During a traumatic experience, the nervous system instinctively activates survival responses—fight, flight, freeze, or collapse—to protect us. While this response is an incredible, hardwired mechanism, the challenge arises when we don’t know how to fully process and release the traumatic energy stored in the body. As a result, we can remain stuck in unresolved trauma states, leaving the mind and body in a cycle of dysregulation.

For many, this response creates a profound sense of disconnection. The body, overwhelmed by the intensity of the experience, may shut down or numb itself as a coping mechanism. Over time, this disconnection can lead to:

• Feeling detached from your body or emotions.

• Difficulty identifying or recognizing your physical or emotional needs, like never knowing what you want to eat or may need in daily life. 

• Chronic symptoms, including anxiety, digestive difficulties, chronic pain, brain fog, lack of motivation or unexplained symptoms that conventional medicine can’t explain.

While these protective responses may help in the short term, they can hinder our ability to process, heal, and fully recover from trauma over time. Resolving trauma and reconnection with the body and its signals is key to breaking free from these patterns and fostering true healing.

If you are ready to resolve trauma and reconnect with your body, click here to explore how you can get support on your healing journey.

Why Reconnecting to the Body is Essential for Healing

The body holds the imprints of trauma. Even when the mind suppresses or forgets painful experiences, the body remembers—expressing these memories through physical sensations, tension, chronic pain or other symptoms. Healing requires more than tending to the mind, it calls for a reconnection with the body, allowing it to process and release these stored experiences.

We learn how to be more embodied by:

• Releasing stored trauma and tension.

• Build a sense of safety and trust within ourselves through our body. 

• Strengthen our ability to regulate emotions and respond to life’s challenges with greater resilience.

Embodiment is more than reconnecting with the body—it is a reclaiming of personal power, authentic presence, and a sense of wholeness.

As you learn how to be embodied you will naturally become more emotionally regulated. This is because embodiment fosters a deep connection to the body’s sensations, which serve as anchors during intense emotional experiences. By being present with the body, individuals can recognize and process emotions as they arise, rather than becoming overwhelmed or detached. This awareness allows for the regulation of the nervous system, creating space to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.

Through embodiment, people develop the ability to track subtle changes in their physiological states, such as tension, breath, or heart rate, and use grounding practices to restore balance. This capacity to stay connected to oneself, even during challenging moments, builds confidence in facing adversity, strengthens the ability to recover from stress, and cultivates a sense of inner stability, which are all key aspects of emotional resilience.

Steps Toward Becoming Safely Embodied

Healing from disembodiment is a journey, not a quick fix. Here are some steps to help you reconnect with your body:

Cultivate Awareness

Start small. Take moments to notice what your body feels like—tension in your shoulders, the weight of your feet on the ground, or the rhythm of your breath. No need to change anything; just observe.

Part of this practice is being able to focus your mind. Try locating one sensation and focusing on it for a whole minute. As you do this, get curious about what happens as you stay focused on the sensation. 

Practice Grounding Techniques

Grounding helps anchor you in the present moment. Try deep breathing, mindful walking, or pressing your hands against a solid surface. These practices, when done consciously, reinforce the mind- body connection that it’s safe, here in the present moment. 

Explore Somatic Practices

Somatic Experiencing, a trauma-focused approach, gently facilitates the release of stored trauma by focusing on bodily sensations and attuning to the nervous system’s responses and supporting its natural capacity for regulation. As a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, I’ve witnessed how this powerful method can transform patterns of disconnection into a profound sense of embodiment and inner harmony.

Create a Sense of Safety

Trauma often leaves us feeling disconnected and unsafe within our own bodies. Cultivating a sense of safety through small, intentional rituals can help rebuild trust in yourself and support becoming safely embodied. Here are a few simple practices:

• wrapping yourself in a cozy blanket and focus of feeling the containment from the blanket. This is easier to do if you wrap yourself tightly.

• journaling your thoughts and emotions. The process of writing with a pen to paper slows down the mind and can ease the body, creating a bridge into being more connected to yourself in the present moment which supports embodiment.

• spending time in nature can create moments of grounding and reassurance, allowing you to gradually reconnect with your body and inner sense of safety.

Seek Support

Healing doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. A trusted therapist or practitioner can guide you through the process, offering tools and a safe space to explore your body’s experiences. They can also support you in learning how to be embodied by helping you cultivate presence, reconnect with your body’s sensations, and create a sense of safety within yourself. 

The Role of Community in Embodiment

Trauma often occurs within the context of relationships, and healing can, too. Safe, supportive connections with others remind us that we are not alone and help create the conditions to process and grow. Whether through therapy, group work, or trusted friendships, being in community provides a vital space to re-learn safety, rebuild trust, and reconnect with yourself. These relationships also support you in learning how to be embodied—helping you tune into your body, honor its experiences, and cultivate a sense of presence and safety within. Healing in connection allows you to move toward wholeness with the support of others by your side.

Conclusion

Trauma often occurs within relationships, and healing through connection can be a powerful pathway to embodiment. Safe, supportive relationships—whether through therapy, group work, or trusted friendships—create the space to process and resolve trauma stored in the body. By addressing these unresolved experiences, you can begin to reconnect with your body, tune into its sensations, and rebuild a sense of safety within yourself. Resolving trauma isn’t just about healing the past; it’s about fostering a deeper presence and learning how to fully inhabit your body. Through this process, being embodied becomes a natural outcome of reclaiming trust, safety, and wholeness in your lived experience.

Is trauma holding you back?

Perhaps you experienced a specific event that left you feeling different, disconnected or stuck. Or maybe you carry a sense of unease in your body, struggling with anxiety or a feeling that something isn’t quite right.

As a somatic healing practitioner and somatic movement practitioner, I specialize in helping people process and release stored trauma through gentle yet effective methods.

Download my FREE guide “Get Unstuck! The Truth About Body Trauma and How to Break Free,” and learn how to create the future you deserve.

Brianna Anderson, SEP

I’m here to help you heal so you can begin to live the life of your dreams

My private practice specializes in helping people who have endured trauma, resolve the symptoms out of their body, mind & spirit so they can feel comfortable in their skin, find inner peace and live the desires of their heart.

I am based out of South Orange County, Ca and offer online therapy sessions. Whether you are just starting your healing journey or ready to try something new, I am here to help.