Embodied Grace: Healing the Broken Parts Within
Today, while listening to another webinar series on “How to run a somatic therapy session”, I had a true “aha” moment.
Matt Kay, one of the founders of Embodied Processing, was speaking in detail about “orphan parts.” This is the heart of the work we do in embodied processing, learning to hold our experiences instead of cutting off or removing what doesn’t align. Everything is done through compassion, and when that happens organically, grace and transformation follow.
For those unfamiliar, “orphan parts” is a term used in IFS (Internal Family Systems) and other therapeutic practices to describe the parts of ourselves that have been exiled — pushed aside, rejected, or buried. Psychology often speaks of re-parenting these parts. Scripture, though, speaks of something even deeper: of being received into God’s family and restored through relationship with Christ.
Even as I type this, I feel goosebumps on my skin. There’s something about this overlap that reveals the very essence of Christ and His sacrifice.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psa 147:3
Notice it doesn’t say He removes or erases them. He binds them. He holds what is broken.
Paul’s Inner Conflict
Romans 7 gives us such an honest picture. Paul, with all his knowledge and faith, speaks of the inner conflict within him. He names the struggle we all know too well:
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing… it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
Paul isn’t pretending he can “fix” himself. The harder he tries to remove sin on his own, the more divided he feels. It’s the same with our orphan parts, the more we try to exile them, the stronger they return.
What Orphan Parts Look Like in the Body
Trauma isn’t just cognitive; it’s embodied. These orphan parts show up as:
Tightness - constriction, shallow breath when a vulnerable part is triggered.
Dissociation or numbness when the orphan part holds unbearable pain.
Repetitive behaviours or compulsions that echo old survival strategies.
In somatic work, the goal isn’t to exile them further but to turn toward them
Felt sense in the body: Where does this live?
Compassionate inquiry: What does this part need to feel safe?
Embodied safety: Grounding, co-regulation, breath, movement.
This parallels what Paul describes
inner conflict that cannot be resolved by willpower, but only when brought into relationship
To Christ for redemption.
To our compassionate awareness for integration.
The Dependency Shift
Instead of “I must remove this to be acceptable.”
It becomes “This shows me my need for Christ to hold, heal, and restore even the parts I cannot fix.”
This is the radical shift Paul points to when he says: Romans 7:24-25
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
The cycle of exile → rebellion → shame → exile is broken.
In Christ, we move into a new flow, awareness → surrender → grace → transformation.
From Law to Christ
Under the Law, sin meant cut off, unclean, removed.
The Law was like a mirror, it showed the reality of sin, but it couldn’t restore relationship.
Christ shifts everything
Where the Law says, “remove the unclean,” Christ says, “bring it to Me.”
Where the Law demands exile, Christ offers belonging.
Where the Law points out brokenness, Christ binds and restores.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…” (Isaiah 53:4)
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…” (1 Peter 2:24)Grace transforms exile into belonging. Compassion replaces condemnation.
Likeness of Sin and Orphan Parts
Both sin (as Paul describes it) and orphan parts function like fragments of self, estranged, cut off, hijacking behaviour. The difference is how we respond:
Under the Law (or through willpower alone): we exile them.
In Christ (and in compassionate embodiment): we bring them into the light to be held and transformed.
Embodiment gives us a way to live this truth.
When an orphan part is triggered, instead of suppressing it, we pause, notice, and bring compassion.
This act of turning toward mirrors Christ’s work:
We don’t exile.
We acknowledge and surrender.
We let grace touch what we’d otherwise hide.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
What a promise. We are not left alienated. We are adopted, healed, and bound together in Him.
Embodiment in Christ
This is why I choose to share embodiment in Christ. It deepens our experience of His compassion, love, and grace. It shows us, tangibly, how He truly bears it all.
In our bodies, this means we don’t keep suppressing or denying the parts of us that feel too broken, too messy, too sinful.
Instead, we meet them with compassion and bring them to Christ.
This is embodiment carrying even our innermost parts into His presence, where there is no condemnation, only healing.
If this resonates with you and you want to explore how to embody Christ’s love in your daily life, consider our 3-session Somatic Foundations Package “embody His love” Through guided practices, you’ll learn to bring even your deepest, most vulnerable parts to Him, experience His healing, and live with greater wholeness.
Or, continue your journey with more reflections and practical insights on Christian embodiment by reading our full blog: Christ in the Body: Somatic Healing.
