Why Stress Doesn't Leave Your Body (And How Spinal Flow Helps)

A look at how the nervous system stores stress, why common therapies don't fully release it, and what it actually takes to heal at every layer.

I want to start with something personal, because I think it matters.

There was a period in my life where I looked, from the outside, like I had it all together. But inside, my body felt like it was permanently braced. My shoulders lived somewhere near my ears. I'd wake up tired. I'd move through the day with this low-level hum of tension I couldn't quite explain — because the stressful event, whatever it had been, was technically over. I wasn't in danger. So why did my body still feel like I was?

It wasn't until I started working with the nervous system — first in my NLP practice, and later as a Spinal Flow Practitioner — that I understood what was actually happening. And once I understood it, I couldn't unsee it in almost everyone I worked with.

What Does It Mean for Stress to Be "Stored" in the Body?

Here's the thing most people don't realise: stress isn't just a feeling. It's a physiological state.

When you encounter stress — a difficult conversation, a period of sustained pressure, grief, burnout, or even just years of trying to hold everything together — your nervous system activates its sympathetic response. This is your fight-or-flight mode, designed to protect you.

The problem is that the nervous system doesn't automatically reset once the stressor passes. For many people, the body learns to stay in that heightened state. The sympathetic nervous system becomes the default setting, and the spine — the primary channel through which the nervous system operates — begins to hold that pattern physically.

This is why you can be on holiday, technically relaxed, and still feel a knot between your shoulder blades. Why you can be in a genuinely good season of life and still feel braced, guarded, or unable to fully exhale. The stress is no longer an event. It's become a state.

Tension, chronic pain, postural changes, difficulty sleeping, digestive issues — these aren't random. They're often the body's expression of a nervous system that has been holding on for a very long time. That's not a malfunction; it's the body doing its job, protecting you. But at some point, that protection becomes the problem.

Why Massage and Reiki Don't Fully Release It

I want to be clear: I have enormous respect for massage therapists, reiki practitioners, and the many modalities that help people feel better. These things have real value.

But here's what I notice — and what many of my clients describe when they first come to see me. They've already tried the massage. They've had the reiki. They've done the physio. They leave feeling better, and then within a day or a week, they're right back to exactly where they started.

This isn't because those therapies don't work. It's because they're working on a different layer.

Massage addresses muscular tension and circulation, and can produce genuine relaxation in the moment. Reiki works with the energetic field and the subtle body, offering emotional calm and a sense of ease. Both are valuable. But neither one is directly communicating with the neurological pattern held in the spine.

The nervous system doesn't release a stored stress pattern because the muscles got worked on. It needs a specific neurological signal — a precise cue to the body's own intelligence — to shift out of that chronic sympathetic state. Without that signal, the pattern remains encoded, and the body simply rebuilds the tension it knows.

But there's something else that needs to happen first. Something even more foundational than the nervous system signal itself.

Before the Body Can Heal, It Needs Capacity

There's something I've observed working with clients over time, and it shifted how I think about the order of healing.

Sometimes people come in and their body responds beautifully to Spinal Flow from the very first session. Other times, something feels blocked at a more fundamental level. The signals aren't landing the way they should. The body seems like it wants to shift, but doesn't quite have the resources to complete the process.

This is where I started incorporating PEMF and Terahertz Frequency Therapy into my work, and it changed things significantly.

PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy. Terahertz frequency is a specific waveform that resonates with the frequency of healthy human cells. Together, through the P90/P90+ devices, they work at the cellular level — restoring the electrical charge of cells that have become depleted, improving microcirculation, and essentially switching the lights back on in tissue that has become sluggish or dormant under the weight of chronic stress.

The way I explain it to clients: your body is like a phone that's been running on four percent battery for a very long time. It's technically still functioning, but it can't run the programmes it needs to. Spinal Flow sends the right signal to the nervous system — but if the cells don't have the energy to respond, that signal can only do so much. PEMF and Terahertz frequency therapy restore the battery. They build the cellular capacity for healing to actually take place.

This matters because chronic stress is not just a nervous system problem. It's also a cellular problem. When the body has been in a sympathetic stress state for months or years, cellular energy production is compromised, circulation is reduced, and tissue is often in a state of low-grade inflammation. You can address the neurological pattern — and you absolutely should — but if the cells themselves don't have the charge to carry the healing response through, progress will be slower and less complete than it could be.

This is why, for many of my clients, frequency therapy comes first. We restore the body's cellular capacity before asking it to do the deeper work of releasing what it's been holding.

What Is Spinal Flow Technique, and How Does It Work?

With the cellular foundation in place, the body is ready to receive what Spinal Flow offers.

Spinal Flow Technique was developed by Dr Carli Axford (Chiropractor) and is built on the understanding that the spine is the gateway to the nervous system. Stored stress creates blockages at specific points along the spine — and these aren't always where you feel pain. In fact, often they're not. The technique uses three spinal assessments to locate exactly where the nervous system is holding tension, stress, or restriction.

What happens next surprises most people who come in expecting something forceful or clinical. There is no cracking, no manipulation, no adjustment. I apply gentle touch to specific access points on the spine — points that act like keys, communicating directly with the nervous system. The body's own healing response is activated from within, rather than overridden from the outside.

This distinction matters. We are not forcing the body to change. We are giving the nervous system the signal it needs to remember how to regulate itself.

Within a single session, many people notice visible shifts: a change in posture, a spontaneous deepening of breath, a feeling of the body letting go of something it has been carrying. Some experience emotional release. Some simply feel lighter. I take before-and-after photos so clients can see the postural and energetic change objectively — because often the shift is more visible than people expect.

The physiological term for what we're working toward is moving from a stress state to a flow state — where the parasympathetic nervous system is online, the body can repair, and a genuine sense of ease becomes available.

Can NLP Coaching Support What the Body Has Started?

The body now has the cellular capacity to respond. The nervous system has received the signal to release. The final layer is the mind.

This is where NLP coaching enters — and for many people, it's where the shift becomes permanent rather than temporary.

The nervous system doesn't only receive signals from the body. It receives signals from our thoughts, our beliefs, and the patterns of meaning we've built over a lifetime. Subconscious beliefs about safety, worthiness, performance, and control can keep the nervous system in a stress state even when the body has done significant healing work. The mind, in effect, can re-stress the body faster than the body can release it.

Some people find that bodywork alone shifts their symptoms, only to watch the patterns return. That's often because the mental and emotional layer — the part of you that learned to brace, to worry, to push through, to people-please — hasn't been addressed yet.

NLP coaching identifies and works directly with those conditioned patterns. It retrains how the mind and nervous system respond to life, so the body isn't continually asked to process stress that the mind keeps generating.

Used in sequence, these three modalities form a genuinely integrated approach:

• Frequency therapy restores the body's cellular capacity — the energetic foundation for healing.
• Spinal Flow releases the stress pattern held in the nervous system and spine.
• NLP coaching retrains the mental and emotional patterns that perpetuate the stress cycle.

This is what I mean when I talk about root-cause healing. Not one layer, but all three, in the right order.

Who Is This For?

If any of the following sounds familiar, this work may be worth exploring:

• You've had chronic pain that hasn't fully resolved through conventional treatment.
• You feel exhausted but can't seem to rest deeply — what I often hear described as "wired but tired."
• You've tried multiple therapies and hit a plateau.
• You carry a history of prolonged emotional stress, grief, burnout, or relational strain.
• Your body feels tense or guarded even when your circumstances are calm.
• You have physical symptoms that haven't been explained structurally.

You're not broken. You're carrying something your nervous system hasn't yet been given the right signal — or the right capacity — to release.

What Happens in a Session?

I begin with an intake questionnaire that covers your physical, emotional, and energetic history — because I want to understand what's actually happening for you before I put my hands anywhere near your spine. That intake process, and the conversation it opens, is genuinely part of the work.

Before we begin, I'll explain exactly how Spinal Flow works, where stress tends to be stored, and what I'm looking for in the assessments. You'll never be on a table wondering what I'm doing or why.

The three spinal assessments then guide where I work. The session itself involves gentle touch on the specific access points identified, and is often described as deeply relaxing, sometimes emotionally moving, and always different from what people expect.

Afterward, we look at your before-and-after photos together and have a proper conversation about what your body showed us, how you responded, and what a care or healing plan might look like going forward — including whether frequency therapy or NLP coaching would support what we've started.

How Many Sessions Does It Take?

One session can genuinely shift something. I've seen it, and clients feel it.

But patterns held for years — decades, in some cases — take time to unwind. The nervous system needs repetition to establish a new regulated baseline, and the cells need consistent support to maintain the charge required for ongoing healing. Early sessions often address the most acute or surface-level blockages, while longer-term work builds toward a genuine, sustainable shift in how your nervous system operates day to day.

I track progress through spinal assessments and photos across sessions, so you're not just going on how you feel. You can see the change.

How Is Spinal Flow Different from Chiropractic or Spinal Decompression?

Chiropractic works structurally, adjusting the position of vertebrae through mechanical means. Spinal decompression uses traction to address disc pressure and spacing. Both have their place.

Spinal Flow is different in its intention and its approach. There is no force applied. We are not correcting a structure — we are restoring a system's ability to self-regulate, working with the body's own signals rather than overriding them.

A Final Word

If you've tried a lot of things and you're still carrying something you can't quite explain — a tension that won't leave, an exhaustion that doesn't respond to rest, a sense that your body is holding something your mind has already processed — I'd like to invite you to take a considered first step.

My intake process is thorough by design. The questionnaire, the pre-session explanation, the post-session discussion — these exist because I genuinely want to understand what's happening for you before we work together, not after.

Whether that entry point is frequency therapy, Spinal Flow, or a conversation about where NLP fits, we'll figure out what your body needs and start there.

If that sounds like what you've been looking for, I'd love to hear from you.

Get in touch to learn more or book your first session: https://www.bodhiholistichub.com/practitioners/marg-brassington

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does stress stay in my body even when I'm not stressed anymore?
Stress is not just an emotional experience — it's a physiological state. The nervous system can remain locked in a sympathetic response long after the triggering event has passed, and chronic stress also depletes cellular energy, making it harder for the body to reset on its own.

What is Spinal Flow Technique?
Spinal Flow Technique, developed by Dr Carli Axford, is a gentle, non-manipulative approach that works with the spine as the gateway to the nervous system. Using precise touch on specific access points, it activates the body's own healing response and helps shift the nervous system from a chronic stress state toward regulation and flow.

What is PEMF and Terahertz Frequency Therapy?
PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) therapy and Terahertz frequency therapy work at the cellular level, restoring the electrical charge of depleted cells and improving microcirculation. Used via the P90/P90+ device, they build the cellular capacity the body needs to respond to and sustain deeper healing work.

Can massage release stress from the nervous system?
Massage can offer genuine relaxation and muscular relief, but it works on a different layer than the nervous system's neurological patterns. Without a specific signal to the nervous system itself, the body often returns to its habituated stress state within days.

How is Spinal Flow different from chiropractic?
Chiropractic is structural and mechanical, adjusting the position of vertebrae. Spinal Flow is neurological. There is no cracking, manipulation, or force of any kind. The aim is not to correct a structure, but to restore the nervous system's capacity to self-regulate.

How many sessions of Spinal Flow do I need?
A single session can produce a genuine shift. However, patterns held for years require time and repetition for the nervous system to establish a new regulated baseline. Progress is tracked through spinal assessments and before-and-after photos across sessions.

What does a Spinal Flow session feel like?
Most people describe it as deeply relaxing, and quite different from what they expected. Some experience emotional release; some notice spontaneous changes in breath or posture. You'll begin with an intake questionnaire and a thorough explanation, and finish with a post-session conversation about what your body showed us.

Can I combine Spinal Flow with NLP coaching and frequency therapy?
Yes — and for many people this combination is where the real shift happens. Frequency therapy restores cellular capacity, Spinal Flow releases the nervous system pattern, and NLP coaching addresses the subconscious beliefs that keep the stress cycle running. Together they work on the whole system, in the right order.

Who is Spinal Flow Technique suitable for?
Anyone experiencing chronic pain, fatigue, stress-related symptoms, emotional heaviness, or a sense of being stuck — particularly those who have tried other approaches without lasting relief.

Is Spinal Flow Technique safe?
Yes. There is no manipulation, adjustment, or force involved. The technique uses gentle touch to activate the body's own healing response, making it suitable for a wide range of people and conditions.