The Roundedness of Healing: Attuning to Emotion Through Embodied Practice
There’s often that moment in sessions when words begin to falter
The pauses, the searching for language, and the slumping of the shoulders. The breath shortens and gaze shifts.
And I know: the body is speaking.
I’ve come to trust that the body often knows before the mind does. It holds stories, signals, and truths that language can’t always reach. That’s why embodiment and emotional attunement are central to my integrative approach. They’re not add-ons…they are the bridge.
Attunement = befriending the body or hearing it
Attunement does not = fixing it
By acknowledging the body’s cues: the tight jaw, the racing heart, or the lump in the throat that says, “something’s here” is key.
It is essential to acknowledge thoughts, memories, self-perceptions, and pain without judgement, thereby creating a space for meaningful change.
In therapy with me, I facilitate this process by asking that question many individuals find challenging to answer:
"Where in your body do you feel it?"
Attunement is the practice of listening inward. It’s noticing what’s happening emotionally and physically and responding with care and without judgement.
Together, clients and I explore what their body is saying through its sensations: the racing heart, the shallow breath, the frozen stillness. These aren’t random symptoms. They’re messages.
I draw from the work of Dr. Stephen Porges and Deb Dana, especially the polyvagal ladder, a framework that helps us understand how the nervous system moves through states of safety, mobilization, and shutdown.
We may identify which state one is in, fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, and gently ask:
What does this part of you believe about yourself right now?
What does it believe about the world?
This process is deeply relational. It’s not about applying tools or shifting states, it’s about witnessing.
Clients begin to observe their own nervous system with curiosity and compassion. They start to understand that their body has always been trying to protect them. That their reactions make sense.
Then Comes Embodiment
Once we’ve listened, we can begin to respond.
We integrate practices that support the body’s needs, whether that’s rest, movement, boundaries, or simply more presence.
Embodiment is the act of staying with what’s felt
It goes beyond the attunement of just noticing the tension in the shoulders, it’s asking, “What does this need?” This is where we bring in practices to anchor safety and security. To tell the body “This isn’t a threat, I am here to protect you. To help you. I am your teammate.”
We don’t force change, we feed it.
We don’t just name the anxiety; we offer it breath or warmth of space (aka anchoring safety).
We don’t just name depression or grief; we offer it tears, silence, or a hug (aka self-havening).
We don’t just name the anger; we yell, scream or safely release anger onto a punching bag or pillow (aka releasing stuck energy).
These practices aren’t about performance. They’re about presence. In therapy with me, clients are guided through these processes. It’s a dance of witnessing. Of saying, “I see you,” even when the words haven’t arrived yet.
Why These Practices Matter
For many of us, especially trauma survivors, the body can feel like a battleground. Embodiment and attunement help reclaim it as a sanctuary. They offer repair not through explanation, but through experience. They say: You are safe to feel. You are safe to be.
Together, these practices support:
• Nervous system regulation
• Emotional pacing
• Integration of past and present
• A felt sense of safety
The Rhythm We Follow
This is the sequence I guide clients through, again and again:
Attune → Embody
Listen → Respond
Hear → Heal
It’s gentle. It’s relational. It’s nonlinear.
And it honors the wisdom of the body as a storyteller, protector, and guide.
you are invited to think of a moment when your body spoke; through tension, emotion, or sensation.
What was it trying to say? And what might it need now to feel heard?
Meet Mallory
Written by Mallory Tedrick, LISW, psychotherapist and founder of her private practice in Cleveland, Ohio. Mallory helps individuals navigate life transitions, cultivate resilience, and rediscover clarity through therapy.
If Mallory’s words resonate with you, she invites you to take the next step toward your own healing journey. Schedule a free consultation today and explore how therapy can support you in moments of uncertainty and growth.