Riding the Fire: Trauma, Transformation, and the Fire Horse Year
As a kid, like some of you, I was mesmerized by fire and being adventurous and curious in nature, I played a lot with it. Playing with fire hurts, as you tend to get burned a few times, or destroying things.
Fire is rarely gentle. It is bold, unpredictable, and transformative—qualities that resonate deeply with those of us who are fire-dominant, who feel life through intensity, through energy, and through movement.
As a Fire Dragon (Chinese Astrology), I have always lived in alignment with fire: its courage, its clarity, and its fierce capacity to illuminate what is hidden.
This year, the Fire Horse amplifies that energy, presenting a rare opportunity for those committed to trauma healing: a year when fire itself becomes a guide, a teacher, and a mirror. The Fire Horse is restless.
In Chinese astrology, it is known for sudden shifts, unpredictability, and acceleration. Those born under this sign are often bold, independent, and intense, but everyone experiences the energetic pull of the Fire Horse during its year. In the context of trauma, this energy mirrors the restlessness, tension, and unresolved patterns that are stored in the body. Trauma is rarely just psychological—it is somatic, lodged in posture, breath, connective tissue, and nervous system patterns. And just like the Fire Horse, unresolved trauma cannot be ignored forever; it demands engagement.
Fire as Catalyst for Transformation
In my own practice, I’ve seen the fire awaken both fear and liberation. I remember one client—a mid-40s woman who had carried anxiety and tension in her chest and shoulders for decades. She had experienced multiple losses, a childhood of instability, and chronic physical discomfort she had long dismissed as “normal.” When she began working with somatic practices, shiatsu, and nervous system resets, something remarkable happened.
The first sessions were uncomfortable: her body resisted, muscles tensed, and old trauma surfaced as tears, trembling, and anger. But instead of avoiding these sensations, we leaned into the intensity.
By the third month, her posture softened, her breath deepened, and the fire within her transformed restlessness into presence, clarity, and embodied strength.
The Fire Horse energy is exactly this: it pushes us into our intensity, forcing awareness, and guiding us to reclaim agency over our own bodies. Trauma often lives in avoidance, in the habitual contraction of the nervous system. The Fire Horse challenges this contraction. It asks us to meet intensity with curiosity rather than fear, to allow the nervous system to express, discharge, and reset. The body, when supported with attention and skill, is remarkably resilient—and the fire is its spark.
Fire Dragon Meets Fire Horse: Aligning Inner and Outer Energy
Being a Fire Dragon adds another layer of resonance. Fire Dragons thrive in intensity but must balance it with containment and conscious guidance. I have learned, over decades of practice and personal reflection, that fire without presence can burn destructively.
In trauma work, this is crucial: the energy must be harnessed, directed, and respected. My own journey as a Fire Dragon has shown me how deeply trauma can lodge in even the strongest, most vibrant individuals, and how powerfully the body can reset when fire is used as an ally rather than suppressed or avoided.
Consider another client, a man in his early 50s with chronic pain in his lower back and knees, stemming from years of stress, physical overexertion, and a childhood of emotional neglect. In our sessions, the Fire energy seemed to catalyze rapid shifts. The nervous system, which had been locked in defensive patterns, began to release tension through subtle tremors, stretches, and breath work.
The fire in his system—once reactive and chaotic—became regenerative. His chronic pain decreased, his posture improved, and he experienced a sense of embodiment he had never known. Fire, when aligned with mindful attention, transforms what is stuck.
Practical Somatic Practices for Fire-Aligned Trauma Healing
The Fire Horse year asks us not to soften away intensity but to meet it, guide it, and use it for transformation. Here are practices that I incorporate in my work and recommend to those navigating trauma during this fiery year:
- Embodiment Movement: Begin each day with stretches or movements that awaken energy from the feet through the spine—grounding the fire while inviting flow.
- Conscious Breath: Pause multiple times daily to breathe deeply into the chest and abdomen, releasing tension in the shoulders, back, and jaw. Fire ignites awareness; breath gives it direction.
- Somatic Touch or Shiatsu: Gentle touch, guided self-massage, or shiatsu sessions help the nervous system register safety while discharging stored trauma.
- Journaling and Reflection: Let the fire illuminate hidden emotional patterns. Write freely, without censoring, and consciously release what no longer serves.
- Mindful Presence in Intensity: When tension, fear, or restlessness arises, stay with it. Notice sensations, name them, and let them move through the body rather than suppressing them.
- Sauna: For centuries been used for physical, emotional and spiritual cleansing. I use it to transmute energy when working with trauma clients, or when working on self and transformation
- Sun-Gazing: Meditating on sunrises and sunsets whilst gazing with intention into the sun can be a powerful tool.
These practices are not about taming the fire—they are about riding it. Trauma healing in a Fire Horse year is about harnessing energy, confronting intensity, and transforming what is reactive into what is regenerative.
Fire as Alchemy
Ultimately, the Fire Horse, the Fire Dragon, and the fire element itself remind us that trauma is not a permanent state. It is an invitation to alchemy: to burn away avoidance, illuminate hidden patterns, and reclaim the body’s natural wisdom.
The fire may feel uncomfortable at first, but it is a teacher, showing us the path to embodied presence, courage, and liberation.
For practitioners, clients, and those navigating their own healing, the Fire Horse year is a call to rise, to meet intensity with awareness, and to channel the fire in service of transformation. Fire is not our enemy—it is our ally, our guide, and the spark that reveals the resilience, strength, and clarity that have always been within us.
Yours sincerely,
Mihael Mamychshvili - NeuroPath Reset Method Creator
Teacher, Master Therapist, Facilitator.
