You Left Your Body to Survive
Many mistake disconnection for apathy. In truth, it’s protection.
Introduction: What “Embodiment” Really Means
I was struck by a post from @kineticwellnessmfr titled “Everybody is selling embodiment,” and many people believe that they’re disconnected from their bodies because they’re “not trying hard enough” to be present.
So many people believe that they’re disconnected from their bodies because they’re not trying hard enough to be present. In truth, disconnection isn’t a sign of laziness or apathy; it’s an intelligent nervous system response to overwhelm.
At Myofascial Release of St. George, I see this every day. Clients arrive feeling numb, distant, or “out of touch” with their bodies. My work through Myofascial Release therapy (MFR) helps them reconnect, not by force but by restoring a sense of safety, body awareness, and trust through gentle, sustained touch.
Understanding Why We Leave Our Bodies
When life feels unsafe, through chronic stress, trauma, or long-term pain, the body has a protective strategy: disconnection.
The Polyvagal Theory developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, explains that the autonomic nervous system uses a “hierarchy of safety” to regulate survival. When threat feels inescapable, the body may enter dorsal vagal shutdown, a state of stillness and numbness. “When humans feel safe, their nervous systems support the homeostatic functions of health, growth, and restoration.”
This state isn’t weakness. It’s biology.
Disconnection is a form of nervous system regulation that protects the body when presence feels unsafe. The goal of healing isn’t to fight it but to help the body feel safe enough to reconnect.
The Science of Disconnection: Body Awareness and Dissociation
Clinical research defines this experience as bodily dissociation, a sense of separation from physical sensation.
In the Scale of Body Connection study, researchers found that body awareness and bodily dissociation are distinct dimensions of experience: “Body awareness reflects connection with bodily sensations, while bodily dissociation reflects avoidance or disconnection from the body.”
For many people, numbness isn’t emotional indifference; it’s a long-term adaptive response. When we reframe disconnection as protection, not pathology, we create the conditions for healing.
Myofascial Release: A Gentle Pathway Back to the Body
Myofascial Release therapy (MFR) works directly with the fascia, the body’s connective tissue network that surrounds and supports muscles, nerves, and organs.
Fascia responds to physical and emotional stress by tightening and dehydrating, limiting both movement and sensation. When the fascia is restricted, the nervous system receives fewer sensory cues, reinforcing feelings of disconnection.
Through gentle, sustained pressure, MFR softens and elongates the fascia, restoring fluidity and communication throughout the body.
This process invites the nervous system to move from protection to presence.
Each slow, quiet hold sends a biological message: “You’re safe. You can let go now.”
Polyvagal Safety and Myofascial Release
Recent reviews of embodied therapeutic practices confirm that interventions grounded in polyvagal safety and somatic awareness help the body re-regulate itself: “The body itself becomes the vehicle for establishing safety and restoring regulation through bottom-up awareness and connection.”
This perfectly describes the essence of MFR.
The therapy is not about manipulating tissue but cultivating trust — a quiet co-regulation between therapist and client that allows the ventral vagal system (the “safety and connection” pathway) to re-engage.
When the body experiences consistent cues of safety, muscles soften, fascia releases, and breath expands. That’s when healing begins.
How Emotions Live in the Body
Modern neuroscience continues to reveal how emotions, interoception, and physical sensation are intertwined.
In Mapping Emotional Feeling in the Body: A Tripartite Framework for Understanding the Embodied Mind, Daikoku et al. (2025) explain: “Emotional feeling is shaped by the continuous interaction of physiological signals (bottom-up), behavioral engagement (top-down), and conceptual interpretation.”
In my MFR practice, I see this embodied dialogue unfold every day. As fascia softens and the nervous system calms, clients often feel warmth, tingling, or emotion, or gentle waves of reconnection.
These sensations aren’t random; they are the nervous system’s way of re-mapping safety.
Embodiment Begins With Safety, Not Force
Many people fear embodiment because they associate it with intensity or overwhelm. But, embodiment through safety is subtle and steady.
You don’t have to “push through” to reconnect.
You simply need the right conditions for your body to feel safe again.
Through Myofascial Release, we create those conditions together — slowly, intentionally, and without judgment.
When the body feels safe, it doesn’t just heal; it remembers.
You Didn’t Leave Because You Were Weak. You Left Because You Were Wise
Disconnection is not failure; it’s wisdom.
Your body stepped away so you could survive.
Myofascial Release offers a compassionate path home, one that honors your body’s intelligence and restores trust through safe, sustained touch.
When safety replaces fear, numbness becomes sensation.
When the body feels supported, it begins to feel again.
That’s the true meaning of embodiment and the heart of healing.
Ready to feel at home in your body again?
If you’ve been living in a state of tension, numbness, or disconnection, Myofascial Release offers a safe way to reconnect, one breath, one layer, one moment at a time.
Book your session today and begin your journey back to ease, trust, and embodied healing.
