Note: This article discusses sexual trauma broadly without being graphic. It does not focus on graphic details of the experience of survivors to respect their lived experiences. If you are feeling triggered while reading, please take a moment to take a break or contact a person you trust for support. You can read at your own pace.
You might be a survivor of sexual trauma, or maybe you work with or know a survivor, or perhaps you’re interested in this issue and want to learn more about it. Regardless of why you are here, please know that you are not alone in this journey and that your presence is valued.
Sexual trauma is a part of the silent stories that lie within our culture; it is experienced by many survivors, affecting millions of people, yet it is often stigmatized, ignored and kept quiet. Many survivors feel disconnected from their bodies, judged for their experiences by the people around them, and have no idea what the healing process looks like.
This article presents a holistic, body-based viewpoint on sexual trauma and healing—the focus of this approach is the inherent wisdom of the human body. This approach is based upon the combined practices of Hakomi Therapy and the Innate Somatic Intelligence™ Trauma Therapy (ISITTA) framework, which teaches that true healing comes not only from our minds, but also from our partnering with our neural and physical systems and the innate ability that we each possess to create balance within ourselves. As such, this article aims to shed light on how to move forward from a place of empowerment and self-awareness and with joyful acceptance of your intelligence as a survivor.
How Sexual Trauma Lives in the Body
The Body Remembers
Sexual trauma affects a person’s mind, but it also has an effect on their body through sensory perception. A survivor may not have conscious recollection or memory of the situation(s) that caused the trauma, but the effects of the trauma will remain in the form of sensations and tension; that is, a survivor’s response to the violation of her boundaries (the loss of agency) and the shattering of her sense of safety are embedded within her body’s nervous system.
Trauma is stored in the Survivor’s body in forms of: tightness, tension, and instinctual protective behaviours. An adult Survivor can be hyper-alert in situations and have an instinctual response due to a tone of voice or pressure on the body or even a type of material (clothing) without being able to understand, or recognize what is causing this reaction. Survivors of Trauma do not experience this hyper-alert reaction because they are weak, nor do they experience it because they are not healing. Rather, the hyper-alert reaction is indicative of how intelligent, and how dynamic our bodies can be when it comes to protecting us from harm.
Nervous System Adaptation
The nervous system is faced with an extensive degree of overload when someone has been sexually assaulted; the challenge of having their bodily integrity and autonomy threatened with little means to escape/ defend themselves (i.e., helplessness); consequently, the person’s nervous system reacts to these stresses by adapting to the situation through mobilization, freezing or collapsing, meaning that the system has created the best chance for that individual to survive.
These reactions are not pathological; they represent protective mechanisms whereby the nervous system’s wisdom has been used to help the person cope with sexual trauma.
Over time, however, the protective mechanisms can become chronically activated; therefore the person may remain in either hyperalertness (hyper-arousal) to a certain degree, and/or hypo-arousal (dissociation) to a lesser degree. Some ways that survivors of sexual trauma will experience hyper-arousal and/or hypo-arousal include:
Hyper-Arousal: Experiencing a heightened awareness of potential threats and feeling unable to settle down, along with having an increased heart rate at times when there was no immediate threat;
Hypo-Arousal: Experiencing detachment from one’s own body, detachment from the emotional responses to experiences that would typically elicit an emotional response;
Dissociation: Experiencing “being out of the body” or watching oneself from a distance;
Dysfunctional Breathing Patterns: Having unconscious tension in the pelvic region, upper and lower backs, or jaw; this tension has developed as a protective response to sexual trauma.
The Gift of Recognition
When a survivor recognizes these patterns of behavior and says to themselves,’Oh my God, I feel like someone is suffocating me and I understand what that means,’ there is a shift in their awareness.
The first step in gaining control of a traumatic response is recognizing it. It’s as if the nervous system is saying, ‘I know who you are and I have been keeping you safe.’ You and I can work together to create a different relationship.
Core Somatic Principles for Healing
1. Safety and Pacing (Inside-Out Transformation)
Recovering from sexual abuse does not happen in one day. Recovery cannot be done through sheer intensity, effort, force, and willpower alone but instead must take place gradually and gently; therefore, the body must relearn that both the environment and the body itself can be safe.
In somatic therapy, we start the process of recovery from within. We begin to create resources to support and nurture the nervous system (the body) before we process any of the traumas. Creating a supportive environment will lead to resourcing the present moment and creating a safe environment for the individual. Creating a safe and resourced environment will depend on the individual; thus, we cannot specify exact individual resources, but we do create what we refer to as “windows of tolerance” (the area of the nervous system that is neither hyperaroused nor a complete shutdown).
Some examples of the work we will do include:
1. Spending some time noticing the support of the ground beneath us or how our bodies are in contact with a chair, bed, or the earth.
2. Identifying or being aware of various people, locations, or feelings that create a sense of safety (e.g., the sound of someone’s voice or the feel of an object).
3. Learning to trust our bodies to move at their own pace and never attempting to force a sensation or emotion to surface.
The healing process in this tradition is based on the concept of organicity; we follow the natural progression according to our bodies’ clock and rhythm (not based on a fixed schedule). At times, working on a sensation can be as brief as thirty seconds; at other times, there may be more to the sensation than initially thought. In both situations, the experience is equally meaningful.
2. Mindful Body Awareness and Compassionate Witnessing
One of the deepest wounds of sexual trauma is the sense that one’s body is not one’s own, that sensation cannot be trusted. Reclaiming the body begins with a gentle, non-judgmental awareness of sensation and emotion as they arise.
Mindful body awareness in this context is not about forcing positivity or “sending love” to hurt places. It is about turning toward sensation with curiosity and kindness, as if you were observing a dear friend’s experience.
“I notice tightness in my chest. I don’t need to fix it or make it mean anything. I just notice: tightness is here. It’s been trying to protect me.”
This compassionate witnessing—the ability to observe one’s own experience without judgment—is a form of re-inhabitation. It says to the nervous system: You are safe to be felt. You are safe to be known.
3. Co-Regulation and Relational Safety
Human beings are naturally inclined to create relationships. Trauma, specifically sexual trauma, impedes our ability to build trusting relationships. But healing occurs through a relationship. Healing happens when we connect with another person who has the skills and training in working with trauma. A trauma-trained professional provides a safe environment where we can learn what it looks like to be present for ourselves and the other person, creating an opportunity for co-regulation.
Co-regulation occurs when two or more regulated nervous systems find a shared place of comfort and stability. A practitioner who is grounded in their own body and who has done their own inner healing work is able to be present with the survivor during difficult times without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. The survivor now has a new way of thinking about safety with other people. Co-regulation allows survivors to feel safe with others.
A safe relationship between a practitioner and survivor is not something that just happens; it is created through a process of consistent attunement, a commitment on the part of the practitioner to maintain their somatic integrity, and establishing respectful boundaries. All three of these components are necessary for establishing a safe environment for survivors.
4. Respect for Agency and Consent
Essentially, sexual trauma is a violation of consent and agency. Therefore, one of the essential components of the healing process for survivors is the restoration of both their consent and their agency. Somatic work that is grounded in this principle never asks a survivor to do anything; rather, survivors will be invited and offered choices. Furthermore, throughout the process, survivors will be reminded that they are experts on their own experiences, and that their “yes,” “no,” and “maybe” responses are valid and respected.
An example of what this could look like might be:
- Asking permission before touching a survivor (with full respect for a survivor’s right to say no)
- Providing a variety of options for how to proceed, while also showing respect for a survivor’s ability to say no
- Communicating often with a survivor about the pace and intensity of the work
- Explicitly stating that a survivor can pause, stop, and change course at any time
The healing process can only begin in an environment that has restored a survivor’s ability to choose.
Somatic Pathways to Healing: A Compass, Not a Map
This section provides detail about various Somatic territories a trauma informed practitioner can explore with a survivor. These territories are examples of potential possibilities to explore, not meant to be prescriptive nor used individually for acute trauma. Instead, they demonstrate the type of gentle and intelligent work that occurs when a skilled trauma informed practitioner partners with a survivor.
Grounding and Orienting
One of the most fundamental nervous system responses to trauma is a loss of present-moment awareness. The body, in its wisdom, leaves the “now” to escape an unbearable situation. Healing involves gently bringing awareness back to the present—to what is actually happening right now, in this moment, where safety may be possible.
Grounding practices help the nervous system re-establish contact with the here-and-now:
- Sensory awareness: Noticing five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste. This simple practice anchors attention in immediate, safe sensation.
- Felt sense of support: Feeling the ground, a chair, or a blanket supporting your weight. The earth is holding you. This moment, right now, you are safe.
- Orienting to the environment: Noticing where you are, what season it is, who is present, what sounds surround you. This subtle shift from internal overwhelm to external awareness can shift the nervous system toward parasympathetic engagement (the “rest and digest” state).
Breath and Micro-Movement Awareness
The nervous system is closely related to the breath. Our breathing is a symptom of when we are dysregulated, hyperaroused or shut down. On the other hand, a nervous system also starts to change when we change the breath softly.
In somatic work with trauma, we do not impose breathing. Instead, we invite awareness:
Natural breath observation: Just observing where you feel your breath, in your nose, in your chest, in your belly. No need to change it. Just observe, with kindness.
Light stretching: When it feels natural, the exhale can be stretched a little. The natural effect of the longer exhale is the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the signal of safety to the body.
Micro-movements: These are tiny, natural movements, a slight sway, a slight change of position, a slow roll of the shoulders, and so on, and they can be used to release incomplete protective responses that were stored in the body. These are not workouts, but calls to move in the way the body desires to move.
The space developed by a trained practitioner is where these practices take place in a natural way, at the pace and rhythm of the survivor.
Pelvic and Core Resourcing
The pelvic area is frequently deeply protective to the survivors of sexual trauma. In somatic terms, the pelvis is a seat of power, sexuality, creativity and groundedness. This area can be numb, shrunk, or full of intricate feeling as a result of violation.
Pelvic and core resourcing–performed with great delicacy, permission, and expert direction–can be used to reintroduce a sense of agency and aliveness to this part of the body. It never concerns imposing feeling or delight. Rather, it is about:
Awareness without blame: Recognizing what sensations, tensions or lack of sensation are in the pelvis, without attempting to alter them.
Gentle resource construction: Starting with an experienced practitioner, it is possible to start accessing the sensations of support, grounding or subtle aliveness in the pelvic floor and core- at the pace that feels safe.
Reconnection to agency: Becoming aware that the pelvis belongs to you, that you have a right to be in it, and that the healing process is a gradual re-possession of this aspect of yourself.
This is a very demanding work, and it needs a highly trained, trauma-informed practitioner who is aware of the subtleties of somatic work in relation to sexual trauma. It is never hurried, never coerced and is always done with clear consent and at any point it can be stopped.
Mindfulness-Based Sensation Tracking
One of the foundations of Hakomi-informed and ISITTA work is the ability to follow sensation and emotion in a soft, curious manner. It is not intellectual analysis but felt-sense consciousness.
Within a supported setting, a survivor may:
- Awareness of where in the body they experience a certain emotion (fear as a tightening of the throat, shame as a heaviness in the chest).
- Note the quality of a feeling without having to alter it (is it warm or cold? moving or still? familiar or strange?).
- What happens when they face the sensation with pity instead of evading it?
This is gradually conditioning the nervous system: Sensation is information. It is not danger. I am able to perceive myself with sensation and be safe.
The Wisdom of Titration
In all this, one of the most important principles is titration–the art of doing things in small manageable portions. A survivor does not deal with the totality of a trauma within one session. Instead they operate one thread, one sensation, one memory at a time, at a rate that their nervous system can assimilate.
This is not avoidance. It is reverence to the way of healing that occurs: slowly, naturally and within the time of the body.
The Role of Trauma-Informed Practitioners and Community
Why Professional Support Matters
Although self-awareness and self-compassion are priceless, sexual trauma healing usually involves the presence of a professional, who is trained to work with trauma. Here’s why:
Nervous System Attunement: A trained practitioner is able to detect when your nervous system is getting dysregulated and can assist you to come back to a resourced state. They are able to notice the minor clues of dissociation or hyperarousal that you are yet to notice in yourself.
Relational Safety: Since trauma destroys trust in relationships, the therapeutic relationship is itself a healing place. A boundaried, attuned, and trustful practitioner provides your nervous system with a novel experience of relational safety.
Specialized Knowledge: Trauma has certain effects on the nervous system and the body. A practitioner who has been trained in somatic practices knows how to engage the patterns of protection of the body without retraumatizing you.
Containment and Titration: An experienced practitioner is able to make sure that the speed of the healing process is not overwhelming, and that you are not overwhelmed, and that the experiences are contained in the session in a proper way.
Embodywise’s Commitment
Embodywise is committed to educating the next generation of somatically-based, trauma-informed practitioners. This commitment is based on a number of beliefs:
The Personal Somatic Journey of the Practitioner: A therapist or coach who has never undertaken his or her own healing work cannot safely lead another through theirs. Embodwise training underlines that the practitioners are required to practice their own somatic exploration, their own nervous system resourcing, and their own continuous development. The first and most significant instrument of the therapeutic relationship is a regulated, resourced practitioner.
Embodied, Soma-Up Learning: In contrast to trainings where intellectual knowledge is valued, Embodwise courses are based on first-hand experience. Practitioners do not just study somatic work, but learn by their bodies, and come to have a felt sense of the principles they will subsequently teach others.
Inclusive, Mindful Community: Healing communities should be respectful of diversity, intersectionality and the specifics of how trauma intersects with identity. Embodywise trainings provide a space where practitioners of any background can learn about their own somatic intelligence and become culturally humble to serve a variety of clients.
Continuous Practice and Implementation: Training is not over with certification. Practitioners are assisted in continual learning, practice, and incorporation- understanding that somatic competence is a life long process.
Gentle Self-Support and Boundaries
In the event that you are a survivor and reading this, we would like to provide you with some basic, grounding reminders. they are not curing practices, but sweet anchors to your own consciousness:
Listen to Your Inner Signals
Sexual trauma can have taught you over time to not trust your own yes and no signals- your gut feelings, your intuition and what feels right. The process of healing consists of learning to trust these signals again.
Notice:
- What situations, people, or environments evoke a felt sense of safety in your body?
- When do you feel the urge to say “no,” and how often do you honor that urge?
- Are there moments when something feels like a “maybe”—neither a full yes nor a full no? That ambiguity is valid and worth exploring with patience.
There is no rush to have clarity. The capacity to sense your own “yes,” “no,” and “maybe” is itself a healing process.
Take Breaks as Needed
Reading about trauma can stir feelings. You may feel sadness, anger, or a sense of heaviness. You may feel nothing at all—and that, too, is okay. If at any point this article feels like too much, please pause. Step away. Feel the ground beneath you. Connect with someone you trust. Return when and if you choose to.
Your pace is your own. There is no “right” way to engage with this material.
Identify Your Support Network
Healing does not happen in isolation. Notice:
- Who are the people in your life who have shown they can be trusted?
- What spaces—a favorite room, a park, a library—feel genuinely safe to you?
- What resources exist in your community (support groups, therapy, crisis lines, spiritual communities, trusted friends)?
You do not need to do this alone. And reaching out for support is a sign of wisdom, not weakness.
Seek Professional Help If You Feel Unsafe
If you are in acute distress, experiencing suicidal thoughts, or feel unsafe, please reach out to a crisis service immediately:
- National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), available 24/7
- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
- International Association for Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
These services are confidential, compassionate, and trained to help. You deserve support.
A Compassionate Reframe
Healing from sexual trauma is not a destination you reach and then consider “done.” It is a process—sometimes slow, sometimes surprising, always deeply worthy of honor.
You may have internalized the message that your body is broken, that what happened to you has irreparably damaged you, that healing means returning to a pre-trauma self that no longer exists. None of these are true.
What is true:
Your body is not broken. It is a survivor. It protected you in an impossible situation and continues to protect you even when that protection is no longer needed. The tensions, the numbing, the hypervigilance—these are evidence of your body’s extraordinary intelligence and resilience.
You are not alone. Millions of survivors are walking this path. Healing communities, trauma-informed practitioners, somatic approaches, and relational wisdom all exist to support you.
Healing is possible. Not a return to who you were before, but a gradual reclamation of agency, presence, and the capacity to inhabit your body with increasing gentleness and aliveness. This healing is not linear. It spirals. It surprises. It is, at its deepest, a homecoming to yourself.
Your innate somatic intelligence—the wisdom already alive in your body—is always available to you. A skilled practitioner can help you access and trust it. But it is yours. It belongs to you. You do not have to earn it or prove you deserve it.
Next Steps: For Survivors and Allies
If you are a survivor seeking support, consider:
- Exploring local therapy options: Search for therapists trained in trauma-informed care, somatic psychology, or EMDR. Psychology Today’s therapist finder, RAINN’s resource database, and local sexual assault service providers can help connect you with skilled professionals.
- Connecting with support communities: Many communities offer survivor support groups, either in-person or online. These spaces offer the profound gift of being truly understood.
- Learning more: If you resonate with somatic approaches, Embodywise offers resources, articles, and a directory of trained practitioners. You can explore how body-based healing might support your journey.
If you are an ally or a helping professional seeking to deepen your somatic competence:
- Explore Embodywise trainings: The Innate Somatic Intelligence™ Trauma Therapy (ISITTA) programs and Hakomi-informed offerings are designed for practitioners ready to ground their work in the body and develop the somatic literacy necessary for trauma-informed practice.
- Invest in your own practice: Remember that your own somatic development is not separate from your ability to guide others. Engage in the practices, the learning, the discomfort, and the discovery alongside your clients.
- Connect with community: Join learning communities of practitioners committed to ongoing growth, mutual support, and the development of trauma-informed, somatically grounded care.
Closing: A Gentle Affirmation
If you have read this far, you have already taken a profound step. Whether you are a survivor beginning to reclaim your body, a practitioner deepening your skills, or an ally seeking to understand, you are honoring the sacred work of healing.
Healing is not about perfection. It is about presence. It is about the slow, tender work of returning home to yourself—to your body, your breath, your capacity to feel, your right to safety and dignity.
Your body is not your enemy. Your nervous system’s protective responses are not failures. Your journey is not too slow, too painful, or too complicated. You are exactly where you need to be.
And if you are ready, there are people—skilled, compassionate, somatically grounded practitioners—who are honored to walk this path with you.
Trust yourself. Trust your body. Trust the possibility of healing.
You are worthy of it.
Embodywise is committed to supporting embodied healing professionals and creating more compassionate, conscious communities. If you are a practitioner seeking to deepen your somatic trauma competence, explore our trainings. If you are a survivor seeking support, know that healing is possible, and you do not have to walk this path alone.
