Somatic Unwinding

Why Your Body Shakes During Emotional Release (And Why It’s Not a Bad Thing)

If you’ve ever felt your body tremble, shake, twitch or even spasm during a session or sometime after, you’re not alone. While it can feel intense or even concerning, this is actually a natural process—your nervous system’s way of releasing built-up tension and completing what was once unfinished.

Our bodies are designed to process stress and trauma through movement. In the wild, animals instinctively shake after experiencing danger to discharge excess energy and return to a balanced state. Humans have the same capability, but we’ve been conditioned to suppress it—to ‘hold it together,’ to ‘be strong,’ to ‘stay in control.’ As a result, much of our stored stress, emotions, and trauma remain locked in the body.

Somatic Unwinding: Your Body’s Natural Reset

This is where somatic unwinding comes in. Somatic unwinding refers to the body’s ability to release stored tension and recalibrate itself through spontaneous movement. This can look like shaking, trembling, twitching, stretching, or even deep sighing—responses that allow the nervous system to complete cycles of stress that may have been stuck for years.

When we engage in deep body-based work, we’re giving our system the space to do what it naturally wants to do—release. These movements aren’t random; they’re part of your body’s innate wisdom, allowing you to let go of held patterns and integrate new states of being.

This Doesn’t Mean Something is Wrong… It Means Something is Moving

It’s common to question whether shaking or involuntary movement means something is “wrong,” especially if we’re used to suppressing these responses. But rather than a sign of dysfunction, it’s often a sign of deep nervous system regulation—a reset that allows your body to function more freely and efficiently.

If this happens to you, try not to resist it. Instead, allow your body to move in the ways it needs to. Breathe, stay present, and trust that your system is doing exactly what it’s meant to do.