Feeling Numb During Healing? Here’s Why That’s a Sign of Protection, Not a Problem
If you’ve ever sat down to meditate, attend a bodywork session, or do inner healing work—and felt nothing—you’re not alone.
Maybe your body felt blank. Maybe you couldn’t sense anything at all.
Maybe you even wondered:
“Why am I not feeling anything? Is something wrong with me?”
Let’s get one thing straight:
Numbness is not a failure of healing. It’s a sign that your body is protecting you.
What Is Numbness, Really?
Numbness isn’t the absence of sensation—it’s a protective strategy. When something is too overwhelming to feel in the moment, your nervous system gently wraps it up and tucks it away.
This isn’t dysfunction. It’s intelligence.
In somatic work, we don’t try to break through numbness or push past it. We respect it.
We ask:
“What part of me needed this freeze in order to survive?”
“What would happen if I let this numbness be here without trying to change it?”
That’s where the unwinding begins.
Dissociation vs. Disconnection: What’s the Difference?
Many people use the term “dissociation” to describe this sense of blankness, fog, or separation from the body. But not all disconnection is the same.
Sometimes it's a total shutdown. Other times, it's a partial split—a kind of floating above yourself.
In both cases, the body is not broken. It’s incredibly wise.
Somatic unwinding supports reconnection by working with, not against, these states.
You Don’t Need to Feel Everything to Heal
There’s a myth in the healing world that more sensation = more progress.
But deep transformation often happens in the quieter spaces—the pauses, the stillness, the in-between moments.
You might feel:
A subtle shift in breath
The tiniest sense of warmth
A softening in your jaw or belly
A flicker of presence for just a second
These micro-moments are your body coming back online.
Healing isn’t loud. It’s precise. Intentional. Layered. And it happens on the body’s timeline, not ours.
What I See in Sessions
In my work, I often meet clients who feel like they’ve failed because they don’t “feel enough.”
But here’s the truth:
The body unwinds when it feels safe—not when it’s being watched, measured, or pushed.
In a somatic unwinding or Spinal Energetics session, we co-create that safety.
Not by chasing a cathartic moment—but by listening. Softly. Consistently. Gently.
When numbness is allowed to exist without urgency, it often begins to thaw. Not all at once, but in its own way.
Numbness Is Not the End—It’s the Beginning
If you’re feeling numb, disconnected, or shut down, that doesn't mean you're broken.
It means your body is doing what it learned to do in order to protect you.
Somatic work isn’t about “breaking open.” It’s about gathering the scattered pieces of yourself and slowly coming back into relationship with them.
That’s what integration looks like.
That’s what wholeness feels like.
Want to Explore This Gently?
If you’re ready to reconnect with your body—at a pace that honors your nervous system—you’re invited to book a virtual session.
We’ll start with exactly where you are. Even if that’s feeling nothing at all.