You Can’t Think Your Way Out of Trauma. Why EMDR Focuses on the Body And How to Release Stored Trauma
- Edwige Theokas
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
You Can’t think your way out of trauma.
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 minute you’re hanging out with friends having dinner, and the next minute you’re having a flashback, and are brought back to the scary place from your childhood.
When people think of trauma, they often think of bad memories or intrusive thoughts.
But trauma doesn’t just live in the mind; it lives in the body. Your body gives off signals long before you have had the chance to process them, and often, we ignore the cues.
When our bodies “talk” to us, we tell ourselves to work through discomfort or ignore the pain. We tell our bodies to “get over it” or “we don’t have time for this”. Sometimes we just take medication or substances to numb the uncomfortable sensations that are showing up.
But as a therapist, there is awareness that our bodies want to communicate with us, but fear of “thinking” about the past keeps us from dealing with our pain.
That’s why Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) work is a great modality for dealing with trauma.
While 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, how trauma gets stored physically, and 10 science-backed, somatic strategies you can use 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 the body is where we feel them - and often, where they remain.
When you’ve gone through overwhelming experiences without enough support, your body stores that tension in the form of:
Muscle contraction
Digestive issues
Migraines
Chronic fatigue
Fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess traumatic material. But a big part of that work is teaching the body to feel safe again.
How Trauma Is Stored in the Body:
Muscular tension: Fight responses lead to tight jaws, shoulders, or fists
Disassociation: Freeze responses lead to numbness or detachment from body sensations
Gut-brain axis disruption: Trauma impacts digestion, leading to bloating, IBS, or loss of appetite
Nervous system activation: Chronic stress causes hypervigilance, insomnia, or panic attacks
This is why EMDR often includes somatic preparation: grounding, resourcing, and regulation tools that help a person not just focus on the traumatic event, and/or recall it, but invite the body to release trauma, without having to talk about it.
The Polyvagal Perspective
We're going to go clinical here for a minute, but bear with me because it’s important to understand your body’s efforts at communicating with you.
When the body senses safety, the ventral vagal system (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 work has been a crucial component in EMDR work to show how the Vagus Nerve plays a key role in emotional regulation.
While it’s important to have some awareness about how our bodies communicate to us, it’s also important to understand that there are things we can do to help us regulate our nervous system so that we can then address and process the traumatic events.
10 Somatic Tools to Support EMDR and Trauma Release
Here are body-based exercises and practices that enhance EMDR’s effects and help you release stored trauma on your own or between sessions:
1. Bilateral Walking or Tapping: Slow walking (left/right stimulation) or tapping alternate shoulders stimulates both brain hemispheres. This can calm the nervous system, regulate anxiety, and process stress.
2. Orienting (Environmental Scanning)Look around the room slowly and name 5 things you see. Then name 3 things you hear. This helps signal safety to the nervous system and brings you into the present moment.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Rebounding (Mini-Trampoline or Gentle Bouncing): Repetitive, rhythmic movement helps move lymphatic fluid and discharge excess stress from the body. Great for those stuck in high-alert mode.
7. Grounding Through Barefoot Contact: Standing or walking barefoot on grass, sand, or earth helps calm the body through electromagnetic regulation. A proven way to reduce cortisol and support parasympathetic activity.
8. Cold Exposure: Splashing cold water on the face or taking short cold showers can help “reset” the nervous system and improve vagal tone. Start with 15–30 seconds and build up to one or two minutes.
9. 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 how to move out of distress without overwhelm.
10. Music + 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 and specifically in Mercer and Burlington County, NJ (Bordentown, Chesterfield, Robbinsville, Hamilton and Princeton). I also provide EMDR Intensives. Contact me to schedule a consultation.
Find me on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
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