Loading practices
Loading practices
Areas › After harm › Listen to the body
The body remembers what words forget. Meeting the sensation with breath, not judgement, begins to loosen it.
You, soul at peace (Quran 89:27). Even when the body is loud, the soul at peace is what you are listening back toward.
الفجر
يَٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَئِنَّةُ
‘[But] you, soul at peace
Qur’an 89:27read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Trauma is held in the body, not only the memory, so calming and attending to the body is part of healing, alongside talking. Meeting the sensation kindly is where the release begins.
van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking
Trauma is held in the body; calming and moving the body helps restore a sense of safety alongside talking.
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
Turning toward bodily sensation with gentle attention helps process what trauma stored in the body.
Where this sits: Bottom-up, somatic processing (van der Kolk).