Body Dearmouring in short

People ask me what body de‑armouring is.

Put simply, body de‑armouring is the process of releasing emotions, painful memories, ancestral imprints, and occasionally even karmic traces from the body. It is a way of freeing the energy locked in patterns of emotional suppression so that your life force becomes available again, rigidity softens into vibrant softness, and reactivity gives way to responding to the present moment in alignment with your inner truth.

What is meant by this “armour”?

The concept of body armour was introduced by Wilhelm Reich. Armour is a physical and psychological rigidity that occurs when the natural pulsation and movement of life-force energy become blocked.

Instead of experiencing natural relaxation, pleasure, vitality, and responding appropriately to life, we feel tension, stiffness, pain, numbness, or emotional paralysis. Armour acts as a chronic pattern of holding back feelings. It fortifies the body, protecting us not only from what we wish to avoid feeling, but inadvertently closing us off from the joy and intimacy we yearn for. We cannot selectively numb our feelings; when we build walls, we deprive ourselves of the full spectrum of life.

You might feel a dull numbness in certain areas of your life, as if living a half-life, or conversely, experience hyper-vigilance and over-sensitivity. Balance can be restored in many ways; body de-armouring is one particularly profound path. Yet, it should only be taken when you feel truly ready.

“Every muscular rigidity contains some history and the meaning of its origin.”
~ Wilhelm Reich

Where does the armour come from?

Our experiences, intense emotions, unmet needs, suppressed impulses, and overwhelming life events create blockages in the flow of vital energy. When we lack adequate support during difficult times, we unconsciously put on armour to protect ourselves from re-experiencing unwanted pain and emotional turmoil.

When is de‑armouring also helpful?

De-armouring is an invaluable tool when navigating challenging life transitions, such as going through a heartbreak, experiencing a major loss, or facing crises where emotions sit right at the surface. During these times, the overwhelm can feel paralyzing, driving us toward emotional numbness or detachment.

De-armouring, similar to Loving Presence sessions, creates a safe container, helping you process and metabolize these experiences through the body rather than shutting down. Emotional pain can feel unbearable. Yet allowing it to move through the body keeps you alive and open, rather than surrendering to numbness. In these situations, complementary psychotherapy is also highly recommended.

What does tantric body de‑armouring look like?

In de-armouring session conscious dialogue is combined with experiential somatic work and spiritual healing.

Dialogue & Intention: We begin with a conversation to listen to what you bring into the space. I explain the process in detail and answer any questions. Sessions might be conducted in nudity, as it removes a literal and metaphorical layer behind which it is easy to hide. However, nudity is never required. If you feel more comfortable in underwear or soft, flexible clothing, that is completely respected.

Before we move to the hands-on part, we make a little attunement. Grounding, centring in the body, connecting with forces that support us in this work, are part of it.  This creates also space for your intention.

The Energetic Phase: The practical work begins with an energetic and gentle touch phase across the whole body. This soothes the nervous system, opens the body to release, and prepares you for deeper work. It may also awaken and elevate sexual / vital energy, hence the term Tantric de-armouring. As energy circulates through the body, long-held unconscious blockages naturally float to the surface. Much like the unexpected emotional releases that can happen during intimacy, these hidden patterns are finally given space to dissolve.

Trigger Point & Somatic Release: We spend the majority of the session working on trigger points, muscles, tendon attachments, and fascia to release stored cellular memory and suppressed emotions. Some of these points act as universal “valves” where most people hold back fear, anger, grief, or pleasure and joy. Other points are highly personal, tied to specific memories.

What Can Surface During a Session?

De‑armouring requires your inner readiness, because it can touch wounds and tender spots very directly. We work with whatever arises in the body in the here and now. Current stress may be released, as well as emotions and situations from the past.

There can be a return to your own birth process or to the experience of bening in your mother’s womb. Sometimes ancestral traumas emerge. Those experiences belonging to your foremothers and forefathers that are not directly yours, but which you carry and feel as unexplained blocks, inhibitions, irrational fears or a sense of being frozen.

At times we touch what might be called karmic imprints. The healing process can naturally transition into a spiritual or shamanic space, guiding you across a profound inner threshold. In these moments, power animals or ancestral spirits may enter the field to bring resolution or find peace. Other times, there is no clear way to classify what moves, yet we know that something is being released. The subconscious brings up images – literal or symbolic – that help you reach what needs healing.

For Whom Is Body De-armouring?

Body de‑armouring is designed for anyone feeling blocked in their ability to feel. It supports those struggling to experience life’s joy, or to rest in a relaxed state of consciousness. It is meant for people driven by inner “shoulds” and “mustn’ts” rather than their own well-being. Guidance is also offered to those who struggle to set healthy boundaries or to follow their heart.
Tantric body de‑armouring can support healing in the realm of sexuality and relationships, for both women and men. Here too, we begin our journey with general body de-armouring rather than in the intimate areas.

A Note on Pelvic De-Armouring

Though most clients come for different reasons, we can also release tension from the pelvic and genital areas. However I approach this with deep reverence and patience. Experience shows that it is usually best to first release tension and blocks from the rest of the body before moving to intimate areas. Working with genital de-armouring requires one or more general de-armouring preliminary sessions.

Progressing to pelvic work depends entirely on your readiness, measured by your capacity to stay present with what arises, breathe consciously, and participate in the process which is unfolding. Genital work is never mandatory. This choice is left entirely up to you. Releasing emotional tension from other areas of the body is often sufficient to facilitate changes you are longing for.

Mulitidimentional Apraoach

Remember that armour was once a necessary defense mechanism that helped you survive a difficult situation. Today, however, that same armour may be preventing you from living fully. Softening it is a gentle process. It requires non-judgmental curiosity and warm self-compassion. Deep tenderness is offered to parts of yourself that were hidden, suppressed or unwanted. They are finally welcomed back home.

I am a passionate advocate for a holistic, multi-layered approach. I welcome clients who are concurrently in psychotherapy. Sometimes, therapists refer clients to me to move through a somatic bottleneck or access subconscious material that traditional talk therapy hasn’t quite reached. Other times, big issues may surface in a session, things that have been hidden until now. Therapy then offers a way to hold and integrate them from another angle. Occasionaly, if a client is not yet ready for this kind of work, then I also refer them to a psychotherapist first.

Contraindications and Clarifications: What De-Armouring Is Not

Active Trauma Support: Body de-armouring is not recommended for individuals currently navigating active, unintegrated trauma. This includes states of panic, dissociation, or severe emotional flashbacks. In these instances, specialized trauma therapy or psychiatric care must take priority. Methods like EMDR or Somatic Experiencing, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy are often advised first.

You are warmly invited once your nervous system is stabilized.  That means that you are able to stay present and engaged during the process. Booking is also welcomed, when your therapist agrees it would complement your care.

A Substitute for Medical/Psychological Care: De-armouring complements, but never replaces, medical or psychological treatment. Any physical symptoms, such as burning sensations, chronic pain, or erectile dysfunction, should be thoroughly evaluated by a medical professional first, and treated if needed. If clinical examinations reveal no underlying physical cause, the symptoms may point to a somatic or emotional response that de-armouring can help address.

A “Quick Fix”: This work is not a magic pill or a passive treatment where you lie on a table while I “fix” you. True transformation requires your active collaboration. Your main role is simply to remain present with whatever sensations and emotions arise. This includes holding space for them possibly without judgment or resistance.

While it is often easier to build walls, blame others, or the life itself, numb our feelings, or turn to distractions, leaning into these untouched places reveals an incredible gift: the freedom to inhabit your true self and live life fully. Your breath, voice, and spontaneous physical expression are essential tools in this journey.

Your participation is essential, you are not passive in this process – and I explain this before the session.

Professional Boundaries Regarding Intimacy

For male clients in particular: Body de-armouring is strictly a therapeutic, non-erotic service.
Sessions do not aim for, nor end with, sexual release. If pelvic or genital work occurs in advanced sessions, it is performed strictly for releasing deep muscular tension, healing emotional blockages (such as erectile difficulty or premature release), or learning to circulate vital energy through the body. Practitioner and client remain grounded in a professional, therapeutic container.

In Summary

There is so much more that could be said about body de‑armouring, there are many schools and approaches.. While my foundation is built upon Andrew Barnes’s school of Tantric Body De-Armouring, over the years all that I have gathered in my toolkit flows into this work. It may include elements of spiritual healing, work in the morphogenetic field or inner‑child work.

In intimacy as in life, fancy techniques are secondary. What truly heals is presence, conscious breath, honoring our feelings, and tending to old wounds and fears as they arise. Body de-armouring reaches far beyond the intimate sphere: it simply helps release what keeps you from being yourself, from being important to yourself, it is a courageous step toward welcoming home the exiled parts of yourself so you can live in full, authentic presence.

For some, the outcome may simply be the realization of how deeply they rely on control, how tender a particular wound is, or how strongly they guard that private space. Even so, that single insight is a vital first step on the path toward healing. For others, the transformation is immediate and profound—like “shedding an old skin,” as one client put it. For most, the journey unfolds somewhere beautifully in between.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
~ Joseph Campbell