What Your Body Might Be Holding (And How to Start Listening)

Most of us are carrying more than we realize.

Maybe you feel it in your shoulders—always tight.
Or in your belly—always braced.
Maybe there’s a heaviness in your chest you can’t quite explain, or a sense of restlessness that never really goes away.

We tend to think of these sensations as random discomforts or symptoms to push past. But often, they’re messages—subtle signals from a body that’s been holding on for a long time.

The truth is, our bodies remember.
They remember the pressure to stay composed.
The times we had to keep going even when we were tired or hurting.
The ways we’ve learned to protect ourselves—by tightening, shrinking, or disconnecting.

And yet, when we meet ourselves with curiosity, compassion, and care, our bodies can also learn how to let go.

Holding Patterns Aren’t Just Physical

It’s easy to see tension as purely structural—tight muscles, stiff joints, shallow breath. But holding patterns run deeper than that. They’re often shaped by our experiences, emotions, relationships, and the nervous system responses we’ve had to adapt in order to feel safe.

Sometimes the body clenches as a form of bracing.
Sometimes it goes still as a way of disappearing.
Sometimes it speeds up, locks down, or zones out—not because we’re doing something wrong, but because we’ve had to find ways to cope.

These patterns aren’t weaknesses. They’re forms of intelligence.

But when they become chronic—when they keep running long after the moment of stress has passed—they can start to wear us down. That’s when we begin to feel stuck, disconnected, or like we’re living slightly outside ourselves.

Beginning to Listen

The good news is that these patterns can shift—not through force or discipline, but through curiosity, compassion, and support.

And that begins with listening.

Noticing how your body responds to pressure, stillness, movement, or rest.
Paying attention to what sensations arise when you slow down.
Becoming aware of the subtle messages your body sends before your mind catches up.

This is where somatic approaches, like somatic yoga, become so valuable—not as a performance or exercise routine, but as a practice of awareness. A space where you can meet your body without an agenda. A space where you can soften into presence rather than trying to figure it all out.

Why Listening Matters

When you start to listen to your body—not just in moments of pain, but in everyday experience—you rebuild something many of us have lost: a sense of trust.

You start to move from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What is my body trying to say?”
From “I need to fix this” to “Can I meet this with care?”

And through that shift, you reconnect with parts of yourself that may have been quiet for a long time—intuition, emotion, self-expression, even play.

You realize your body doesn’t need to be pushed to heal. It needs space, support, and the safety to feel.

You don’t need to have all the answers.
You don’t need to force anything to change.

You just need a moment—a pause—to listen. To stay. To notice.
And in that presence, even the most deeply held patterns can begin to soften.

-Franchesca

PS – If you’re curious about exploring this kind of embodied listening in a guided way, I’m hosting an online workshop, Somatic Yoga: A Journey of Self-Discovery. It’s a gentle and supportive space to slow down, connect, and move with compassion. You can learn more here.