Have you ever wondered why you can understand your trauma intellectually, recognize your patterns, and know exactly where your reactions come from, yet still find yourself responding in ways you can't seem to control?

Maybe you know you're no longer in danger, but your chest tightens whenever someone raises their voice. Maybe you recognize that someone's disappointment doesn't mean you've done something wrong, yet your stomach still drops and you immediately feel the need to fix it.

You understand what's happening. So why does your body keep responding as though nothing has changed?

This is one of the reasons I became interested in body-based trauma therapies. Rather than relying primarily on talking about our experiences, these approaches bring attention to the physical sensations and automatic responses that accompany them.

And here's something that might surprise you: when we begin working this way, our bodies sometimes do some pretty strange things.

I'm talking about uncontrollable yawning, stomach growling, shaking, sudden changes in temperature, and even the occasional unexpected burp.

So what's going on?

When Understanding Your Trauma Isn't Enough

I specialize in Brainspotting, a body-based trauma therapy, but I didn't start there. I was originally trained and certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). After training in Brainspotting and incorporating it into my practice, I began noticing greater benefits in my clinical work. Eventually, I decided to let my EMDR certification lapse and focus on Brainspotting.

One of the things that drew me to this approach was the opportunity to work with experiences that people couldn't always explain or put into words.

I've worked with people who can tell me exactly why they struggle with boundaries, why they feel responsible for other people's emotions, or why they become overwhelmed by conflict. They've spent years making sense of their experiences, but understanding hasn't necessarily changed how those experiences feel or even how they always react to them.

That's because our responses to trauma aren't limited to conscious thoughts. They also involve the nervous system, including changes in breathing, muscle tension, heart rate, and other automatic physiological responses.

Brainspotting uses eye position and focused attention to explore emotional and physical experiences. Rather than needing to explain or analyze everything, clients are invited to notice whatever arises internally, whether that's an emotion, a memory, an image, or a physical sensation.

Sometimes those experiences are subtle. Other times, our bodies respond in ways that can be surprising, especially if we're accustomed to therapy that primarily involves conversation.

Why Am I Yawning So Much?

Yawning is one of the physical reactions I pay attention to during Brainspotting.

Someone might be processing an emotionally difficult experience when they suddenly begin yawning. Then they yawn again. And again. Sometimes they're surprised by how much they're yawning, especially when they don't feel particularly tired.

Yawning can accompany changes in physiological arousal and alertness. Within somatic therapy, it's sometimes interpreted as a sign of shifting nervous system activity, although yawning alone doesn't tell us whether someone is becoming more regulated.

What interests me is what else might be happening.

Maybe someone's breathing has changed. Maybe their shoulders have softened. Maybe they suddenly feel calmer, or an emotion they've been holding back begins to surface.

Rather than assigning a meaning to the yawning itself, we pay attention to the larger experience. What's happening emotionally? What sensations are changing? What are they noticing now?

When Your Stomach Starts Growling

Here's another one I've noticed during sessions: stomach growling.

Most of us associate a growling stomach with hunger, but those noises aren't necessarily about needing food. They're caused by the movement of gas and fluid through the digestive tract, a process known as borborygmi.

Our digestive system and nervous system are closely connected through what researchers call the gut-brain axis. The vagus nerve is one of the major communication pathways involved in this relationship, helping regulate several functions related to digestion and internal bodily states.

It's why anxiety can make you nauseated, stress can affect your appetite, and emotional distress can leave you with an upset stomach.

Our bodies are constantly responding to what's happening emotionally, often without our conscious awareness.

Changes in autonomic nervous system activity can influence digestion, so it's possible for digestive sensations to change as someone moves through an emotionally intense experience.

Does that mean every growling stomach is evidence of trauma being released? Of course not. But when it happens during body-based therapy, it can be another interesting part of what we're noticing.

And sometimes, yes, it just means you're hungry.

Shaking, Trembling, and Feeling Hot or Cold

Sometimes people experience sudden changes in temperature during trauma processing. They might begin feeling cold, notice goosebumps, or experience warmth spreading through their chest or face. Others might notice trembling in their hands or legs.

Our autonomic nervous system helps regulate physiological arousal, circulation, sweating, and many other functions we don't consciously control.

Think about what happens when you're frightened. Your heart races, your muscles tighten, your breathing changes, and you might begin sweating or shaking. You don't have to tell your body to do these things. They happen automatically.

When we're recalling or processing emotionally charged experiences, some of those same physiological responses can occur, even when we're sitting safely in a therapy office.

In body-based therapy, we're intentionally noticing these sensations rather than focusing exclusively on the story of what happened.

Sometimes someone notices that the tightness in their chest has changed, their breathing feels different, or a trembling sensation has gradually settled. These observations can become part of exploring how they're experiencing and responding to difficult emotions.

Burping, Sighing, and Other Unexpected Noises

And then there are the noises.

Sometimes people sigh deeply without realizing it. Their breathing patterns change, they swallow repeatedly, or they suddenly burp.

Burping is a normal digestive function involving the release of air from the upper digestive tract. Breathing patterns, swallowed air, and digestive activity can all contribute.

Sighing is another interesting response because it plays a role in regulating our breathing and can occur alongside changes in emotional arousal.

Neither response necessarily indicates that trauma is being released. But because our emotional and physical experiences are interconnected, these reactions can become part of what we're noticing during a session.

And unlike therapy that focuses primarily on conversation, body-based approaches deliberately give these physical experiences our attention.

What Happens When We Stop Trying to Control Everything?

One of the things I appreciate most about Brainspotting is that clients don't have to explain every sensation, figure out what it means, or make something happen.

For people who have spent much of their lives anticipating other people's reactions, monitoring themselves, and trying to remain in control, that can be a very different experience.

Many of us learned early on to ignore what was happening inside us. We pushed down our anger, swallowed our tears, tightened our muscles, and learned to appear composed even when we felt overwhelmed.

Eventually, we can become so accustomed to overriding our internal experiences that we barely notice them.

During body-based therapy, we begin bringing attention back to those experiences.

Maybe you realize that your stomach clenches whenever you talk about disappointing someone. Maybe your throat tightens when you try to express anger. Or maybe you notice that your shoulders have been practically touching your ears for most of your life.

These are the kinds of experiences that can be difficult to address through intellectual understanding alone.

The goal isn't to manufacture some dramatic physical release. It's to become more aware of what's happening internally and create opportunities for those responses to change.

And sometimes, as we're doing that work, our bodies surprise us.

Your Body Doesn't Have to Behave in Therapy

We spend so much of our lives trying to appear composed. We want to say the right things, make sense of our feelings, and avoid embarrassing ourselves in front of other people.

And then there's body-based trauma therapy, where we might be working through some of the most vulnerable experiences of our lives while our stomach decides to provide the soundtrack.

If you've never experienced this kind of therapy, you might be surprised by how much attention we give to physical sensations that you would ordinarily ignore.

And if you have experienced it, you may have discovered that your body occasionally has its own ideas about how a session should go.

You don't have to apologize for yawning, shaking, crying, or making an unexpected noise. And you don't need to worry that you're doing something wrong if none of these things happen, either.

What interests me isn't whether your body produces some dramatic response. It's what we can learn by paying attention to experiences that might otherwise go unnoticed.

And if you happen to let one rip during a session, well, we can probably have a laugh about that, too.

After all, the body keeps the score.

And apparently, sometimes our ass does too.

Interested in Brainspotting Therapy?

If you've spent years understanding your patterns but still find yourself struggling with the same emotional and physical reactions, Brainspotting may be worth exploring.

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor in Austin, Texas, specializing in developmental trauma, attachment wounds, and codependency. My work incorporates Brainspotting and other approaches that help clients explore the connections between their experiences, emotions, and nervous system responses.

You can learn more about my approach or schedule a consultation at Being Real, PLLC.