Dance as Medicine: Using Movement to Process Trauma

There are moments when words just don't cut it. When language feels too small for what the body has been through. This is where movement can speak volumes. For many of us carrying trauma, the body holds onto the story long after the mind has tried to make sense of it. Dance offers a way to process that story—not through logic, but through presence.

Why Movement Matters

Trauma can leave us disconnected from our own bodies. It can trap us in patterns of freeze, numbness, or hypervigilance. When we move with intention—especially in a therapeutic setting—we begin to reinhabit our bodies. We invite flow where there was stuckness. We let breath and motion bring us back into contact with ourselves.

Movement doesn't have to be performative. It doesn't need to look like "dance" in any formal sense. It can be a sway, a stomp, a stretch. What's important is that it comes from within, guided by what the body needs in that moment.

Movement as Integration

After a ketamine session, especially one that brings up strong emotions or deep insights, the body can feel tender or disoriented. Movement becomes a tool for integration. It helps metabolize the experience. In my work, I often encourage clients to use somatic practices—including movement, breath, and touch—to anchor what came up during their session.

Dance can be a ritual, a reset, or a release. It can help express something that hasn’t found words yet. When paired with therapeutic support, it becomes more than just a movement—it becomes medicine.

Creating a Safe Container

In sessions, we might explore gentle, improvised movement. We work with grounding first, so the nervous system feels supported. From there, we let the body lead. This process is never forced. It's an invitation to move with, not against, your experience.

You don’t have to be a dancer. You don’t need choreography. All you need is curiosity and a willingness to listen inward.

Moving Toward Wholeness

Trauma often splits us—from our bodies, from the present moment, from each other. Movement is one path back. It reminds us we are alive, that we have agency, that healing doesn’t always have to come through analysis. Sometimes, it comes through the rhythm of our own feet.

Whether it's in a therapy session, at home with music playing, or outside under the sky, dance can be part of your healing. It doesn't have to be big. Just honest. Just yours.