— By Brian Mears, DNAP, APRN, CRNA, PMHNP-BC

When the Body Keeps the Score, the Body Must Be Part of the Healing

Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind — it’s stored in the body. If you’ve experienced emotional pain, stress, or trauma, your nervous system remembers. It may show up as tension, restlessness, fatigue, or emotional numbness.

Yoga and stretching offer a safe and accessible way to begin releasing those held experiences — helping your body regulate and your mind find clarity. But this isn’t about clearing your mind. It’s about focusing your mind on truth, peace, and healing.

How Trauma Affects the Body

Unresolved trauma can trap the nervous system in survival states — like fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. That stress can physically embed itself into the muscles, fascia, and posture.

Signs your body may be holding onto trauma:

Constant tension or pain in the neck, back, or hips
Shallow breathing
Emotional shutdown or hyperreactivity
Fatigue without clear cause
Difficulty relaxing even in safe environments

These symptoms are not “in your head.” They’re stored in your body — and can be gently released through movement.

How Yoga and Stretching Support Healing

Yoga helps trauma recovery by:

Releasing physical tension in the muscles and fascia
Stimulating the vagus nerve, helping shift out of survival mode
Improving breath control and heart rate variability
Creating somatic safety (feeling safe in your own body)
Strengthening the mind-body connection

But unlike some modern yoga teachings that encourage “emptying the mind,” we encourage focusing on what is good, true, and healing. Use each breath and posture to intentionally reflect on peace, hope, and restoration.

Poses for Emotional Release & Nervous System Reset

(Each pose can be held for 1–3 minutes while breathing slowly and focusing on peace.)

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and fold forward with your arms extended in front or beside your body. Rest your forehead on the mat.

➡ Encourages emotional surrender and calms the nervous system.

Legs-Up-the-Wall (Viparita Karani)

Lie on your back and scoot your hips near a wall, lifting your legs up to rest vertically against it. Arms rest by your sides.

➡ Promotes circulation, reduces anxiety, and gently resets blood pressure.

Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)

Sit with legs extended. Inhale to lengthen the spine, then exhale to fold forward, reaching toward your feet.

➡ Stretches the back body, eases tension in the spine, and encourages inward reflection.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Press into your heels to lift your hips toward the ceiling.

➡ Opens the chest and hips — common areas where trauma is held.

Reclining Bound Angle (Supta Baddha Konasana)

Lie on your back, bring soles of the feet together, and let knees gently fall open. Arms can rest on belly or outstretched.

➡ Creates openness in the pelvis and encourages emotional vulnerability in a safe way.

Cat-Cow Stretch

Come onto hands and knees. Inhale to arch the back (cow), lifting head and tailbone. Exhale to round the back (cat), tucking chin and pelvis.

➡ Mobilizes the spine, connects breath with movement, and helps release stuck emotional energy.

Focus Your Mind While You Move

During each pose, instead of trying to “clear your mind,” try focusing on:

• A verse of Scripture

• A calming affirmation (e.g., “I am safe now,” “I am healing,” “I am loved”)

• Gratitude for what your body can do

• A prayer or meditation on peace

The goal isn’t to be empty — it’s to be intentional.

Healing Is Whole-Person Work

At Alleviant, we support trauma recovery using a whole-person approach. Yoga and stretching can be integrated with:

• Therapy and trauma-informed counseling

• Spectral EEG (sEEG) to visualize brain dysregulation

• NeuroSync™ — an individualized, sEEG-guided TMS protocol that helps synchronize emotional processing regions of the brain

• Health coaching to address nutrition, toxins, and deficiencies affecting emotional healing.

Your Body Has a Voice. Let It Speak.

You don’t have to be flexible. You don’t need fancy equipment.

You just need a quiet space, your breath, and a willingness to begin.

Healing Through Movement: How Yoga and Stretching Release Trauma and Emotions