De-Armoring: A Pathway to Connection.

Part One: The Origins of De-Armoring:

The concept of de-armoring originates from the work of Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), an Austrian-born psychoanalyst and student of Freud who recognized the intimate connection between the body, emotions, and psychological defense mechanisms. Reich theorized that emotionally charged experiences can become stored in the body as muscular tension, what he called “armor.” This tension isn’t just physical; it’s a form of unconscious memory, held in the body as a way of remembering and protecting itself. This armor restricts the natural flow of energy in the body, leading to physical symptoms such as chronic pain, tightness, and reduced lung volume, as well as emotional and energetic struggles such as numbness or emotional stagnation, and even leading to the formation of more extreme levels of such problems as neurosis and psychosis.

Reich’s ideas were radical for his time. The notion that the mind and body are deeply interconnected stood in stark contrast to his day's prevailing medical and psychological paradigms, which treated them as entirely separate. While many dismissed his ideas as pseudoscience and ridiculed him for his eccentric beliefs, Reich’s perspective ultimately laid the foundation for most somatic forms of therapy that have followed. He was persecuted for his work and died in prison, but his work remains profoundly influential to this day.

He was one of, if not the first, doctor in the West to use controlled breathing systematically. He found that most of his patients had very insufficient breathing and either held their breath in or had trouble exhaling. He also noticed that their chests were rigid and tight; when he helped them breathe out, they would start expressing emotions.

Reich introduced circular breathing as a therapeutic tool sometime in the 1920s, recognizing its ability to help patients access repressed emotions and release tension held in the body.

More controversially, Reich believed in a unifying life energy, which he called “orgone,” that governed health and vitality. He theorized that disruptions in this energy could lead to illness on both the physical and emotional levels. While this concept was largely dismissed by contemporary Western science, Reich’s ideas of how energy flows through the body formed the foundation of much of his work, and ultimately the aim of his therapeutic practice, which he called Vegatherapy.

The name comes from the German Vegetotherapie, a reference to the vegetative, or autonomic, nervous system. Reich saw this system of breath, pulsation, expansion, and contraction as the basis of health. At some point, though, the name Vegetotherapy started to sound a little too much like it was about vegetables, and it quietly fell out of fashion. Today, it’s more often referred to simply as Reichian therapy. But his original term points more precisely to what he was after __ restoring the body’s natural rhythms and flow of energy through breath, movement, and releasing the patterns of armor and repression from the body and mind.

I think we can apply Reich’s insights beyond the level of the individual and see how entire cultures and social/political structures can and do develop collective armor, manifesting in rigid societal norms, emotional repression, and suppression of creativity/life.  Basically, any new idea, especially if it feels directly threatening to a collectively agreed-upon one, registers in a human’s nervous system as a potential threat. This applies to the nervous system of the individual as well as the collective nervous system of society. For example, the cultural environment of the early 20th century, precisely when Reich was beginning to present his ideas, a time dominated by industrialization, patriarchy, and authoritarian structures, promoted conformity and detachment from emotional and physical expression. This societal armoring created a collective rigidity that stifled individual freedom, intimacy, and creativity. So it’s no surprise that not only was Reich laughed at, but his ideas threatened societal norms in such a way that he was put in prison. Talk about irony.

A Cultural Shift Toward De-Armoring

While Reich himself was overshadowed by controversy during his life, his ideas began to resurface in the 1960s, a time of “cultural de-armoring.” The countercultural uptick known as the sexual revolution challenged long-standing societal restrictions around emotional expression, intimacy, and personal freedom. This breaking of taboos mirrored Reich’s insights about the importance of letting go of restrictions that hold us back; new therapeutic modalities rooted in emotional and physical release began to gain some popularity.

At the same time, Reich’s work remained difficult to transmit widely. He primarily trained doctors, and those doctors had to be willing to undergo the therapy themselves to learn it properly. As the 1960s and 70s progressed, a variety of somatic and expressive practices such as Primal Therapy, rebirthing, and later holotropic breathwork emerged largely outside the formal medical lineage Reich had established. These movements were explored in countercultural and hippie circles, often separate from the world of doctors, and while they drew inspiration from his ideas, they evolved independently. Alexander Lowen, one of Reich’s direct students, developed Bioenergetics, which gained wider popularity but ultimately became its own distinct modality. Reich’s early use of circular breathing to access stored tension directly influenced these later practices, which aimed to liberate both body and mind.

The cultural de-armoring of the 1960s and 70s wasn’t just about breaking free from sexual repression or rigid societal expectations; it was a glimmer of a somatic awakening. People began reconnecting with their bodies and challenging the collective armor that had kept them emotionally and physically restricted. This armor had been reinforced over generations, as those before them denied themselves the ability to fully feel, honor their bodies, and embrace their whole selves.

By examining how the government and other ruling bodies responded, we gain valuable insight into what makes de-armoring effective and what doesn’t. Without attunement and a sense of safety in the system, the process backfires. Instead of softening and releasing, the armor fortifies.

Part Two: How Armoring and De-Armoring Manifest in Society Today

In today’s society, cultural armoring often shows up as chronic stress, disconnection from the body, and an overemphasis on productivity. The constant use of technology and social media fosters emotional detachment, creating shallow connections while discouraging vulnerability. Cultural norms like “staying positive” or “pushing through” suppress authentic emotional expression, leaving people fragmented and disconnected from themselves. The medical system, built on the foundation of armor, typically suppresses symptoms and masks pain, reflecting a deeply ingrained tendency to avoid rather than address the root causes of discomfort. It’s easy to feel closed off in the face of such dysfunction.

However, there are growing signs of a collective shift toward de-armoring and somatic awakening. Practices like breathwork and other forms of somatic healing, many of which are influenced by Reich’s ideas, are gaining traction as people increasingly recognize the importance of slowing down and reconnecting with their bodies. Even the growing popularity of things like barefoot shoes, contrast therapy, and the widespread use of “nervous system” language all point to a collective desire to relearn how to feel. People are starting to understand the value of addressing the emotional and physical tension that has been stored in the body for so long, seeking not just healing but true integration and a path toward freedom.

The tricky part, of course, is that even somatic practices can become a kind of armor when they’re approached from armor. Techniques meant to soften can just as easily harden if they’re used to avoid, perform, or prove something, rather than actually feel.

In that sense, even if Reich’s orgone theories fell out of favor, his deeper insight, that bodies and cultures alike armor against life, continues to shape the therapies and movements that invite us back into feeling.

How Armor Gets in the Way of Fully Living

Our armor isn’t random, nor is it even a problem that needs fixing; it’s intelligence from the body, shaped by how it remembers the past, and how it’s attempting to protect us in the future. During times when we feel vulnerable or overwhelmed, these patterns become more pronounced. The only issue is when this protection becomes chronic, in a way becoming the only thing we know, it limits our ability to truly connect with our lives.

We tighten against the possibility of pain, but in doing so, we also cut ourselves off from joy, intimacy, and love.

Imagine walking through life wearing thick armor: while it might shield us from harm, it also prevents us from deeply feeling the touch of another, the warmth of the sun, or the simple pleasure of breathing into every part of our body. Over time, the cost of this protection becomes greater than the pain it was meant to prevent.

De-armoring is a process of recognizing the ways we’ve kept ourselves closed off from love in an attempt to avoid pain, and intentionally creating the conditions to slowly soften, open, and reconnect.

What Is De-Armoring?

De-armoring is the process of gently releasing the physical, emotional, and energetic tension and the memories that have accumulated in the body over time. It’s an invitation to let go of the armor we unconsciously carry, not by force, but by working with the body’s natural rhythms and intelligence.

In Somatic Alignment, de-armoring happens on three key levels:

• Physical: Chronic tension in areas like the jaw, shoulders, chest, and pelvis begins to soften.

• Emotional: Long-held feelings, like grief or fear, are given space to move and be processed.

• Energetic: Blocked prana (life force) is freed, restoring a natural sense of vitality and flow.

This process is not about chasing breakthroughs or “fixing” what is perceived as wrong. Instead, it’s about creating safety and awareness so that the body can naturally unwind the protective patterns it no longer needs.

De-Armoring in Somatic Alignment

In Somatic Alignment, de-armoring is guided by a deep understanding of the nervous system, evolutionary biology, and the flow of energy through the five pranic ovals (energetic diaphragms) in the body. It incorporates three key practices that are set on top of a foundation of Nervous System Attunement:

1. Breath & Awareness

Conscious breath acts as a bridge between the body, emotions, and energy. In Somatic Alignment, we work with the five pranic ovals, which also relate to or can be described as the 5 segments or belts of tension (cranial, cervical, thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic diaphragms), which serve as gateways for energy to move through and as central fulcrums of energetic expression these 5 centers are also where we tend to get stuck.

When these diaphragms are armored, energy cannot flow freely. Breathwork gently opens these areas, creating space for tension and suppressed emotions to be released naturally.

What we think about in general, but especially in relationship to physical sensations (the quality of our awareness), is just as important, if not more important, than the breathing itself. When working with the breath, it’s essential not to forget our awareness of it.

2. Movement, Sound, and Authentic Expression:

The body knows how to release patterns of tension; it just needs permission/safety. Movement in Somatic Alignment mimics the natural ways the body processes stress, such as shaking or tremors, expressive or explorative micro-movements, and gentle or reflexive stretches.

Wilhelm Reich described what he called the orgasmic wave, or spinal wave, a natural undulation that moves through the body when energy is no longer trapped in the different belts of muscular armor. It is the body’s rhythm of release, a wave that begins at the base, ripples up through the spine, and flows out again. I see echoes of this in the small, spontaneous movements clients make when their system begins to soften. These movements aren’t forced; they emerge when energy is freed to move again. Over time, small spinal articulations can gather into a more integrated wave of energy traveling through the whole spine.

It’s important to say that there is nothing overtly sexual about this convulsion. What Reich called the orgasmic wave was really his attempt to describe the body’s inherent rhythm of aliveness. In this sense, he was pointing to something yogis and the earliest forms of Tantra also knew: that at the base of the spine rests a primordial life force seeking expression. The difference between kundalini awakening and a healthy human nervous system is vast, but both speak to the importance of having energy that flows through the spine. Whether it is called vitality or kundalini, the principle is the same: the body is built to be in movement, to be in service to life, and in its healthiest state, energy can travel freely through us.

Sound plays a part here, too. Making sound is another form of movement. Vocal cord vibration, breath, and resonance are all ways the body completes and connects its cycles of release. Together, movement and sound open pathways for energy to integrate in a way that feels organic rather than imposed.

3. Touch:

Touch in Somatic Alignment is not really about tissue manipulation, and it’s not about force or trying to change anything; it’s about creating a sense of safety. Through hands-on techniques focused on areas of tension or numbness, touch helps the body feel supported, inviting it to soften and let go, and in doing so, establishes connection again.

This relational aspect allows the armor to dissolve on its own timeline, which is crucial, rather than being pushed or manipulated, which is the very approach that typically results in armoring and tension being created in the first place. 

Why Nervous System Attunement Is Key

At the heart of de-armoring is nervous system regulation. The tension and patterns we hold in the body often, if not always, come from our natural survival responses; in our current era, these are typically categorized as fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.

If tension is released too quickly or without adequate safety, the nervous system can become overwhelmed, reinforcing the very patterns we’re trying to release. That’s why Somatic Alignment carefully integrates de-armoring with nervous system attunement, ensuring the process feels gentle, safe, and sustainable.

Part Three: The Benefits of De-Armoring and Letting Life Live

Practicing de-armoring opens the possibility of living with greater freedom, connection, and ease. I like to say that conscious breathing is about finding the space within and attending to it, allowing it to grow. De-armoring is about reconnecting to that space and our inner resourcefulness; conscious breathing is de-armoring.

Benefits include:

✅ Physical Space: Greater mobility, as well as stability, easier breathing/being, and relief from chronic pain and tension.

✅ Emotional Space: Accessing and processing emotions, creating space for and training in emotional resilience.

✅ Mental Space: Releasing mental loops and habitual ruminations and reconnecting with our imagination and creativity.

✅ Energetic Space: Restoring the flow & the Charge, resulting in clarity, lightness, and vitality.

✅ Nervous System Space: Developing a capacity for presence and emotional flexibility.

A Journey of Reconnection and a Path to Freedom:

De-armoring is not just about releasing tension and pain…it’s about creating space to feel all of life, from its difficulties to its beauty. By softening the barriers we’ve built, we reconnect with our bodies, our emotions, and the love and beauty that are always present around us.

Through this approach to healing, we can release the layers that no longer serve us and open ourselves to the richness, depth, and inherent vitality of our lives.

Have you ever noticed how tension in your body feels connected to past experiences or emotions?

De-Armoring as Remembering We Are Life

One of the deeper truths this work uncovers, and as Darryl often says, is that we’re not simply people living lives; we are life itself. Another way he puts it is how people will talk about going into the woods to “connect with nature,” as if they’ve forgotten they are nature. This, I think, is a testament to just how armored and disconnected we have become. Armoring ourselves is a kind of self-denial: we’re alive, but we’re trying not to feel, not to fully exist, as if survival and living were separate, all because we are afraid.

Eckhart Tolle expresses the same thing in his own way: we do not have a life, we are life. He often points out how people confuse their “life situation” with life itself. We identify with problems, stories, and roles while forgetting the simple fact of being alive. That aliveness, he says, is not something we think about but something we feel directly through the body, as a subtle vibrational presence that’s always here when attention softens inward.

He also notes that the ego (The unobserved self) resists this kind of direct experiencing, because to feel life means loosening its grip truly. Armor, in this sense, is the ego’s attempt to survive while avoiding the very thing it most fears: dissolving into the immediacy of being.

This is why de-armoring is so profound. It’s not just easing muscle tension or letting go of stored emotion; it’s a way of stepping back into the life we already are. A session is a concentrated, or accelerated environment to do this work in a deeper, focused way, but the practice itself is everywhere. As Darryl says, when we stop, pause, and notice, we bring our mind to our sensations. Bridging this gap between mind and body is where we begin to tap into the spiritual realm, and in the absence of awareness, we unknowingly lose connection with ourselves, and the pain-body begins to stir.

Over time, these pauses, these micro-moments of presence, accumulate. Our brain learns from our body, our body learns from our brain, and we begin pausing to notice without even needing to remember to do so. It becomes habit. This is de-armored living. This is living in relationship to ourselves and to all our relations.

Life is not something we do or have; it is what we are, moment by moment.

Every time we let the body soften, even a little, we reclaim the living, breathing aliveness that is us. Through that, our armor softens as we attend to and honor ourselves, becoming available to serve the life that is both us and more than us.
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Written by Daniel Rainwater.