Tending the Roots: Why Your Body is the Key to Healing Trauma

Feb 5
4 min read

Imagine you have a garden. You water the leaves, you trim the branches, and you make sure it gets plenty of sunlight. But for some reason, the plants just won’t thrive. They wilt unexpectedly or seem stuck, unable to bloom. An experienced gardener would tell you that the problem likely isn't with the leaves or the flowers; it’s down in the soil, tangled in the roots.

This is often what it feels like when we try to heal from trauma using only our minds. We might talk about our story (the leaves) and analyze our thoughts (the branches), but we often miss where the real impact of the experience lives: in the soil of our bodies.

Somatic therapy is the practice of tending to those roots. It helps us understand that trauma isn't just a "mental" problem or a story about the past; it is a physical experience that happens right now, inside our nervous systems (Levine, 2010).

The Body Keeps the Score

We often think of memory as a video clip playing in our heads. However, trauma researchers have discovered that our bodies have their own kind of memory. When we face overwhelming stress, our bodies hold onto the physical sensations of that experience - the racing heart, the shallow breath, or the tightness in the chest (Van der Kolk, 2014).

Think of a plant that encounters a harsh frost. Even after the weather warms up, the plant might stay curled in on itself, protecting its tender center. Similarly, when we go through something frightening, our bodies instinctively mobilize to survive: we prepare to fight, flee, or freeze. If we can’t complete those actions at the time, that survival energy gets trapped. Our bodies continue to react as if the frost is still happening, even when the sun is shining (Ogden & Fisher, 2015).

This is why you might feel anxious for "no reason" or shut down when you want to connect. It’s not that you are broken; it’s that your body is still valiantly trying to protect you.

Gardening from the Bottom Up

In traditional talk therapy, we often work "top-down," using our logic and reasoning to change how we feel. But because trauma lives in the primitive parts of our brain that control our survival instincts, logic doesn't always reach deep enough.

Somatic therapy works "bottom-up." We start with the sensations in the body to send messages of safety to the brain (Van der Kolk, 2014). It’s like improving the quality of the soil so the roots can finally relax and drink up nutrients.

When we ignore the body, we are often just managing symptoms. But when we learn to listen to the unspoken voice of our physical sensations, we can help our nervous system reset (Levine, 2010). This process allows us to move from simply surviving to truly thriving.

Growing Toward the Light

One of the most beautiful things about this work is realizing that you don't have to force healing. Just as a plant naturally knows how to grow toward the light when obstacles are removed, you possess an innate capacity to heal.

Psychologist Janina Fisher (2017) describes healing as an organic process. It requires patience, repetition, and the right conditions. She notes that with the right "soil" and a compassionate "gardener" (your therapist, and eventually yourself), your natural healing tendencies will wake up (Fisher, 2017).

By befriending your body, even the parts that feel thorny or frozen, you can slowly uncouple your physical sensations from the fear of the past (Levine, 2010). You learn that a racing heart is just a racing heart, not a signal of impending doom. This restores your sense of ownership over your own life.

Try This: Planting Your Roots

Here is a small, somatic exercise to help you practice "bottom-up" processing. This is about helping your body feel supported by the earth, much like a tree with deep, steady roots.

Find a Comfortable Spot: Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor, or stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Feel the Earth: Bring your attention all the way down to the soles of your feet. Notice the point of contact where your shoes or feet meet the floor.
Press Down: Gently press your feet into the ground. Notice which muscles in your legs engage when you do this.
Check In: As you feel that solid connection to the ground, ask yourself: Does my body feel more steady?
Notice the Shift: Pay attention to your breath or your shoulders. Did anything shift just by focusing on your foundation?

This simple act of grounding can tell your nervous system that you are here, you are supported, and you are safe.

References

Fisher, J. (2017). Healing the fragmented selves of trauma survivors: Overcoming internal self-alienation. Routledge.
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.
Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. W. W. Norton & Company.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.