Published: 24th May 2026 | The Healing Rebel Podcast, Episode 246
Is trauma stored in the body? Can fascia release heal it? Is there one modality, one practitioner, one magic pill that’s finally going to fix you?
Short answer: no.
I’m Jen Wilson, The Healing Rebel, and this episode is me wading into the conversation, and in some places the argument, that’s playing out across the wellness industry right now. There’s a particular kind of marketing happening where practitioners are promising trauma release through fascia work. And there’s a particular kind of seeking happening where people are looking for the one thing that’ll finally resolve everything.
Listen on your favourite platform:
[Spotify] [Apple Podcasts] [Amazon Music]
What this episode is about
I want to talk honestly about what’s actually going on in your body when you experience trauma, what fascia is and isn’t, what touch and movement and breath actually do, and why the “pill for every ill” mentality keeps so many capable, intelligent women stuck on a wellness merry-go-round.
This isn’t an attack on bodywork. I’m a bodyworker. It’s an invitation to look more carefully at the claims being made in the industry and to take some pressure off yourself if you’ve been chasing the next thing.
The Body Keeps the Score: what’s changed since 2014
Bessel van der Kolk’s book was published in 2014, which means it was probably written around 2011 or 2012. In terms of science and our understanding of the body, that’s a long time ago.
Even van der Kolk’s own thinking has evolved since then. The current mantra in trauma-informed circles is closer to: the body doesn’t keep the score, the brain keeps the score, the body is the scorecard.
That’s a meaningful shift. It moves us away from the idea that trauma is a substance physically lodged in your tissues, waiting to be released by the right practitioner with the right hands. And it moves us toward something more accurate, which is that your nervous system creates patterns of holding, bracing, and shrinking based on what’s happened to you.
Why two people can go through the same experience and only one is traumatised
Trauma isn’t what happens to you. It’s how your body responds to what happens to you.
That distinction matters. There are so many factors that influence whether a difficult experience becomes traumatic: gender, personal history, genetics, nervous system regulation at the time, the support you had around you, your general outlook on life. Two people in the same car accident can walk away with very different nervous system responses.
This is why blanket claims of “come and get this treatment and your trauma will be released” don’t hold up. Your trauma, your nervous system, and your healing path are unique to you.
What’s actually happening in your body
What we do know is that trauma creates patterns of movement and holding. I had a client who, after a car collision where someone came in nose-first into the side of her vehicle, always sat with her hand pressed onto the passenger seat while driving, leaning away from the driver’s door. Her body had structured itself around that experience.
I’ve done this myself. After my last Crohn’s flare, I was inflamed all down my left side. I started holding myself in a shortened, tight pattern on that side. Two years on, I’m still gently working it out: intentional stretching, conscious movement awareness, building strength, slowly releasing.
If someone has been shouted at repeatedly from the same side of their body, that’s likely where they’re holding tension. If someone has made themselves small to feel safe, you’ll see it in their shoulders, their chest, their breath.
When you start to release those patterns through bodywork, you can feel exposed. Vulnerable. Emotional. That’s real. But it’s not the same thing as stored trauma leaving your body.
So why do people cry on the massage table?
A few things are happening at once.
Trauma creates a chemical and hormonal response in your body. If you’ve clamped down at the moment of an overwhelming experience, those chemicals haven’t fully processed through. When you open up, when you breathe properly, when your nervous system feels safe enough to release, those chemicals can finally move. And because the chemicals are tied to the original feeling, the feeling can come back up too.
That’s not stored trauma releasing. That’s your body finally getting to process what it didn’t get to process at the time.
It’s also worth saying: tears are part of your body’s detoxification process. Crying isn’t a breakdown. It’s a function.
Is fascia an organ? Does it matter?
There’s a whole side debate going on about whether fascia is an organ. The argument for is that it has functionality within the body. The argument against is that it doesn’t have clear boundaries like the liver, kidneys, or lungs.
Honestly, I don’t think it matters. What matters is that fascia is connective tissue that holds the body together, responds to touch and movement, and is part of an ecosystem that includes your nervous system, your lymphatic system, your muscles, and your organs.
Fascia is having its moment. It’s interesting. It’s worth learning about. But it’s not the missing link. There is no single missing link.
Why touch matters
Touch is essential. Our nervous system, the sensory nerves embedded throughout the fascia, and the central nervous system all respond to it.
Many people have never properly touched their own bodies. There are parts of you that have probably never been laid hands on. Maybe you were told as a child that some parts were dirty. Maybe there’s surgical history, a health condition, a trauma associated with a particular area.
Getting to know your own body through touch, with awareness, is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It’s how you notice changes early. It’s how you build a relationship with the body you live in 24 hours a day.
This is part of why I always invite my clients to learn self-lymphatic drainage. It’s not just about the lymphatic system. It’s about the touch.
Why your breath does more than you think
Your diaphragm sits across your torso like a dome, rib to rib, breastbone to spine. When you take a proper diaphragmatic breath, the rib cage expands and the diaphragm pushes down, squashing the organs in the lower half of the body. When you exhale, everything releases and stretches.
That movement is your internal pump for the lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system doesn’t have its own pump. It needs muscle contraction, movement, and diaphragmatic breath to do its job.
When you’re in a state of stress or holding pattern, you’ve probably clamped down. Shallow chest breathing becomes the default. The lymphatic pump slows. The body’s processing slows with it.
Learning to breathe again, properly, is one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do.
You are not broken
The wellness industry has a problem with the “pill for every ill” narrative. There’s always a new thing. A new modality. A new practitioner promising the missing piece.
If any of it worked the way it’s being sold, I’d be healed by now. I’ve done the talk therapy, the psychedelic therapy, the movement therapy, the massage, the Reiki, the energy work, the sound. I’ve tried pretty much everything.
What I’ve learned is that you are not broken. You don’t need to be fixed. You are having an experience, something isn’t going quite right, and the work is to adjust and adapt with curiosity rather than panic.
Pick one thing you feel drawn to. Explore it with interest. Let it teach you something. Then see what’s next.
Frequently asked questions
Is trauma stored in the body?
Not in the way the wellness industry often claims. Trauma creates patterns of holding, bracing, and movement in the body via the nervous system. The body responds to trauma, but trauma itself isn’t a substance lodged in your tissues waiting to be released.
Can fascia release heal trauma?
Fascia release work can help you feel better, regulate your nervous system, release physical holding patterns, and create the conditions for emotional processing. But it isn’t a standalone cure for trauma, and any practitioner claiming guaranteed trauma release should be approached with caution.
Why do I cry during massage or fascia work?
When your body finally feels safe enough to release a long-held pattern, chemicals and hormones associated with the original experience can finally process through your system. Emotional release is a normal and healthy part of bodywork. It’s not a sign that something is wrong.
Is fascia an organ?
The scientific community is still debating this. Fascia has functionality within the body but doesn’t have clear boundaries like other organs. What matters more is understanding that fascia is part of a wider ecosystem in the body, not a standalone solution.
What’s the difference between trauma and holding patterns?
Trauma is the nervous system’s response to an overwhelming experience. Holding patterns are the physical postures and movements your body adopts to feel safe afterwards. They’re related but not the same thing.
Why is diaphragmatic breath important for the lymphatic system?
Your lymphatic system doesn’t have its own pump. It relies on muscle contraction, movement, and diaphragmatic breath to move lymph fluid through the body. When you breathe shallowly, your lymphatic system slows down.
Want to start with something simple?
Download my free Lymphatic Drainage Self-Care Routine. It’s a gentle, guided way to start touching your own body with awareness, supporting your natural processing, and getting to know your own physiology.
[Download the free routine here]
Come in for a treatment
If you’re in or around Glasgow and you’d like to experience this kind of work in person, I offer treatments from my private home studio in Springburn, North Glasgow.
[The Reset (90 minutes, £85)] | [The Recalibration (3 hours, £197)] | [Check my other treatments here]
Related episodes
- “What I’ve Unlearned After 24 Years in the Wellness Industry”
- [Link to “Eldest Daughter Syndrome and Why Firstborn Daughters Burn Out”]
- “Can You Really Self-Soothe? Or Do You Need Connection?”
About Jen:
Jen Wilson is The Healing Rebel, a holistic wellness practitioner with over 15 years in practice, supporting capable, responsible women over 40 who give to everyone and struggle to receive. Working from her private home studio in Springburn, North Glasgow, Jen offers The Reset, The Recalibration, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Therapeutic Fascia Massage, Menopause Massage, Reiki, Reiki Drumming, and Sound Healing, plus online classes and an on-demand subscription library.
Find out more at iamjenwilson.com
