🧘🏼‍♀️ The Body Remembers: 9 Body Parts Storing Emotion As Pain (and How to Actually Heal Them)

During recovery I had to foam roll 2-3 times a day. It taught me to feel the pain and breathe into it to release it rather than avoid it.

I'll never forget when I was in a physical therapy session shortly after my labrum tear reconstruction surgery and tears started flowing down my cheeks uncontrollably during an elevated clamshell hold. The exercise forced me to be still while laying in a fetal position and push against the resistance band. I had to focus on channeling my energy into stabilizing my hip through the newly developed post-op tension and scar tissue. The pain was almost unbearable but I held strong. I tried to hide it as I'm not one to show emotions in public but it felt like a loss of control and then a surrender and then finally a release. Another physical therapist noticed and sent my PT over to check on me where he told me that "it's okay and it's just my body releasing pent up tension and trauma." This had never happened to me before. After a decade of intense, over the top workouts and constant movement and stimulation, the stillness is what initiated my true healing.

During this time I was diagnosed with a fairly severe case of hypermobility leading to an incredibly slow and frustrating road to recovery. It forced me to slow down and find the root to my painful symptoms. Was this hypermobility diagnosis from genetics (being adopted I may never know) or was it a result of adrenal fatigue paired with an extended period of high cortisol and a sprinkle of C-PTSD to top it off?

Maybe it was all of the above but the reality was I didn't give a sh*t about a diagnosis, I cared about accessing improved results and what I had been doing obviously wasn't working. I tried everything - cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, group therapy, physical therapy, working out every day, eating healthy - you name it, I tried it. Mastering every goal I set out to didn't make me feel any better and the pain, inflammation and tension in my body was a signal of that truth. Only when I slowed down and identified the pain centers in my body did I start my road to healing because it allowed me to pinpoint the root. My hip pain? Grief. My jaw pain? Suffering in silence. Overtraining was just a temporary solution to run from that pain rather than address it through intentional movement. No matter how badly I tried, squats and HIIT couldn't fix that.

I started EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). A form of therapy that involves recalling distressing memories while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements and tapping not speaking. This process helps to reduce the emotional impact of the memories and promote healing. I appreciate the mind-body connection of this form of therapy because it's not only working with your memory but also forcing the stored energy to move through your body at the same time. This inspired me to find other solutions like this to add to my routine.

Why I'm telling you this is because I recognized through this experience that you’re not just tight because you haven’t stretched enough or overtrained on leg day too many times. You’re tight because life happened—and your body held on to it even after you thought your heart, mind, or nervous system 'let it go'.

Your body is a map. Every ache, tightness, or tension is a signal—not just of poor posture or overtraining, but of deeper emotional, energetic, and spiritual patterns asking to be acknowledged and released. The body is a storage unit for unprocessed emotions. Trauma, heartbreak, stress, and survival-mode choices all get lodged in our tissue if they don’t get expressed, seen, or metabolized.

The ultimate question isn't why is this happening to me but what is my body trying to communicate to me?

Here’s a breakdown of 9 emotional pain centers aka body parts that store unhealed emotions, the chakras connected to them, and how we can work together to get you feeling free—in your body, your energy, and your life.

Let's tap in... pun intended. 😉

♡ 1. Hips: Grief, Suppressed Emotion & Fear of Vulnerability

Your hips are where unprocessed grief, sexual shame, and deep emotional residue camp out. Trauma and suppressed emotions we never got to express (especially sexual or relational ones) often get buried here.

Connected Chakra: Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) – Pleasure, creativity, emotions, intimacy.

Clues: Tightness, clicking, sciatica, emotional outbursts or unexpected tears during stretches, exercises or foam rolling.

Heal it with:

• Deep hip openers (not just performative ones — ones where you breathe through the feeling, pigeon pose, 90/90s. If you're hypermobile, don't stretch, instead foam roll or massage.)

• Womb/sacral meditations

• Somatic shaking + sensual movement

• Dancing

• Journaling: What do I keep trying to hold together? What am I afraid to feel fully?

♡ 2. Shoulders: Burdens, Over-Responsibility & Perfectionism

Your shoulders speak of what you carry that’s not yours. When the heart is closed, the shoulders rise, guarding it. If you constantly feel like you’re carrying the weight of everyone else’s emotions, responsibilities, or expectations—check your shoulders. That tension? It’s not just from bad posture. It’s from saying “I got it” too many times.

Connected Chakra: Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Love, connection, compassion, boundaries.

Clues: Tension, knots, forward slouching, frozen shoulder

Heal it with:

• Shoulder mobility + pulling exercises (get those postural muscles activated)

• Breath work into the upper chest + traps

• Lymphatic Massage

• Energy healing to soften protective patterns

• Asking: What do I need to put down right now that was never mine to carry?

♡ 3. Neck & Throat: Silenced Expression, Repressed Truth

You ever feel like you’re choking on words you never said? Or that your voice gets shaky when you try to speak your truth? That’s this area saying, “Yo, stop shrinking.” The neck/throat area stores the unsaid, the swallowed words, and the moments we edited ourselves to stay safe or accepted.

Connected Chakra: Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Communication, authenticity.

Clues: Sore throat, stiff neck, TMJ, voice cracking

Heal it with:

• Jaw + neck myofascial release (trust me, this changes lives)

• Chanting, toning, humming, singing, or straight up screaming in your car or a pillow

• Speaking your truth even if your voice shakes

• Journaling: Where am I not speaking up?

• Throat chakra affirmations (“I express myself with clarity and truth”)

  
  

♡ 4. Lower Back: Financial Fears & Survival Stress

The lumbar spine is your energetic foundation and survival center.  Fear about money? Housing? Purpose? Relationships that don’t feel stable? When you're financially or emotionally unstable, the lower back absorbs all of it and speaks loudest. People think it’s a weak core. Sometimes, sure. But often, it’s an unstable root chakra screaming for grounding.

Connected Chakra: Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Safety, stability, survival, basic needs, money.

Clues: Lower back pain, tight QLs, weak core

Heal it with:

• Glute/core activation for stability

• Root chakra grounding rituals (barefoot walking, red foods)

• EFT tapping for scarcity beliefs

• Meditation: What makes me feel secure?

• Affirmations like: I am supported. I belong here.

• I use both movement and energetic practices here in coaching—it’s a game-changer

  
  

♡ 5. Chest & Heart Space: Grief, Love Wounds & Guilt

Tight chest? Guarded heart? This is where you’ve armored up. And sometimes that armor kept you safe. But now it’s making it hard to breathe, connect, or receive love. The heart space stores every loss, heartbreak, betrayal, and time you closed off to protect yourself.

Connected Chakra: Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Love, forgiveness, connection.

Clues: Shallow breathing, rounded upper back, tight pecs, harmless heart palpitations

Heal it with:

• Heart-opening yoga (camel, bridge, sphinx)

• Emotional release breathwork

• Heart-centered affirmations + self-compassion practices

• Journaling: Who or what still lives in my heart space?

• Inner child healing + EMDR

• Compassion work—starting with yourself

• I help clients melt these walls at their own pace, through breath, intention, and emotional release—not forced vulnerability

  
  

♡ 6. Stomach/Gut: Anxiety, Control, Intuition Blockage

Gut issues? Overthinking? Self-doubt? Always trying to plan for everything? Your solar plexus is probably fried. It’s the place where anxiety, imposter syndrome, and control issues love to hang out. Your gut is your emotional processor. Anxiety, shame, or fear of losing control physically manifest as bloating, cramps, and digestive issues.

Connected Chakra: Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) – Willpower, confidence, self-worth, identity, control.

Clues: IBS, acid reflux, tight abs, low appetite, struggle making decisions

Heal it with:

• Breath into the belly—not just the chest

• Digestive massage

• Solar plexus affirmations (“I trust myself. I release control.”)

• Journaling: What am I trying to control right now?

• Food & mood tracking (gut-brain connection is real!)

• Loosening control in small ways (try intuitive movement or meals)

• Emotional regulation practices like vagal toning

• I pair mindset work with somatic calm-down techniques in sessions

  
  

♡ 7. Jaw & Mouth: Repressed Anger + Boundary Issues

This is where all your unspoken “HELL NOs” go. Where your body tightens when you want to bite back but choose silence instead. Clenching your jaw all day? That’s the body trying to hold it all in. The jaw clenches when we don’t feel safe to express anger, say “no,” or defend ourselves.

Connected Chakra: Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Boundaries, honesty, emotional expression.

Clues: TMJ, grinding, headaches, clenched jaw

Heal it with:

• Jaw release and massages, tongue stretches (I can teach you how)

• Screaming into a pillow or primal yelling (yes, seriously)

• Boundary-setting work

• Speak your truth unapologetically

• Guided energy clearings in session to soften stuck fire

• Emotional permission to be angry—without guilt

• Ask: Where am I not allowing myself to be messy, loud, or fierce?

  
  

♡ 8. Hands & Wrists: Control, Grasping, Resistance

This one is subtle, but it’s real. You grip, hold, and overextend through your hands when you’re trying to control outcomes or hold things (and people) together that want to fall apart. The hands represent action and agency. Holding on too tightly to control or outcomes can create stiffness and weakness.

Connected Chakra: Heart + Solar Plexus Combo – Creation, will, giving + receiving, action

Clues: Carpal tunnel, hand cramps, weak grip

Heal it with:

• Wrist mobility and strengthening like circles and finger stretches

• Massage

• Symbolic “let go” rituals (burning old journal pages, cutting cords)

• Meditation: What am I afraid to release?

• Let-go rituals (burn a letter, throw away something symbolic)

• Affirm: I trust the release as much as the receive.

• We dive into control patterns a lot in coaching—it shows up here more than people realize. Ex: how's your grip feel on that barbell?

  
  

♡ 9. Feet & Ankles: Fear of Change, Moving Forward + Trust Issues

Feet are your foundation, baby. They represent forward movement. Pain, instability or stiffness here often means you feel unsure, stuck, or unsafe to take the next step in life.

Connected Chakra: Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Direction, belonging, groundedness, movement, safety

Clues: Ankle instability, plantar fasciitis, foot pain

Heal it with:

• Barefoot balance training + grounding

• Ankle stability

• Salt baths + foot reflexology

• Visualization: What step am I resisting or afraid to take?

• Energy clearing for “rootedness”

❤️‍🩹 Somatic Healing: A Path Back Into the Body

Your body isn’t betraying you (and trust me I used to feel this way)—it’s broadcasting messages to help you. Somatic healing teaches you to listen to the language of your tissues, fascia, and nervous system.

It includes:

• Breathwork

• Somatic movement + corrective training

• Nervous system regulation (polyvagal theory)

• Energy work + chakra clearing

• Emotional release + inner child healing

  
  

💥 Why Training Alone Isn't Enough

You can’t stretch away trauma. You can’t deadlift away grief. You need more than workouts. More than affirmations. More than bubble baths and crystals (though I love a good rose quartz moment). You need integration.

Real healing blends:

✔️ Corrective physical training for stability

✔️ Emotional release + safe expression

✔️ Chakra & energy alignment

✔️ Spiritual inquiry and soul remembrance

💻 Work With Me 1:1

Whether you're craving physical relief, emotional clarity, or energetic rebirth, I got you. I offer private 1:1 coaching that’s fully customized to YOU. Body, mind, spirit. No generic plans. No bypassing. Just truth, movement, and transformation.

I offer integrated coaching that combines:

• Personalized fitness + mobility routines

• Chakra-based somatic healing

• Intuitive energy healing

• Emotional release tools

• Ritual, breathwork, and spiritual mentoring

Reminder: You’re not broken. You’re just full of emotion that was never given a safe way to release. Let’s fix that—gently, powerfully, and together.

‼️ Click here to book a session and co-create your customized transformation package today.