Somatic Wisdom: A Journey Through the 7 Vital Body Segments

By Nisarga Eryk Dobosz · 4 July 2025

When we have faced traumatic events or accidents, the autonomic nervous system often activates a protective mechanism, a high tone of the dorsal vagal complex, which brings on a freeze response. Fear or panic then implodes inside the body, and the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system cannot be expressed and completed. The body, in its wisdom, decides where to store this tension, forming fulcrums of tension.

The Reichian approach is a wonderful way to recognise these blocks in the body and to meet the primary emotions they hold. To release the tension we work with touch, breath, movement, sound and emotional expression. This process can free energy that has been held in the body for decades, allowing life force to flow again and making room for more joy, happiness and vitality.

Wilhelm Reich and body armour

Our bodies are mysterious and magical. In this work we explore the body from many perspectives: emotional, physical, psychosomatic and energetic. This approach has its roots in the work of Wilhelm Reich, the father of body-oriented psychotherapy. Reich proposed the concept of “orgone”, a life energy essential to living organisms, and observed that “armouring” occurs when this energy is bound by muscular contraction, so it can no longer flow freely through the body.

Reich’s theory of segmental armouring describes seven segments where muscular tension develops, each linked to the flow of life force. The idea echoes the Eastern map of the seven chakras. Reich also saw these blocks as visible in a person’s posture and appearance, with some segments overcharged and others undercharged.

The 7 segments of body armour

Here are the seven main segments, and the emotional expressions often associated with each:

1. Ocular segment (head). The muscles of the eyes, forehead, cheeks, scalp and temples, and the back of the head (the area of the brain’s visual centre). Associated emotions: suspicion, amusement, contempt, detachment, guarding, anger and grief.
2. Oral segment (face and mouth). The muscles of the mouth, chin, nose, jaw and ears. Associated expressions range from contempt, disgust and longing to desire, fear, pain and anger, and also connection, self-awareness and presence.
3. Cervical segment (neck and tongue). The deep neck muscles and the tongue. Associated expressions: self-pity, helplessness, longing, hurt, fear, pain and rage, and also freedom, creativity and self-expression.
4. Thoracic segment (chest and heart). The intercostal muscles, the large chest muscles (pectorals), the shoulder muscles (deltoids), and the heart and lungs. Associated expressions: deep heart feelings, grief, mourning, longing, love, fear, rage, anger and joy.
5. Diaphragmatic segment (diaphragm and solar plexus). Linked with pain and pleasure. A blocked diaphragm is significant because it “cuts the body in two”, making it harder to sense and feel the lower segments, including sexual feelings, excitement, rage, terror, strength and empowerment.
6. Abdominal segment (abdomen and lower back). The large abdominal muscles (rectus and transversus abdominis) and the lower part of the back muscles. Associated expressions: pain, fear, pleasure, trust, and feelings about nourishing and being nourished, which bring a sense of relaxation in the centre.
7. Pelvic segment (pelvis and legs). Almost all the muscles of the pelvis, including the buttocks, the inner and outer thighs, the hamstrings and the lower legs. This segment plays a central role in overall armouring and is linked with sexuality, power and grounding.

Releasing the belts of tension with breathwork

In Biodynamic Breathwork we work systematically with these belts of tension, moving from the top down. This creates a pathway for held energy, including sexual and life energy, to rise and flow freely as it is released. Energy, like water, seeks the path of least resistance. Clearing this pathway releases not only muscular holding but also emotional blocks, gently supporting trauma release. You can experience and learn this way of working in our BBTRS® training, and the fascial side of it in our MER® training.

Nisarga Eryk Dobosz is a bodyworker and trainer (BBTRS®, MER®, BCST, Lomi Lomi) and founder of the Body Awareness Institute. This article is for education and self-care. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from a doctor or therapist. It was first published on nisarga8.com.