Understanding the Red Light Reflex
- innersensesomatics
- Mar 21, 2025
- 5 min read
How Somatic Movement Helped Me Release Years of Holding Patterns
When I first discovered somatic movement, I was literally folding in on myself. Years of trauma, stress, and anxiety had created a physical manifestation in my body that I could no longer ignore. My shoulders curled inward protectively, my spine rounded forward, my neck jutted straight ahead from hours of looking down at screens, and a noticeable bump had formed at the base of my neck—what some call a "dowager's hump." Chronic pain had become my constant companion.
What I didn't understand then was that my body was locked in what somatic practitioners call the "Red Light Reflex" or withdrawal response—a protective physical pattern that had become so habitual I could no longer consciously control it.
Understanding the Red Light Reflex
The Red Light Reflex is our body's natural protective response to perceived danger or stress. Identified by somatic educator Thomas Hanna, it's a primitive reflex that contracts the muscles on the front of your body, essentially curling you inward like a shrimp. In simple terms, Red Light means "No!"—your body's way of protecting itself by withdrawing.
This reflex is activated every time we are startled or feel we are in sudden danger—when we hear a loud noise, someone yells "duck!", or when we experience ongoing stress and anxiety. It can even be triggered by seemingly harmless activities like spending too much time slumped in front of laptops, TVs, or smartphones.
The purpose of the Red Light Reflex is to contract all the major muscles of the front of our body, making ourselves smaller to protect the soft and vulnerable internal organs in our abdomen. It's essentially the opposite of the Green Light Reflex (our action response).
Where Green Light involves muscles of extension and expansion—the "fight" or "flight" response—Red Light involves muscles of flexion and withdrawal—the "freeze" or "play dead" response.
Throughout evolution, this reflex served a crucial purpose. Animals in the wild use it to hide from predators, making themselves small and withdrawing. But in our modern lives, where stress is often chronic rather than acute, this protective mechanism can become problematic.
For me, years of relational trauma and Complex PTSD had put my body into an almost constant state of withdrawal. My nervous system had become so accustomed to perceiving threat that my muscles remained contracted even when I was "relaxing." I had developed sensory motor amnesia (SMA)—losing conscious control of these chronically contracted muscles.
The Physical Manifestations of Constant "Flight Mode"
Living in a constant state of withdrawal doesn't just affect posture—it impacts our entire physiological functioning:
Breathing becomes shallow as contracted chest and abdominal muscles restrict full lung expansion
Digestion slows down as visceral organs become compressed
Circulation is compromised due to muscle tension and constricted blood vessels
Chronic pain develops from muscles held in constant contraction
Anxiety intensifies as the physical tension feeds back to the brain, signaling continued threat
The habituated Red Light Reflex can lead to a host of problems:
Chronic neck pain and headaches
Jaw pain and TMJ issues
Mid and upper back discomfort
Hip pain
Shallow breathing (which itself leads to low-level anxiety from oxygen deprivation)
Fatigue, depression, and sleep problems
My own Red Light posture created all these issues and more. The slumped, rounded posture commonly associated with aging isn't inevitable—it's often just this habituated reflex that can be reversed.
Somatic Awakening: Remembering How to Release
The breakthrough came when I discovered somatic movement. Unlike traditional exercise that focuses on strengthening muscles or stretching them passively, somatic movement works directly with the nervous system, teaching the brain to regain voluntary control over chronically contracted muscles.
The key technique that changed everything for me was pandiculation—a specific movement pattern that involves consciously contracting muscles slightly more than they already are, then very slowly releasing them while paying close attention to the sensations. This sends new sensory information to the brain, effectively "waking up" the sensory motor connections that had gone dormant.
Through regular practice of somatic movements specifically designed to address the Red Light Reflex, I began experiencing what I can only describe as a "remembering" in my body. Muscles that had been locked in contraction for years started to release. My proprioception—my internal sense of my body in space—began to improve, and I could actually feel when I was unnecessarily tensing these muscles.
My Somatic Journey: Key Exercises That Helped
Several specific somatic movements were transformative for releasing my Red Light pattern:
Arch & Flatten: Lying on my back, gently arching and flattening my lower back while consciously engaging and then slowly releasing my abdominal muscles helped me regain control of my core.
Chest Lift: This gentle movement helped release the chronic tension in my chest muscles (pectorals) that was pulling my shoulders forward and contributing to my rounded posture.
Diagonal Curl-Ups: These helped me address the rotational aspects of my holding pattern, particularly where my shoulder and hip on one side were more contracted than the other.
Head Lifts: Gentle head lifts while lying on my back helped release the chronic tension at the front of my neck that was contributing to my forward head position and the bump at the base of my skull.
What made these movements effective wasn't intensity but awareness—moving slowly enough to sense the subtle contractions and releases, and to notice when I was unconsciously holding.
Beyond Physical Change: Emotional Release
Perhaps the most profound aspect of this work wasn't just the physical changes (though they were significant)—it was how releasing these physical holding patterns affected my emotional state and stress response.
As my body gradually opened up from its protective curl, I found myself less reactive to stressors. The physical practice of noticing tension and consciously releasing it translated to an emotional ability to notice when I was moving into "flight mode" and to consciously regulate my nervous system.
The connection between my Red Light posture and my emotional hypervigilance became increasingly clear. Each somatic movement session became a form of embodied meditation, teaching me that I could choose a different response to perceived threats rather than automatically contracting into protection.
Continuing the Practice
My journey with somatic movement continues. While I've experienced remarkable changes—standing taller, breathing more fully, moving with greater ease, and feeling a new sense of emotional resilience—I recognize that somatic awareness is an ongoing practice rather than a destination.
Stress and old habits still sometimes trigger my Red Light pattern, especially during challenging times. But now I have the tools to notice these contractions and release them before they become entrenched again. Each time I practice, I strengthen the neural pathways of voluntary control and bodily awareness.
For anyone living with chronic tension, anxiety, or trauma responses that have become physically embedded, I can't recommend somatic movement enough. It offers a gentle but powerful approach to reconnecting with your body's innate wisdom and capacity for self-regulation.
The slumped posture often associated with aging is not inevitable—it's simply an habituated physical response to fear and stress, one that can be reversed through conscious somatic practice. By learning to recognize and release the Red Light Reflex, we can reclaim freedom in our bodies and calm in our nervous systems.
Through this work, I've learned that our bodies hold our histories—but with patience and conscious awareness, we can write new chapters of expansion, ease, and freedom.
If you're experiencing similar holding patterns or chronic tension, I invite you to explore somatic movement. Your body has an innate capacity for healing and self-regulation; sometimes it just needs a little help remembering how to come home to itself.
Interested in exploring how somatic movement might support your healing journey? Contact me to learn about upcoming classes or schedule a private session.
Amanda Young is a certified Living Somatic Movement Teacher based in Clarksville, TN. She helps clients reconnect with their bodies through gentle, effective somatic movement practices. Learn more about working with Amanda here.
