When silence lives in the body series, week 6.

The series has covered a lot around silence that is being held in the body and last week’s blog specifically about learning how to notice the silence within. Once we notice little moments or cues of the different types of silences we might hold in our bodies, we can start to explore how to express our voice, without pressure. 

Voice does’t always mean talking; it can be felt, written, or expressed through gentle movement. My course ‘trauma-informed writing’ is a beautiful, structured way of how to access those silent parts of us and how to safely and in your own pace and place, starting to give notice and voice to those parts.

Voice exists at the pace that your body and mind allow.

When you start to listen to your body, to the little cues in different situations or environments, you will learn to feel when your body is more relaxed and when it is not. This is the pace of you body and your mind. When you are not ready to express something, in what ever way you choose to, the pressure to do so can result in a fight or flight response, which is also known as emotional flooding. 

The brain sits down due to stress hormones spike, which causes the prefrontal cortex to go offline. So it is important to take small steps, to listen to those cues and signals from your body. To give your body and mind time to process what it is communicating. Then when it feels safe, relaxed and ok, you will know how to express the part that feels safe enough to be seen and to be heard. 

Small expressions of self 

Those expressions of self, when you are ready can be small, yet very powerful; a breath, a sigh, a gesture, a written word. It is a way to communicate back to your body and mind: ‘I am ok’. And it signals to your nervous system it can relax even deeper. And thus learning to listen to the cues of safety, rather than the stress or danger cues.

Therapy

Relational therapy supports incremental expression, in a safe environment with a compassionate witness, helping the nervous system integrate safe ways to communicate. The therapeutic relationship serves as a mirror for how to look at your inner world, by experiencing acceptance and understanding.

If you’d like to try out what it would feel like to express something in a small, safe way, try my somatic practice: micro-expression. Sign up below to access the workbook that accompanies this 8 week series. 

Remember

“Your voice belongs to you, even when it’s quiet. Small, safe expressions can become powerful bridges from silence to presence.”