One of the most undealt aspects of recovery is how to release trauma in the body.

Our previous thoughts, self-destructive ways and negative past all reside within our body. Our body has memory. Our cells in change send of messages of health or disease based on this mental energy that takes on a physical aspect.

Genetic research has demonstrated that the matrix composing our bodies' cells (DNA) possess a complex information storage system.

This also explains why happiness is tied to health. People have less disease when they are happy.

This means, that we can talk it over and understand it intellectually - i.e. that we are worth more, that our ways of destruction no longer serves us etc. Yet our body will constantly go back to that place of feeling threatened, insufficient and shameful - and will react in such a way, unless we learn to release body memory which is no longer serving, but keeping us STUCK.

Our body will send of stress hormones when there is negative body memory stored.

And when we release stress hormones, our body cannot heal properly, because healing is incompatible under stress. The energy of the trauma is stored in our bodies' tissues - mainly muscles and fascia - until it can be released.

So how do we release the memory of trauma that resides in our body?

Our body responds to triggers brought on by our five senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. These are called “proprioceptive triggers.”

One of our self-defense mechanisms that automatically take over when we are overwhelmed with pain, fear, shame etc, is to leave our body.

Now I don't mean literally leave our body, what I mean is that we become completely numb and stuff the pain and emotions.

In order for us to release destructive thoughts stored as body memory, we need 3 things:

1. The skills to handle the situation that we lacked during the original experience in order to move from victim to survivor. There is always a lesson from every experience and we need to learn from it to avoid that patterns and trauma play on repeat - in different situation and new faces. The trauma tends to repeat itself, we we don't understand the take-away. I.e. being assertive, accepting ourselves unconditionally, standing up for ourselves etc. etc.

2. Space to go through the original incident without judgment and let it go. We cannot let go if we go through it full of stress and tension. It is important here to remember that not filling up with hate does not make anything okay (which we tend to think - I MUST feel angry about this because it is so painful etc.). No angry is a passing feeling, but is not going to serve us if we allow it to be permanently present in our body. By taking a deep breath in and going through the experience in an open observing state, we choose not to let our past traumatize our future anymore. We can feel whatever pain, we might never have allowed ourself previously to feel - and then... let. it. go. That's it.

3. A reconnection of brain and body to just be in our body again. Body work, massage, self-care like long baths are all ways to unlock a frozen nervous system and slowly begin to take back ownership of our body, mind and soul. It is in this relaxed state that healing can happen.

eference: John F. Barnes. A Patient’s Guide to Understanding Myofascial Release