20 Minutes On A Train Left Her Feeling Trapped | A Somatic Story

"20 minutes," Maria whispered, gripping the arms of her chair.

"The subway was stuck in the tunnel for just 20 minutes. But my body... my body thought I was going to die." She looked up at me, bewildered.

"I take that train every day. I'm a New Yorker. We don't panic over subway delays. But I couldn't breathe. I clawed at the doors. People were staring."

"Tell me what happened in your body," I suggested gently.

"The lights flickered. The AC stopped. And suddenly I wasn't in a subway car anymore. I was 15 years old, locked in a storage closet at boarding school."

What Is Somatic Therapy? When Your Body Time-Travels

This is what trauma does—it collapses time. In that stalled subway car, Maria's nervous system couldn't tell the difference between:

- 2024 and 2002

- A delayed train and a locked closet

- Temporary inconvenience and deliberate cruelty

"I knew I was safe," she continued. "I could see other calm passengers. But my body was screaming 'You're trapped, they're not letting you out.'"

This is why I practice somatic therapy NYC—because trauma lives in the body, not in logic.

The Closet That Lived in Her Body

"How long were you in that closet?" I asked.

"Six hours. Some girls thought it would be funny to lock the new kid in during lunch. They 'forgot' to let me out. Security found me after dinner when they heard me sobbing."

Her breathing quickened just remembering.

"And now every small, dark space...""Is that closet," she finished.

"Elevators. Bathroom stalls. MRI machines. And apparently, subway cars."

Somatic Therapy NYC: Mapping the Geography of Panic

During our somatic therapy sessions, we mapped how Maria's body responded to enclosed spaces:

- Chest tightening within seconds

- Breathing moving up to her throat

- Eyes darting to exits

- Legs tensing to run

- A specific sensation she described as "my skin trying to escape"

"Your body has been protecting you from locked rooms for 22 years," I observed. "Even when the doors aren't locked."

Learning Safety: What Is Somatic Therapy's Approach?

Traditional therapy might have Maria challenge her thoughts. But somatic therapy NYC works differently—we teach the body that now is not then. We engaged is somatic sequencing, allowing the body to complete and move through sensations that were not processed, during the time of the event in the closet.

We also used boundary exercises and re-instated her “Fight” and “Flight” responses using Somatic Experience to help her body engage in pushing away, and slow running movements. This, while somatically recalling her experience is what allowed her body to slowly digest the unprocessed somatic memory.

If you want to learn more about Somatic Interventions I used in session, read here.

And if you’’d like to some of the more basic somatic practice we used, for you to use or read and see how they land, here they are.

The Orientation Practice:

"When you feel trapped, look for five things that weren't in that closet."

Maria practiced in my office:

"Your plant. The window. The exit sign. Your diploma. The sound of traffic."

"How does your breathing change when you notice these?"

"It... drops. Like my body remembers I'm somewhere else."

The Boundary Practice:

- Feel the edges of your body

- Notice where you end and the space begins

- Touch the walls—are they moving? Are they solid?

- Remind your body: "These walls aren't a punishment"

The Subway Ride That Changed Everything

Six months into our somatic therapy NYC work, Maria texted me from underground:

"Stuck between stations for 15 minutes. Used everything we practiced. Stayed present. Didn't time travel. My body knew I was 37, not 15."

When she came to her next session, she was glowing.

"I did it. I stayed in 2024. I felt the fear rise, but I also felt it pass. The businessman next to me had no idea I'd just won the biggest battle of my life."

What Is Somatic Therapy? Teaching Your Body to Update Its Maps

Somatic therapy recognizes that:

- Trauma collapses time in the body

- Logic can't reach body memories

- Safety must be felt, not just understood

- The body needs new experiences to update old programming

"I took the subway here today," Maria told me in our final session. "Rush hour. Crowded car. Delays at every station.

And I was just... a commuter. Not a trapped teenager. Just a woman going to therapy."

For Everyone Who Time-Travels on the Subway

If you're reading this and recognize yourself—if your body takes you back to places you've already survived—somatic therapy NYC can help.

Your body isn't broken. It's protective. It just needs to learn that what saved you then isn't needed now.

You survived the closet.

You survived the cruelty.

Now somatic therapy can help you survive the healing.

Ready to help your body update its GPS?

I offer specialized somatic therapy New York for trauma survivors whose bodies are stuck in time. Because you deserve to live in the present, not be ambushed by the past.

Schedule your somatic therapy NYC consultation: [Click Here]

In-person somatic therapy NYC and virtual sessions available. Because healing doesn't require another commute.*

Esther Goldstein LCSW

Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, EMDR Certified Therapist, Specializing in Somatic Therapy for Trauma

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For Therapists & Psychologists:

If you’re a therapist or trauma-informed clinician who wants to deepen your skillset — learning how to integrate somatic, EMDR, and parts work with clarity and clinical depth — I invite you to apply for the Trauma Mastery & Consultation Program.

It’s a 6-month, high-touch mentorship for advanced clinicians ready to refine their intuition, expand their presence, and feel more grounded in their work.

✨ Applications are by invite only.
Click here to learn more or apply for our Trauma Mastery Program.

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