The Body Speaks: Healing What the Mind Cannot Express

Natural Joy Yoga
Oct 7
4 min read

Updated: Oct 24

Listening to What Your Body Has Been Holding

"The body holds what the mind cannot express." If you have lived with chronic pain or deep trauma, this phrase may resonate more than you realize. Your body holds tensions, emotions, and memories that your mind may not yet be able to process. Not because something is wrong with you, but because the body has its own intelligence—it has been protecting you in its own way.

During our past restorative yoga retreat in Norway, we discovered how conscious breathing and gentle movement can become a safe pathway to reconnect with these sensations. Each inhale and exhale allows the body to release stored tensions, gradually and without force.

Science supports: practices like these activate the parasympathetic nervous system, reduce stress, and help your body find a state of safety and calm.

You don’t need words to begin healing. Sometimes the mind can’t explain what you feel, and it’s your body that speaks first. Listening to your body, honoring its signals, and moving gently can be a profound act of self-healing—helping you reconnect with your inner strength, release tension, and restore balance.If you’re ready to take the first step, embodied awareness can open the door to deep, steady healing, reminding you that you are not alone and that your well-being is possible—even after profound pain.

The Body’s Memory and the Possibility of Healing

As Bessel van der Kolk explains in The Body Keeps the Score, “Trauma is stored in the body, not just in the mind.” Difficult experiences, chronic pain, or past trauma don’t simply vanish by ignoring them—they remain in muscles, posture, breath, and energy.

Van der Kolk reminds us that the body is a living archive of what we’ve endured—and that ignoring it only perpetuates suffering. But there is hope: the body can learn to release, regulate, and heal. It’s not magic nor instant—it’s a patient, compassionate process.Through restorative yoga, slow movement, mindful breathing, and stillness help the body communicate its needs. Each small release creates space for resilience and renewal.

As van der Kolk writes: “Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of recovery.” Conscious practice not only helps us listen to our bodies but rebuild a sense of inner and outer safety—reminding us that self-care is a right, not a luxury.

Yoga Therapy and Mental Health

Yoga therapy offers a personalized path to healing both body and mind. Research on yoga therapy and mental health show that breathwork, meditation, and gentle movement reduce anxiety, ease stress, and improve emotional regulation.

Therapeutic yoga adapts postures and breathing to individual needs, creating a safe environment where the body can release tension and the mind can rest. Healing the body helps heal the mind, fostering balance, resilience, and emotional well-being.

How yoga therapy supports trauma healing:

Body-mind connection: Yoga helps people reconnect with their bodies after traumatic experiences, which often cause a sense of numbness or dissociation. It encourages individuals to become aware of their physical sensations and feelings in a safe way.
Physiological regulation: Yoga practices, including mindful movement and focused breathing, can help regulate the body's stress response (fight, flight, or freeze). By learning to stay present with bodily sensations and to breathe calmly, individuals can begin to shift their physiology from a state of high arousal to one of greater calm.
Neurobiological impact: The book The Body Keeps the Score highlights that trauma leaves imprints on the brain and body. Yoga helps the body learn that the danger has passed and that it is safe in the present moment, which is key for healing past trauma stored in the body.
Agency and control: A trauma-informed approach to yoga ensures the individual has a sense of control and agency over their practice. This is vital because trauma survivors often feel a lack of control; therefore, they are empowered to move at their own pace and make choices throughout the practice.
Complements traditional therapy: Yoga is not a replacement for talk therapy, but a powerful complement. By helping individuals feel safe and connected in their bodies, yoga can make them more able to process traumatic memories during traditional talk therapy sessions without being overwhelmed.

A Path Toward Wholeness

Integrating restorative yoga and yoga therapy into your life invites deep self-reconnection. Each mindful breath and gentle movement is a step toward releasing tension, processing emotions, and restoring harmony between body and mind.

During early October, I spoke with colleagues working at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Oslo. Inspired by these conversations, we aim to create a yoga therapy group focused on mental health, combining body-based practices, conscious breathing, and psychological insight.

We are currently seeking a suitable space in Oslo and are also inviting professionals who feel called to collaborate. If you resonate with this approach or know of a potential space, your participation and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

No matter how long pain or trauma have been part of your life, healing is possible—slow but steady. Allow yourself to feel, move, and breathe consciously—a radical act of self-care.

Let´s try a short Visualization Exercise

Close your eyes and imagine a warm light traveling through your body from head to toe; with each exhale, the light gently dissolves tension, leaving you calm and grounded.

Reflect: “How does your breath or emotional state change when you allow yourself to pause and simply feel?”

Take the first step into healing exploration

If you feel your body is holding emotions or memories your mind cannot process, consider exploring yoga therapy. Start with small, gentle steps: a few mindful breaths, a restorative pose, or educational YT resources on yoga therapy and mental health.

Every small act of care is a step toward healing. Your body holds the wisdom to release what no longer serves you, and your mind can find calm and clarity in the process. Healing begins when you give yourself permission to listen and care.