You Can’t Think Your Way Out of Trauma. Why EMDR Focuses on the Body And How to Release Stored Trauma
- Edwige Theokas
- Nov 3, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 5
You Can’t Think Your Way Out of Trauma: Understanding EMDR Therapy
Why EMDR Focuses on the Body and How to Release Stored Trauma
Introduction: What We Think Trauma Looks Like
We’ve all seen the movies and shows. One moment, you’re enjoying dinner with friends. The next, you’re hit with a flashback, thrust back to a scary moment from your childhood.
When people think of trauma, they often picture bad memories or intrusive thoughts. But trauma doesn’t just reside in the mind; it lives in the body. Our bodies send signals long before we have the chance to process them. Often, we ignore these cues.
When our bodies “talk” to us, we might tell ourselves to push through discomfort or ignore the pain. We might say, “Get over it,” or “I don’t have time for this.” Sometimes, we resort to medication or substances to numb the uncomfortable sensations.
As a therapist, I understand that our bodies want to communicate with us. However, the fear of confronting the past often keeps us from addressing our pain. This is where Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy shines as an effective modality for trauma healing.
While EMDR is cognitive, it is deeply somatic at its core. This post explores why the body plays such a central role in EMDR therapy and trauma healing. We will also discuss how trauma gets stored physically and share ten science-backed somatic strategies to support release and regulation.
Why the Body Matters in EMDR
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, in his groundbreaking book The Body Keeps the Score, explains how unprocessed trauma gets trapped in the nervous system. EMDR helps process these stuck experiences, but it’s in the body where we truly feel them—and often, where they remain.
When you’ve gone through overwhelming experiences without enough support, your body stores that tension in various ways, such as:
Muscle contraction
Digestive issues
Migraines
Chronic fatigue
Fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses
EMDR employs bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic material. However, a significant part of this work involves teaching the body to feel safe again.
How Trauma Is Stored in the Body
Trauma manifests physically in several ways:
Muscular tension: Fight responses can lead to tight jaws, shoulders, or fists.
Dissociation: Freeze responses may result in numbness or detachment from body sensations.
Gut-brain axis disruption: Trauma can impact digestion, leading to bloating, IBS, or loss of appetite.
Nervous system activation: Chronic stress may cause hypervigilance, insomnia, or panic attacks.
This is why EMDR often includes somatic preparation. Grounding, resourcing, and regulation tools help a person not only focus on the traumatic event but also invite the body to release trauma without needing to talk about it.
The Polyvagal Perspective
Let’s delve into some clinical concepts, as they are essential for understanding how your body communicates with you.
When the body senses safety, the ventral vagal system (the rest and digest system) allows for connection, calm, and healing. Trauma often activates the dorsal vagal (freeze/fawn-shutdown) or sympathetic (fight/flight-panic) branches.
EMDR and somatic tools help restore ventral vagal tone, one of the body’s primary healing states. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory has been crucial in EMDR work, demonstrating how the Vagus Nerve plays a key role in emotional regulation.
While it’s vital to be aware of how our bodies communicate, it’s equally important to understand that we can take steps to help regulate our nervous system. This regulation allows us to address and process traumatic events effectively.
10 Somatic Tools to Support EMDR and Trauma Release
Here are ten body-based exercises and practices that enhance EMDR’s effects and help you release stored trauma on your own or between sessions:
Bilateral Walking Slow walking (left/right stimulation) or tapping alternate shoulders stimulates both brain hemispheres. This can calm the nervous system, regulate anxiety, and process stress.
Orienting (Environmental Scanning): Look around the room slowly and name five things you see. Then, name three things you hear. This helps signal safety to the nervous system and brings you into the present moment.
Vagus Nerve Activation: Try humming, singing, gargling, or gently massaging the area behind your ears. These actions stimulate the Vagus Nerve and help shift your body out of survival mode.
Butterfly Hug: Cross your arms over your chest, place your hands on your shoulders, and alternate gentle taps. This EMDR technique creates bilateral stimulation and promotes grounding.
Somatic Tracking: Pause and scan your body. Where do you feel tension? Stay with it gently—don’t try to change it. This builds interoception and awareness, helping shift stored trauma through presence.
Rebounding (Mini-Trampoline or Gentle Bouncing): Repetitive, rhythmic movement helps move lymphatic fluid and discharge excess stress from the body. This is great for those stuck in high-alert mode.
Grounding Through Barefoot Contact: Standing or walking barefoot on grass, sand, or earth helps calm the body through electromagnetic regulation. This is a proven way to reduce cortisol and support parasympathetic activity.
Cold Exposure: Splashing cold water on your face or taking short cold showers can help “reset” the nervous system and improve vagal tone. Start with 15–30 seconds and gradually build up to one or two minutes.
Pendulation (Inspired by Somatic Experiencing): Focus on a part of your body that feels tense, then shift to one that feels calm or neutral. Going back and forth helps your body learn to move out of distress without overwhelm.
10. Movement Create a playlist that evokes emotional shifts. Start with something slow and safe, build to empowering, then return to soothing. Move your body naturally in response. This promotes emotional flow and nervous system integration.
Bringing It All Together
You can’t think your way out of trauma because trauma doesn’t live in thoughts; it lives in your nervous system.
EMDR and Polyvagal-informed therapy help your body release what your mind has been carrying. Over time, your system learns that rest is safe, connection is possible, and calm is sustainable.
If you’ve been doing “all the right things” but still feel anxious, detached, or exhausted, it’s not that you’re broken. It’s that your body needs to feel safe before your mind can heal. And that’s where real transformation begins.
Want to Learn More about EMDR and Working with Me?
If this resonates with you and you’re ready to regulate your nervous system, rewire stress patterns, and finally feel like yourself, book a call, and let's see how I can help.
I offer individual 1:1 EMDR therapy as well as 1:1 EMDR Intensives. Book a consultation call to see which is the best fit for you.
If you're a mom navigating burnout and overwhelm and are interested in group coaching, book a call here. This high-touch coaching and EMDR-informed program helps high-performing women:
🌿 Regulate their nervous systems
🌿 Reprogram subconscious stress patterns
🌿 Build systems for ease and calm at home and work
You don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode. Your body already knows the way home.
My name is Edwige (Eddie) Theokas, and I am a trauma-based therapist in Bordentown, NJ. I specialize in EMDR to address trauma, anxiety, and stress. I work primarily with moms who are experiencing burnout and have experienced trauma.
I provide in-person and online counseling throughout the state of NJ, specifically in Mercer and Burlington County (Bordentown, Chesterfield, Robbinsville, Hamilton, and Princeton). I also offer EMDR Intensives. Contact me to schedule a consultation.
Find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.
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