Scars and Trauma
Trauma:
It Lives in the Body - but So Does Healing
by Yolande Hung
In my work as a somatic practitioner, I don’t see trauma as something that’s “in the mind.” I see it as something the body has carried, often quietly, sometimes for decades.
Trauma isn’t what happened to you. It’s defined by what your nervous system couldn’t process at the time. When an experience is too much, too fast, or too overwhelming, the body does exactly what it’s designed to do—it protects you. Fight, flight, freeze, collapse. These are intelligent survival responses. The problem arises when the body never gets the chance to complete them.
That’s when trauma becomes stored.
Healing, then, is not about revisiting the past or pushing through pain. It’s about helping the body feel safe enough, slowly enough, to come back into regulation.
Somatic work meets trauma where it lives—in sensation, breath, movement, fascia, and the nervous system itself. By listening to the body and allowing small, supported experiences of safety and completion, the nervous system begins to reorganise. Stored survival energy releases. The body remembers how to settle again.
I often remind clients: nothing is wrong with you. Your body adapted brilliantly to protect you. And with the right support, it can also learn that it no longer has to.
Trauma is not permanent. The body is wise.
And when we work with it, rather than trying to override it, healing unfolds naturally, gently, and in its own time.
Regards,
Yolande
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, in "The Body Keeps the Score" - describes how
traumatic experiences reshape the brain, the nervous system, and our relationship with our bodies. His work confirms what I see every day: we can understand our trauma intellectually, yet still feel unsafe, tense, disconnected, or stuck. Talking alone often isn’t enough, because trauma isn’t a story we tell, it’s a state in which the body remains.
Dr Bessel van der Kolk © Copyright Link
Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory helps explain why. Our nervous system is constantly scanning for safety. When it doesn’t find it, we move into survival states—fight or flight, or freeze and shutdown. Trauma occurs when the nervous system gets trapped there, even though the danger has passed. The body doesn’t know it’s over.
Dr Stephen Porges © Copyright Link
About Yolande
I am an integrative somatic practitioner, bodywork specialist, and naturopathic health coach.
I use, where appropriate, either MSTR, fascia massage therapy, somatic trauma resolution via TRE® facilitation, and holistic health coaching to support deep, sustainable healing.
I begin by assessing each client’s physical, emotional, and lifestyle patterns. Through hands-on soft-tissue and fascial work, guided neurogenic tremoring, and trauma-sensitive somatic approaches, I help clients recover from injury, surgery, chronic stress, and the effects of stored trauma.
Alongside bodywork, I offer personalised health-coaching support—helping clients cultivate nervous-system-friendly habits, restorative routines, and wellbeing practices that complement their treatment.
My approach blends skilled touch, somatic awareness, and supportive coaching to enhance mobility, emotional resilience, and long-term holistic wellbeing.