The Body Remembers: How Trauma Lives in Muscle and Cells

I’ve lived with a bad back and neck for over 25 years.

Regular chiropractic work has helped keep things manageable, but the pain never truly goes away—it just moves in waves. Some days are better than others. And for a long time, I chalked it up to posture, work, ageing.

But stepping deeper into the world of holistic healing, I kept hearing the same idea:

The body stores trauma.

At first, I didn’t give it much thought.But the more I reflected on my own experiences—the pain patterns, the tension that returns to the same places—I started wondering…

What if this isn’t just physical? What if the trauma is in the tissues?

The Link Between Trauma and the Body

Modern science is catching up to what many ancient traditions already knew:The body holds memory.

It’s not just stored in the brain—it’s stored in the muscles, fascia, and even individual cells.

When something stressful or traumatic happens, especially when we don’t have the tools or support to process it, the body tightens to protect itself.Muscles brace. Breath shortens. Organs contract.And if we stay in that state long enough, the body starts to normalise the tension.

That holding becomes a baseline.

Muscle Memory Isn’t Just for Skills

We often hear about muscle memory in sports or dance. But there’s a deeper layer—the body remembers emotional states too.

Grief in the chest.Fear in the gut.A clenched jaw from years of biting back words.

For me, the back and neck tension has started to feel like a residue from decades of masking, overworking, absorbing emotion, and carrying things I didn’t even realise were mine.

The Science of Cellular Memory

Research into neuropeptides—tiny molecules that carry emotional signals throughout the body—suggests that every emotion we feel has a physical imprint.

Dr Candace Pert, one of the pioneers in this field, described emotions as being “held in the body,” not just interpreted by the mind.

In other words, trauma doesn’t just “happen to us.”It leaves a trace.At the biochemical level.In the cells, the muscles, the connective tissue.

When the Sound Isn’t Gentle

Not all sound is soft and soothing.Some of it stirs.

One of the most powerful instruments I use in my soundbaths is a 40” wind gong.Unlike the smooth harmonics of a symphonic gong, this one is wild—chaotic, crashing, unpredictable.

And I’ve noticed something:This gong brings things up.

Some people feel unease.Others feel sadness, irritation, even panic.It doesn’t “calm” in the traditional sense—but it moves. And sometimes, that’s exactly what’s needed.

Because not everything inside us is harmonious.We all carry inner dissonance.And when that’s mirrored back through sound, it can feel uncomfortable—but also deeply revealing.

That’s why I now introduce this gong before each session.I let people know: this sound might stir something. If it does, don’t run from it. Get curious.

Ask:

• Why do I feel this way when I hear it?

• What does it stir in me?

• When have I felt this before in my life?

The sound becomes a kind of mirror.Not to analyse you—but to invite awareness.

Because sometimes the most powerful healing doesn’t come from soothing…It comes from safely facing what we’ve avoided.

Sound as a Way In

What I’ve learned over the years—through sound work, especially—is that you can’t always talk your way out of trauma. But you can feel your way through it.

Sound reaches the places words can’t.

When I lie with a bowl on my belly, or play the gong with my eyes closed, I don’t always know what’s shifting.But I feel something move.The tension changes.Sometimes there are tears. Sometimes laughter. Sometimes just stillness.But always… something softens.

How Sound Works on the Body

• Vibration penetrates tissueSound waves don’t just bounce off the skin—they move through water, fascia, and muscle. And since the body is over 70% water, this movement can have a deep, physical effect.

• Resonance helps release stored patternsWhen a sound matches the “stuck” frequency in the body, it creates a kind of vibrational dissonance—gently loosening what’s been held tight.

• No words requiredYou don’t have to explain your trauma. You don’t have to relive it.You just have to listen—and let the body respond in its own time.

How I Hold Myself Differently Now

I no longer try to “fix” the pain.I try to listen to it.

What is my body trying to tell me?What haven’t I allowed myself to feel?Where did I tighten… and forget to let go?

And more importantly—what new signals can I send through sound, breath, and awareness to remind my body that it’s safe?

Let’s Leave You with This

If you’ve carried chronic pain or tightness in your body for years…If it always returns to the same spots, no matter what you try…If you feel like your body is holding something you can’t quite name

You’re not imagining it. Your body remembers.

But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck.

Because just as pain can be stored—it can also be released.

Not through pressure.Not through force.But through gentle presence.Through sound.Through allowing.

🖤Because healing doesn’t always mean figuring it out.Sometimes, it just means giving your body a new frequency to follow.