Trauma often teaches us to leave ourselves.

Whether that happens through dissociation, hypervigilance, people-pleasing, or emotional numbing, the message is the same: it’s not safe to be here. It’s not safe to be in this moment, in this breath, in this body.

So we go elsewhere.
We go into our heads.
We get really good at overthinking, managing, planning, anticipating.
We learn how to scan for danger instead of feeling for connection.

And while those strategies may have kept us alive or functional, they also created distance. Distance from our bodies. Distance from what we feel. Distance from what we need.

Coming back to the body after trauma isn’t a one-time event.

It’s slow, careful work.
It’s noticing what feels tolerable.
It’s staying for just a moment longer than you used to, and then offering yourself the dignity of a pause.

This is what embodiment looks like in practice.

It doesn’t require yoga pants or a meditation cushion. It doesn’t have to look like anything anyone else is doing. At its core, embodiment is about noticing what is happening inside of you with just enough curiosity and care that your body begins to believe: maybe it’s okay to stay.

Here are a few gentle ways survivors can begin building that sense of internal safety and trust:

1. Anchor into sensation. Choose one neutral or north of neutral sensation to track for a few seconds. The warmth of your tea. The softness of a blanket. The rhythm of your breath. This is not about changing how you feel—it’s about noticing that feeling something can be safe.
2. Let your body have a say. If you’re used to overriding your body’s signals, try inviting them into the conversation. Ask: What does my body want right now? And then listen. Maybe it’s stillness. Maybe it’s a stretch. Maybe it’s a glass of water or the chance to cry in peace.
3. Use movement to reconnect. Movement doesn’t have to be big to be meaningful. Gently roll your shoulders. Sway from side to side. Walk slowly. Rock. Let your body know it’s allowed to take up space—and that you’ll stay with it while it does.
4. Create safety through rhythm. Rhythmic actions like humming, rocking, tapping, or walking can regulate the nervous system. Rhythm reminds the body of predictability, and predictability supports a sense of calm.
5. Go at your own pace. This work only matters if it feels safe. If something is too much, that’s okay. Your body doesn’t need to be forced. It needs to be partnered with. Trust is built in the honoring of limits, not in the pushing past them.

Embodiment isn’t about fixing or even fully understanding what happened to you.
It’s about re-inhabiting the parts of yourself that trauma told you to abandon.
It’s about remembering that you’re allowed to stay.

The more you show up for your body, the more your body begins to trust that it’s okay to soften.
To rest. To feel. To heal.
And that dear ones, is what showing up for yourselves is all about..

Thank you for letting me see you,