How Your Body Uses Emotions To Heal Itself

Chances are you haven’t heard anyone discussing their emotions or how to heal from trauma in church lately.

Sadly, emotional healing is overlooked by many believers due to a lack of teaching.

So let’s talk about how your body uses your emotions, releasing them with God, and trapped trauma in tissue memory.

Be sure you read to the end, so I can walk you through a 5-minute exercise to unblock emotions when encountering God.

Many scholars believe that the energy from a traumatic event can get stored in muscles and tissue (not just the brain.) Leaving you trapped in a physical, behavioral, or emotional cycle that leads to unhealthy patterns or habits.

If you have been through trauma, you know how it affects your mind, body, and inner peace. You’ve probably thought to yourself, “this happened years ago. Why can’t I get over it already!”

Unfortunately, this is what church leaders or family members may have told you to do. The problem with this flawed thinking is it avoids the issue altogether and pushes away the very thing you need to finally release it. 

Some will say, “Jesus paid it all on the cross, just receive your healing and move on.” 

However, walking in healing and wholeness requires a process on our part. 

The painful process of inner healing is the same with our physical body. That wound is uncomfortable and can be extremely painful as the healing process begins. God designed our emotional and inner healing the same way. 

Your Body Relies On Your Emotions

Growing up, I considered myself an emotionally damaged little girl and teenager. Crying over everything and feeling every emotion my parents and siblings had. I had no idea until later that this was a gift, not a curse.

Being an intuitive feeler, I simply learned to absorb all the dysfunction, pain, and trauma around me.

My father had extreme highs and lows. He would process his emotions by trying to control or create fear in those around him. This produced an environment that was unstable and unpredictable. 

I was the youngest in my family, so I was seen as the “baby” in the house. When I sensed stress in my family, it left me feeling overwhelmed and trying to process my emotions, which usually came out in tears. I was expected to stop crying, be quiet or get over it. 

As a result, this stopped the natural process and the healing of emotions to release it.

This is how so many “feelers” learn to process their emotions throughout childhood and young adult life. This can be a recipe for disaster because of the way God designed our self-healing bodies. 

Our emotions are the vehicle our body relies on to find balance, especially after trauma. 

Feelings represent events that have taken place in life. If we don’t allow our body to complete the natural process, the flight response can cause that energy to store in our muscles, organs, and connective tissue. When this happens, our brain disconnects from that part of our body to block the experience.

This is how the healing in our body can get halted, keeping us trapped or stuck in that traumatic event.

Unlocking Tissue Memory Through Encounters With Jesus

My surprising healing process was accelerated during the pandemic in May 2020. God took me on an unexpected journey back to my past. He led me to a friend that took people through heart-healing encounters and activations.

Every time we had a session, I would have a life-changing encounter with Jesus. He would always take me to a past memory. At times it was a beautiful place filled with joy and peace. Other times, He would gently guide me back to a traumatic memory that was buried and forgotten.

Regardless of which memory it was, I would always come out feeling like a huge burden was lifted.

See the difference between thoughts and memories according to Cognitive Neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf.  

There was a healing of emotions taking place. Finally a release of toxic feelings that had been trapped inside of me for years. 

I felt a freedom and lightness that I hadn’t felt before. This was so new to me. In my years in church, I had never experienced inner healing, deliverance, and transformation like this.

Shortly after, He began leading me into encounters with Him regularly. I didn’t have to be afraid to go anywhere if He was the one taking me. With each encounter, my perspective of past events would change. He was now a part of them, healing those parts of me forever.

Healing Of Emotions & Activation

Let’s take a quick journey back to the past now. This will be a happy memory that brings joy and gratitude.

Set aside about 5 minutes to do this exercise…

First, relax your body. 

Put your shoulders back and your feet flat on the ground if sitting in a chair. 

Relax your neck, head, arms, legs, and feet. 

Take a nice deep breath in slowly exhale as you release all stress and anxiety. 

Repeat until you feel every part of your body is relaxed. 

(It may take a few times, it’s okay and completely normal.) 

Okay, now that you’re relaxed, think of a memory or happy place that brings gratitude, joy, or peace. It can be a beach, a place in your garden, a bike ride, a special dinner, or a happy childhood place you always went to. It can be an event. Anything that is highlighted to you as you explore a memory now.

Once you have the memory, look around and pay attention to your surroundings. Can you smell the air, feel a breeze, hear anything, or see what you wore that day? Anything that stands out to you, no matter how big or small it may be. 

Once you can see or feel yourself in the memory, look around and notice where Jesus is. Take your time until you see, sense, or hear Him.

One of God’s names is Emmanuel which means “God with us.”

Not everyone sees Him. You may feel, sense, hear or discern His presence.

There is NO wrong way to experience His presence.

Once you sense where He is, notice where He is in proximity.

If He’s far away, ask Him to come closer.

What is He saying to you in this memory?

Is He looking at you? Is He speaking without words?

You can ask Him a question or tell Him how you feel. 

Anything He says to you here should be a voice of LOVE, not condemnation. When He comes through a prophetic encounter, it’s always to HEAL. 

There are unique ways to release stored trauma from the body that activates the healing of emotions, with so many studies and new information coming to light.  

Prophetic encounters are just one of the ways I’ve seen Him bring healing that beautifully aligns with scripture.

It’s very personal and intimate for each person. 

This healing encounter always leaves the person in awe of God’s powerful presence. 

What did you experience in this exercise? 

Read: My Jesus Encounter in the Deep

Read: What Does an Encounter With God Look Like