Physical pain and energy work – why the body speaks when blockages begin to release

Many people are surprised when, after energy work or inner work, they suddenly experience physical pain, tension, or emotional rollercoasters.Maybe a whole range of emotions and physical sensations shows up — tiredness, irritability, frustration, anger, nervousness, restlessness, sadness, confusion, guilt, headaches, neck, jaw, stomach or back pain, or other physical discomforts such as insomnia and difficulty concentrating.

All of these are, by the way, signs of sympathetic overactivation within the nervous system.It can also go the other way: shutdown, numbness, disconnection, depression, emotional or physical numbness — that sense of not really being present.

You’ve done something good for yourself, worked on yourself — and then this happens.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s really going on.

Energy work and its effects

In my experience, energy work isn’t always “healing” in the sense of immediate relief or calm.It can be — depending on the practice — but here I’m referring to the deeper layers.

Whenever we work with the unconscious — whether through visualization, intuition training, meditation, inner parts work, or soul readings — physical blockages begin to move.

Energy work means coming into contact with those layers within us that have been hidden: old experiences, stored emotions, beliefs, and protection mechanisms that developed out of pain, trauma, or a survival-based identity.When we touch these layers, the body responds — sometimes clearly, sometimes subtly.

This may show up as physical pain, tightness, pressure, trembling, or mood swings.For many people, that feels unfamiliar or even frightening, especially when they’re just beginning this kind of work.

What’s important to understand is this:These physical reactions are not a setback. They’re signs that energy is beginning to move and come alive again.

The body is incredibly wise — it only lets us go as deep as we can actually hold.Even when it feels overwhelming, this boundary is an expression of self-protection, intelligence, and regulation.

To navigate this process safely — and to support clients as facilitators — we need something essential before deep inner work even begins: resources.We need them as anchors of safety, grounding, and stability in moments of intensity or overwhelm.Let’s explore that next.

Energy work as work with the unconscious

Whenever we do inner work — whether through energy work, intuition training, visualization, or meditation — we are working with the unconscious.And that’s where both the depth and the challenge lie.

Working with the unconscious means connecting with parts of ourselves that have been hidden in the shadows.This work can bring the unfamiliar, the repressed, or even the forgotten to the surface — and with it, emotional or physical reactions.The body memory is activated, often without any conscious recollection.

Our body is not separate from us.It is the gateway to the unconscious.In its tissues, muscles, and cells, our memories, emotions, and defense patterns are stored.When energy work begins to move these layers, we feel it physically — sometimes as tension, sometimes as release.

That’s why it’s so important to approach this process trauma-sensitively — with awareness, compassion, and an understanding of the nervous system.

Resource work – the foundation of safety and integration

Resource work is the foundation of any deep energetic or transformational process.It allows us to hold and integrate the inner movement that energy work creates.

Resources build containment — the capacity to hold what arises without being overwhelmed.They form an inner net of safety and stability when old emotions, memories, or pain come to the surface.

Resources are everything that nourishes, calms, strengthens, or grounds you.They can be internal or external, physical or emotional, mental or spiritual — and they’re deeply individual.It’s not something to overlook; it’s a vital part of any therapeutic or spiritual work.

Examples of supportive resources include:

• Bodily sensations that convey safety (ground under your feet, warmth, breath)

• People, places, or animals that offer a sense of belonging

• Rituals, music, or movement that bring you into the present moment

• Skills or memories that strengthen trust in yourself

• Gentle self-touch, water, blankets, light, and connection

• Safe support through bodywork, massage, or nurturing touch from trusted people

In a soul reading, for example, resources can reveal themselves — as inner qualities, strengths, or energetic fields you already carry within you.Yet sometimes they’re not yet consciously accessible.That’s why it’s the role of trauma-informed practitioners to help clients recognize, name, and anchor these resources in the body.

Only then can the body truly integrate energetic movement rather than splitting it off again.Because as soon as energy moves, it also needs structure and grounding to be safely embodied.

In my own work, I combine soul readings with body-oriented support — to translate the messages of the soul into embodied resources that the human system can access and use.

When the body speaks – physical pain and emotions

After inner or energetic work — especially when we go deep into shadow or trauma integration — the body begins to speak.It communicates through pain, tension, fatigue, or mood changes.These reactions are not malfunctions but signs that stored energy is releasing.

This release can bring waves of emotion — fear, anger, sadness, frustration — sometimes all at once.

For many people, this can be frightening. They look for explanations, visit doctors — and often receive painkillers, even though no physical cause is found.

Because energy work is subtle, while conventional medicine works on a denser level, doctors may not “find” anything.That doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real — it absolutely is.

Most of the time, what’s happening are natural discharge processes — the nervous system releasing frozen energy as the unconscious begins to move.It’s not a sign that something’s wrong.

We’re simply taught to associate pain with illness.But when frozen energy starts to thaw, it can feel like physical pain.

This is where resources come in — and the ability to stay connected to our inner process, to trust the body, and to soften into what’s unfolding.

Easier said than done, I know.Resources are there to give us safety and support.

So if, for example, you’re working with inner child parts and physical pain arises, you can connect with that part and ask what it needs.Or you can ask yourself: What do I need right now?

Maybe it’s touch. Maybe it’s warmth.Maybe it’s wrapping yourself in a soft blanket, wearing your favorite sweater, making tea, grabbing a hot-water bottle, and watching a comforting movie with some chocolate.Go for it. That’s the whole point.

The key is being in relationship with yourself — being able to connect.That’s what softening really means: awareness and tenderness toward yourself, even in discomfort.

Softening instead of controlling

In these moments, what we need most is something few of us were ever taught: gentleness with ourselves.

Healing doesn’t mean staying in control; it means finding safety within uncertainty.The nervous system can only regulate when it feels: “I’m safe, even though this feels intense.”

Softness is not weakness — it’s inner strength.It arises when we stop fighting our sensations and start listening to them.

This is, in essence, what containment means: the ability to hold ourselves and our inner experience — even physical pain — with presence and compassion.

Bottom-up: the body as the doorway to healing

Energy work — at least the way I practice and live it — is bottom-up work.It begins in the body, not in the mind.

When we work with the unconscious, we don’t just touch thoughts or emotions — we touch cellular memories.We work with the body that holds what the mind can’t remember — and we don’t have to recall it cognitively in order to release it.

These stored impressions discharge as the system feels safer.And the safer we become, the more can surface.That can feel like trembling, warmth, pain, emotional chaos, or overwhelm.

Here two challenges often arise:

1. The mind wants to understand — it overthinks to regain control.

2. The body needs softness and containment — and we often have to learn that, because discomfort feels unsafe and our instinct is to make it stop.

   
   

Containment and self-regulation

Containment means being able to stay with what arises without needing to change it right away.It’s the capacity to remain in relationship — with the body, emotion, and breath — step by step.

We develop this through self-regulation:through grounding, breathing, gentle movement, and safe connection with ourselves or others.

Examples of supportive practices include:

• trauma-sensitive bodywork

• breath and movement practices

• warm baths or compresses

• blankets, rest, music

• gentle self-touch or safe physical closeness

These resources create the space in which healing can unfold.

From pain to freedom

The pain that appears during energy work is not the enemy.It’s a sign of liberation — of energy that is finally free to move again.

Sometimes, additional body-oriented support is helpful — such as trauma-informed coaching, massage, physiotherapy, osteopathy, or craniosacral therapy — to assist the integration process.

But at its core, healing is a path of surrender, softness, and trust.It’s not fighting that brings transformation, but staying present — feeling consciously, and gently accompanying what arises.

With every step, your inner space grows, your capacity for containment expands, and with it, your freedom.

When the mind learns to work with the body — to understand your biography, inner processes, and the physical or emotional reactions that surface — it becomes a wonderful ally.Overthinking, on the other hand, is just a way of avoiding what we feel.It’s not wrong — it’s an intelligent protection strategy that we can gently unlearn.

The other way — softness, slowness, awareness — heals and calms.Step by step, at your own pace.

Softness takes time, and space, to grow.