Trauma survivors may notice they begin to hold tension in their bodies. Maybe they notice tight hips, clenching their jaw, shallow breathing, always feeling exhausted, or on edge.
While trauma stored in your body isn’t usually in one specific area, our nervous systems can hold onto unprocessed trauma which can arise as sensations and tension. Everyone is different in how they hold their bodies, and so tension can arise differently from each person.
This guide explores the connection between trauma, your nervous system, and body tension, and how symptoms can emerge. We’ll also explore trauma-informed ways to reconnect with your body, create an inner sense of safety, and release stored tension.
This post is part of my Trauma-Informed Yoga Practices Guide, where you can explore different types of yoga practices that support healing including nervous system regulation, somatic yoga, rest, emotional support, and more.
What Does “Trauma Stored in the Body” Mean?
One of your body’s main priorities is safety and protecting you. When we experience traumatic events, overwhelm, or situations where we feel powerless, our nervous systems respond with reactions like fight, flight, freeze, or other responses.
Survivors may judge themselves by how they reacted during their trauma, but our bodies only have a few short moments to make a decision. It chose the option that it felt would lead to the highest chance of survival, and that shows just how intelligent our survival mechanisms are and have evolved to protect us.
Where we can feel like trauma is stuck in our bodies is what happens after the danger has passed. Our nervous system might continue to respond as though we’re still in harm’s way, leading to symptoms like tension, hypervigilance, numbness, dissociation, or disconnection.
For some survivors, this may look like:
- Feeling constantly on edge
- Finding it hard to relax even when in safe places
- Tension in their bodies
- Feeling disconnected or numb in their bodies
- Unsure what their needs are
Your body learned how to protect you. We can gently show our bodies that the threat has passed, completing the stress response, and allowing for more rest, connection, and softness in our bodies.
How Trauma Can Arise as Physical Tension
Trauma affects everyone differently, and this is okay. Some may experience emotional symptoms, others might notice physical sensations, or there could be a mix of both. This shows how unique we are and that what might be supportive for one person may not be for another.
Physical tension is often how our bodies communicate to us that we’re still bracing. I offer a gentle reminder that not all tension is because of trauma. For example, if you have tight psoas muscles. Some people have tight psoas muscles because they sit at a desk most of the day. This muscle is also involved in fight or flight responses because it braces us to prepare to run in the face of a threat. The cause could be lifestyle, a nervous system response, or both.
I also would like to mention that tension is different from pain. Tension can sometimes feel like pain, but if we use supportive strategies we can often soften this holding and provide relief. Pain is sharp, causes wincing, and doesn’t soften with gentle exercises. I welcome you to speak with your doctor if you’re unsure whether you have pain or tension for your safest practice.
We’ll explore common physical holding patterns that may arise after trauma when your nervous system is on high alert. Survivors might experience some, all, or none of these.
Jaw Tension and Clenching
Our jaws are a common place to hold stress and tension.
Symptoms include:
- Clenching teeth during the day or night
- Tightness around face or temples
- Can’t seem to relax jaw
- Headaches related to tension
For some people, jaw tension is connected to stress, anger, fear, or the need to hold everything together. It can also have other causes related to your chakras, including the Spiritual Causes of Jaw Tension.
Neck and Shoulder Tension
Upper body tension is one of the more common areas people hold tension. For survivors, they often hunch their shoulders leaving them feeling tight and impacting neck tension.
Symptoms include:
- Tight shoulders
- Stiff neck
- Upper back tension
- Feeling like you’re always bracing your upper body
Gentle movement reconnects you with these areas without forcing them to relax. I welcome you to explore my 13 Minute Upper Body Tension Release Class for more gentle release.
Tight Hips and Lower Body Tension
You may have noticed there’s a lot of mention of hips and stored trauma in the wellness space. This is for several reasons, including spiritual and physical.
Your hips are part of your sacral chakra and the emotional center of your body. This is why many yoga classes may include hips and emotional release in the same class.
Physical reasons include my mention of your psoas muscles earlier. When we prepare to run or fight, our hips and other surrounding areas in our lower body brace which can lead to tightness and holding patterns.
Symptoms include:
- Tight hip flexors
- Find it hard to relax
- Feeling disconnection in your pelvis or legs
- When you sit cross legged on the ground, your knees are far away from the floor
I welcome you to explore these 4 Yoga Poses to Gently Release Hip Tension, and these 7 Yoga Poses for Psoas Release.
Pelvic Floor Tension After Trauma
Survivors of any type of trauma may experience tension here, but this can be especially tense for survivors of sexual trauma. What can be especially frustrating is that some practices ask students to engage their pelvic floor, and if this area is already bracing, it can lead to confusion or more tension.
Symptoms Include:
- Unsure how to relax pelvic floor area
- Tension and guarding in this area
- Uncomfortable focusing on this area
Trauma-informed practices prioritize meeting you where you are. If you’re not comfortable working with this area, you don’t need to. You can also find gentle release without needing to focus on this area at all, which I explore in my 10 Minute Pelvic Floor Release Class. This is catered to sexual trauma survivors and moves slowly, gently, and focuses on surrounding areas so you can find release if your body feels ready.
Stored Tension After Sexual Trauma
While survivors of all types of trauma can experience tension in their bodies, sexual trauma can sometimes create unique holding patterns.
Some survivors may notice tension in their jaw, shoulders, hips, or pelvic floor, while others experience symptoms like digestive upset, fatigue, headaches, or having trouble sleeping.
If you’d like to learn more about how sexual trauma can affect your body and nervous system, I invite you to explore my post on the Signs of Stored Sexual Trauma. I explore common physical and emotional symptoms survivors may experience and offer resources for gentle release.
Gentle Ways to Support Tension Release After Trauma
The most important part of any practice is to meet yourself where you are. It can also be tempting to chase release, but this can put pressure on yourself which can lead to continuing to brace.
I welcome you to find supportive practices that focus on creating safety, awareness, and connection. Trauma-Informed Yoga is one method of teaching that honors the lived experiences of trauma survivors and welcomes you to move at your own pace.
There are also other practices you can explore to create more awareness and release.
Practice Gentle Somatic Awareness
Somatic practices invite you to notice your body with curiosity rather than judgment.
This includes:
- Noticing where you feel comfortable
- Exploring gentle movement
- Paying attention to sensations without needing to change them
- Building trust with your body slowly
This Somatic Yoga for Beginners Guide explores the foundations of any somatic healing practice. You’ll learn how to create safety in your practice and how to connect sensations, feelings, and emotions.
Choose Slow, Supportive Movement
Gentle movement reconnects you with your body in a way that feels supportive to you.
Trauma-informed yoga includes:
- Gentle stretching
- Restful poses
- Slow transitions
- Multiple options for poses
- Option to pause or end early
Create More Moments of Safety
Showing your body it’s safe in and outside your practices sends gentle signals to your nervous system that it’s okay to complete the stress response and allow rest.
This may include:
- Allowing rest without needing to earn it first
- Spending time in nature
- Creating calming self-care routines
- Practice self-compassion
- Connect with supportive people
Healing can be abundant just like anything in our lives. I welcome you to explore my Survivor Support Page for additional resources that can support trauma healing.
For additional practices that explore releasing each part of your body, I invite you to explore these 6 Gentle Yoga Practices for when your body holds stress and trauma.
A Note About “Releasing Trauma From the Body”
You may encounter phrases like “release trauma from your body” or “let go of stored trauma.” There’s nothing wrong with these phrases, but I would like to welcome the idea that just like any journey, it’s usually not as simple as: do a few exercises, release all trauma.
Healing is usually a gradual process, one that involves:
- Feeling safer in your body overtime
- Understanding your responses
- Building trust with yourself
- Allowing yourself rest before burnout
- Understanding healing is not linear
- Knowing you are worthy of all the support that speaks to you
Your body adapted to survive, and healing means slowly showing your body that it’s safe to let go of the armor, rest, and feel.
Honoring Your Body
If your body feels tense, guarded, or disconnected after trauma, you are not alone. Many survivors respond to trauma with these feelings, which shows that it doesn’t mean anything is “broken” or inherently wrong with you. It means your body has done everything it can to allow you to survive. And while it’s okay to be frustrated with your symptoms, it’s also okay to honor your body for all that it has done to try and protect you. That’s all it’s ever wanted.
Healing doesn’t need you to force anything to change or become someone new. It asks you to release the protective parts so we can reveal who we’ve always been under our armour. To be vulnerable and to let more light in. It may be a slow process, but it’s one that you are so deserving of.
Explore Free Tension Release Yoga Practices
If you’d like to explore gentle practices for releasing tension, I welcome you to explore my Tension Release Yoga Playlist. These trauma-informed practices focus on releasing areas where stress and bracing commonly arise, including our neck, shoulders, hips, jaw, and low back.
Explore my Tension Release Yoga Playlist (YouTube)
More Trauma-Informed Support
If you’re wondering where you are in your healing journey, I welcome you to explore my Healing Seasons Quiz to discover supportive practices for you and your nervous system’s current state. No email is required for results.
