Podcasts about body releases trauma

What if unlocking a deeper connection with yourself and your partner was a skill you could cultivate?    In this episode, we explore the intricate world of Tantra with the knowledgeable Shiva J, a certified Tantra Educator and transformative empowerment coach. With a diverse background encompassing Kundalini Yoga, somatic bodywork, life coaching, and more, Shiva J guides us through the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding Tantra. Delving into its roots, we discuss the multifaceted aspects of Tantra and explore how it can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation.   Shiva J sheds light on the different forms of Tantra, exploring how it can enhance intimacy in relationships, along with providing a glimpse into a new dating experience known as Tantra speed dating. You will also discover a brief guided Tantric breath exercise that you can begin using today. Tune in for an exploration into the world of Tantra where ancient wisdom meets modern understanding.   “Tantra is the art and ritual of falling in love with yourself” - Shiva J You're going to leave this episode with…   What tantra is and what it isn't   Ways in which Shiva J has used tantra to help transform his clients lives   How tantra can build more intimacy with your partner   Is tantra just sex?   The danger of tantra   What trauma is and different ways people experience it   How Tantra will allow you to love yourself more   Examples of every day people who would use tantra   The difference between white tantra and red tantra   How teaching men and women differs in tantra and which sex Shiva J finds harder to work with   What tantra speed dating is and how it compares to modern online dating   The Manhood Experiment of the week that will leave you with a Tantric breath exercise you can do right now   ---   Leave a Review: 
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 Resources Mentioned:   Shiva J - https://shivaj.com/   Resource List:   1. "Kularnava Tantra" translated by Satyananda Saraswati 2. "The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way" by Julius Evola 3. "Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire" by Lama Yeshe 4. "Hevajra Tantra: A Critical Study" by David Snellgrove 5. "Tantra Illuminated" by Christopher D. Wallis (focused on Kashmir Shaivism) 6. "Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy" by Georg Feuerstein 7. "The Roots of Tantra" by Katherine Anne Harper and Robert L. Brown 8. "Tantra in Practice" edited by David Gordon White 9. "Tantra Unveiled" by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait 10. "The Roots of Tantra" by Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) 11. "The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice" by Georg Feuerstein 12. "The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga" by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) 13. "The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You" (1971) by Dorothy Bryant "The Red Book" (1914-1930) by Carl Jung 14.  "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies" by Resmaa Menakem  15. "The Art of Sexual Ecstasy" (1989) by Margot Anand "Sex Matters" (1969) by Osho "Siddhartha" (1922) by Herman Hesse  16. "Tantric Quest: An Encounter with Absolute Love" (1997) by Daniel Odier  17. "From Sex to Superconsciousness" (2006) by Osho  18. "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" (2002) by Jed McKenna  19. "I Am That" (1973) by Nisargadatta Maharaj  20. "The Book of Secrets: 112 Meditations to Discover the Mystery Within" (2010) by Osho 21. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961) by Robert A. Heinlein  22. "Women of Light: The New Sacred Prostitute" (1994) by Kenneth Ray Stubbs  23. "In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness" (2017) by Peter Levine  24. "Mysteries of the Dark Moon" (1992) by Demetra George  25. "Spinning Straw into Gold" (2006) by Joan Gould  26. "The Recognition Sutras" (2017) by Christopher Wallis  

Talking points: trauma This was an honor. The word trauma gets thrown around a lot these days, so it's important to get back to basics and really sink into what's going on and why. After all, this is humanity we're talking about, and we're nothing if not complex. Peter is a legend in therapy circles for his groundbreaking work in somatic education and trauma work, so we dug into many of the different (and unusual) things something like trauma brings to the table. Both Peter and I encourage you to listen WITH someone! (00:00:00) - Peter's definition of trauma and how it affects the body (00:07:27) - Peter demonstrates a somatic exercise to help release trauma (00:13:14) - Do men and women experience and handle trauma differently? (00:21:40) - On how trauma needs witnessing to heal, and Peter's experience with active imagination  (00:34:14) - Navigating the almost mystical side of healing (00:39:45) - Why the tiger? (00:43:27) - How can men work in a healthy way with anger, and how betrayal can impact how someone expresses themselves (00:49:08) - The main tool to help process trauma Peter A Levine, Ph.D., is the developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, which he has developed over the past 50 years. He holds a doctorate in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. He is the Founder and President of the Ergos Institute for Somatic Education, dedicated to Community Outreach and Post-Advanced Somatic Experiencing® Training, and the Founder and Advisor for Somatic Experiencing International. He has taught at the University of California, Berkeley; Mills College; Antioch University; the California Institute of Integral Studies; and the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. His work has been taught to over 30,000 therapists in over 42 countries. Dr. Levine is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages); In an Unspoken Voice, How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness; and Trauma and Memory, Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past. Connect with Peter -Website: https://www.somaticexperiencing.com/ -New book: An Autobiography of Trauma: https://books.innertraditions.com/autobiography-of-trauma/ -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drpeteralevine/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peteralevinephd/ *** This episode is brought to you by Henson Shaving. Genuinely love these guys and their product because they've made my shaving experience actually enjoyable! Go to https://hensonshaving.com/mantalks to get two years worth of free blades with your new razor. Pick up my book, Men's Work: A Practical Guide To Face Your Darkness, End Self-Sabotage, And Find Freedom: https://mantalks.com/mens-work-book/ Check out some free resources: How To Quit Porn | Anger Meditation | How To Lead In Your Relationship Build brotherhood with a powerful group of like-minded men from around the world. Check out The Alliance.  Enjoy the podcast? If so, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Podchaser. It helps us get into the ears of new listeners, expand the ManTalks Community, and help others find the tools and training they're looking for. And don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify For more episodes, visit us at ManTalks.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“There are therapies where the person is made to relive their traumas over and over and over again. It's called flooding. And that's the one type of therapy that I do not agree with. I think it, not all the time, but it can be harmful, again, in somatic experiencing, we titrate the experience, we touch into a sensation in our bodies that have to do with the trauma, but just touch into it, and then notice the shift to a higher level of order, a higher level of coherence, a higher, greater level of flow. To go from trauma to awakening and flow is really, I think, what healing is all about." So says Peter Levine, PhD. If you've read or heard anything about trauma, you likely know Peter's name, as he's the father of Somatic Experiencing, a body-awareness approach to healing trauma that's informed the practice of almost every trauma-worker today. Levine is a prolific writer—his international best seller, Waking the Tiger, has been translated into twenty-two languages—though much of his work has been for fellow academics and teachers. He's just published a new book, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey, which is highly accessible for all of us. It's a beautiful book that recounts how he came to understand the somatic experience of trauma through an event in his own childhood—and the scientists and cultures he encountered along the way that informed what ultimately became a world-changing protocol. Today's conversation explores all of this—including some very surprising appearances by Einstein. MORE FROM PETER LEVINE, PHD: An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey Waking the Tiger: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences Trauma & Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness Somatic Experiencing International RELATED EPISODES: PART 1: James Gordon, “TRAUMA/Tools for Transforming Trauma” Thomas Hubl: “Feeling into the Collective Presence” Gabor Maté, M.D.: “When Stress Becomes Illness” Galit Atlas, PhD: “Understanding Emotional Inheritance” Thomas Hubl: “Processing Our Collective Past” Richard Schwartz, PhD: “Recovering Every Part of Ourselves” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Cheaper than Therapy episode, we sit down with Dr. Peter Levine for a deep dive into the complexity of trauma, and the transformative possibilities within therapeutic practices. Dr. Levine holds a doctorate in biophysics and a doctorate in psychology. He is the developer of Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Experiencing International, a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, Founder and President of the Ergos Institute for Somatic Education, dedicated to community outreach and post-advanced somatic experiencing training, and author of several best-selling books on trauma. His work has been taught to over 30,000 therapists in over 42 countries. Some Takeaways from this Episode:✨ Trauma and the Body: The importance of recognizing that trauma is not merely a brain disorder, but becomes deeply embedded in the body's responses and requires therapeutic techniques that addresses physical manifestations of trauma(s)✨Interconnectedness of Generations: How trauma is interconnected across generations and survival mechanisms passed down, recognizing that patterns and responses inherited from ancestors may not just be through behavior, but through epigenetic modifications✨ Healing in Community: The importance of community and collective healing practices when addressing trauma, and that the often isolated approach to mental health should be replaced with communal support systems and shared healing experiences

I'm thrilled to share my conversation with Peter A. Levine, the renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing - a naturalistic and neurobiological approach to healing trauma, which he has developed over the past 50 years. He holds a Medical and Biological Physics doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. He is the recipient of four lifetime achievement awards and is the author of several books, including Waking the Tiger, which has now been printed in 33 countries and has sold over a million copies. His memoir, An Autobiography of Trauma: A Healing Journey will be published on April 9th,2024. ResourcesDr. Levine is the author of several best-selling books on trauma, including Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma (published in over 29 languages); In an Unspoken Voice,How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness; and Trauma and Memory,Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past. Check out Peter Levine's incredible resources on trauma and somatic experiencing (including videos, online courses, and his best-selling books) by visiting https://www.somaticexperiencing.com Host Lisa Keefauver's forthcoming book Grief is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org. Drop her a DM on Instagram @lisakeefauvermsw to let her know you did and she'll send you a party invite to her Book Launch Celebration Visit www.lisakeefauver.com to learn more about Lisa, sign up for her Not-So-Regular Newsletter, register for an upcoming online grief workshop or watch her TEDx talk, Why Knowing More About Grief Can Make it Suck Less. Oh, and this season, if you want to WATCH the show, you can now watch it on YouTube @lisakeefauvermsw Recorded March 8th, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This lecture is geared for psychotherapists of all types, as well as for physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, bodyworkers, educators, and those curious about their own healing process. Objectives Describe the naturalistic mechanics of trauma and the survival responses of fight, flight, freeze, and collapse as it relates to clinical treatment. Explain the evolutionary underpinnings of trauma and the Polyvagal theory and their clinical implications. Demonstrate the importance of “Bottom-Up” processing versus “Top-Down” processing to improve treatment outcomes. Incorporate Somatic Experiencing® containment tools into your practice to more effectively guide your client through trauma therapy. More information about Peter Levine's work - https://traumahealing.org/ Want to become a certified embodiment coach? More details about CEC - https://embodimentunlimited.com/cec/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=cec Find Mark Walsh on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/warkmalsh/  

What if unlocking a deeper connection with yourself and your partner was a skill you could cultivate?    In this episode, we explore the intricate world of Tantra with the knowledgeable Shiva J, a certified Tantra Educator and transformative empowerment coach. With a diverse background encompassing Kundalini Yoga, somatic bodywork, life coaching, and more, Shiva J guides us through the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding Tantra. Delving into its roots, we discuss the multifaceted aspects of Tantra and explore how it can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation.   Shiva J sheds light on the different forms of Tantra, exploring how it can enhance intimacy in relationships, along with providing a glimpse into a new dating experience known as Tantra speed dating. You will also discover a brief guided Tantric breath exercise that you can begin using today. Tune in for an exploration into the world of Tantra where ancient wisdom meets modern understanding.   “Tantra is the art and ritual of falling in love with yourself” - Shiva J   You're going to leave this episode with…   What tantra is and what it isn't   Ways in which Shiva J has used tantra to help transform his clients lives   How tantra can build more intimacy with your partner   Is tantra just sex?   The danger of tantra   What trauma is and different ways people experience it   How Tantra will allow you to love yourself more   Examples of every day people who would use tantra   The difference between white tantra and red tantra   How teaching men and women differs in tantra and which sex Shiva J finds harder to work with   What tantra speed dating is and how it compares to modern online dating   The Manhood Experiment of the week that will leave you with a Tantric breath exercise you can do right now   -----   Leave a Review: If you enjoyed the show, please leave us an encouraging review and tell us why you loved the show. Remember to click ‘subscribe' so you get all of our latest episodes. https://ratethispodcast.com/man   What is the Manhood Experiment? It's a weekly podcast where we give you one experiment to level up your mind, career, business, health, relationships and more!   For more tips and behind the scenes, follow us on:
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   Submit your questions @ www.manhoodexperiment.com   Resources Mentioned:   Website for Shiva J: https://shivaj.com/   Shiva J's Book Resource List: 1. "Kularnava Tantra" translated by Satyananda Saraswati 2. "The Yoga of Power: Tantra, Shakti, and the Secret Way" by Julius Evola 3. "Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire" by Lama Yeshe 4. "Hevajra Tantra: A Critical Study" by David Snellgrove 5. "Tantra Illuminated" by Christopher D. Wallis (focused on Kashmir Shaivism) 6. "Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy" by Georg Feuerstein 7. "The Roots of Tantra" by Katherine Anne Harper and Robert L. Brown 8. "Tantra in Practice" edited by David Gordon White 9. "Tantra Unveiled" by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait 10. "The Roots of Tantra" by Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) 11. "The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice" by Georg Feuerstein 12. "The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga" by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) 13. "The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You" (1971) by Dorothy Bryant "The Red Book" (1914-1930) by Carl Jung 14.  "My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies" by Resmaa Menakem  15. "The Art of Sexual Ecstasy" (1989) by Margot Anand "Sex Matters" (1969) by Osho "Siddhartha" (1922) by Herman Hesse  16. "Tantric Quest: An Encounter with Absolute Love" (1997) by Daniel Odier  17. "From Sex to Superconsciousness" (2006) by Osho  18. "Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" (2002) by Jed McKenna  19. "I Am That" (1973) by Nisargadatta Maharaj  20. "The Book of Secrets: 112 Meditations to Discover the Mystery Within" (2010) by Osho 21. "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961) by Robert A. Heinlein  22. "Women of Light: The New Sacred Prostitute" (1994) by Kenneth Ray Stubbs  23. "In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness" (2017) by Peter Levine  24. "Mysteries of the Dark Moon" (1992) by Demetra George  25. "Spinning Straw into Gold" (2006) by Joan Gould  26. "The Recognition Sutras" (2017) by Christopher Wallis  

In this episode we had a truly enlightening conversation with Eva Angvert from BEAMLiFE International. After a very traumatic childhood, Eva had her own struggles with addition, In support of her husbands sobriety, she gave up alcohol over 30 years ago and has been sober ever since. In 1995 she started her own coaching business to help other with unresolved trauma and addiction. Eva is trained as a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, (SEP) as well as a Certified Emotional Resolution practitioner (EmRes) . Through individual coaching sessions she helps people identify their triggers and recognize the sensations in their body as a way of resolving emotional triggers from old trauma. We found Eva's personal story and coaching practices fascinating! To find out more about Eva and the services she offers visit her website athttps://www.evaangvert.com/Follow Eva on Instagram @somaticangvertCHECK OUT this episodes Resources:The Body Keeps The Score, Bessel van der KolkWaking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A Levine, PhDIn an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness Peter A Levine, PhD — Ergos Institute, inc™ (somaticexperiencing.com)Emotional Resolution is developed by Cedric BertolliWhat is Emotional Resolution? — Emotional Resolution with Cedric Bertelli**Please remember to: Like, Subscribe and leave us a 5-star rating or review. If you enjoyed this episode SHARE it with a friend.Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/laflifeInstagram @ https://www.instagram.com/laflifepodcastWebsite: https://www.laflifepodcast.com/Be a guest on our show: https://forms.gle/GE9YJdq4J5Zb6NVC6Email us: laflifepodcast@gmail.comConnect with your podcasters. We'd love to hear from you!Tracey: https://www.instagram.com/tnd1274/Kelly: https://www.instagram.com/pamperedkel/Lindsey: https://www.instagram.com/hariklindsey/**Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this episode are not professional or medical opinions. If you are struggling with an addiction please contact a medical professional for help.Music provided by Premium Beats: https://www.premiumbeat.comSong: Rise and ThriveArtist: Young PresidentsResources:Wellness Togethe...

If you want a thriving, connected sex life with your partner, but feel like something's in the way ... it could be sexual trauma.The fact is, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are survivors of child sexual abuse. To put that in perspective, that's 42 million women and 21 million men in the US alone.The bad news? We don't talk about this nearly enough, so it can feel overwhelming and scary to address. The good news? It is addressable, and no matter who you are or what happened, you can have a beautiful, connected, and deeply fulfilling sex life. It just takes some work to get there.Here we talk about how you, as a man who has sex with women, can identify the signs that a partner may have a sexual trauma backgroundIf you've ever been with a partner who seems to check out during sex (disassociates), tends to avoid sex altogether, or has certain triggers (like certain lighting or movements on your part that cause her to tense up), it could be this.We also talk about how to bring it up and talk about it in a way that feels safe and welcoming. It's a sensitive topic and it takes a lot of trust for a woman to tell you this is part of their history (and vice versa — it takes a lot of trust for you, as a man, to let her know if you're a survivor). Knowing more about how to respond well and help to lead and guide the conversation will only help you expand and embody the healthy masculine.A vital truth is that if your wife or girlfriend is a survivor of sexual trauma (child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault), it affects your sex life — meaning it impacts both of you. We also discuss how you can support your woman and also address your own sexual needs (without coming off as ignorant or insensitive).Because when it comes down to it, we all want to love one another as best we can. And sex is a big part of that.Books referenced in this episode:• Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter Levine & Ann Frederick• In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine & Gabor MateReady to go beyond the podcast?We love working with men who are ready to do the work!If you're committed to breaking old patterns and transforming your sex & love life in a real and lasting way, take action here. (https://evolutionary.men/apply/)

Welcome to the Guns & Yoga Podcast. Today's guest: Shaye Molendyke - Shaye Molendyke is a retired Lt. Colonel with the US Airforce.  She is a trained mental health counselor, yoga teacher, and yoga therapist. Shaye has experience in teaching yoga on US military bases across the nation and has seen first hand how the tools of yoga support healing.  Shaye coordinates and teaches in the Warriors Program at Yogafit where she teaches workshops such as YogaFit for Warriors which emphasizes how yoga can support those with PTSD.  LINKS: International Women's Day - Femme Flow (YogaFit) YogaFit.com In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness: Peter A. Levine, Gabor Mate: 9781556439438: Amazon.com: Books  

Exploring burnout, trauma and Type A behavior to discover the connection between childhood experiences and later susceptibility to burnout. And sharing some of my own journey and study on trauma.Show NotesType A personality theory  In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, Peter A LevineThe Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture, Gabor Mate---To recover from burnout, start here mini.dexrandall.comFor more insights see @coachdexrandall

In this episode you'll hear Ambre and Amanda dive into their own self care tips, as well as those from the RA community, and share their plans for the podcast in Season 2.Correction: in the episode I mentioned that baby Inara only slept for 45 minutes a day. Obviously, I misspoke. What I meant to say was that she only slept in 45 minute increments, all night long, until she was two and a half. That's much more reasonable sounding.Find a free literary database containing books we discuss on the podcast here:Links on our website are often affiliate links- they don't cost you any extra to use but they greatly help support the costs of running this community. Thank you for your support!Featured books in this episode:* Anne of Green Gables* Jane Austen* Clara Barton of the Red Cross (a Julian Messner Biography) by Jeanette Nolan* The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson* Wintering by Katherine May* “Book with the tiger on the cover” is In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine* The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge* Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear* The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation by James Wilder and Michel Hendricks* Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. PinkOther resources and links shared:* I can't seem to find the Oxford University Press study with the “rocket booster” comment, only a million sites quoting it but not giving more specifics. So rude.* Dessicated Brain. Sounds gross, I know, but after taking it five times I now have two “spotlights” in my brain so don't knock it till you try it. Erik and I both love Ancestral Supplements for all our organ meat needs. Read the the reviews. Real food=real miracles.* Hopepunk sweatshirts/t-shirts/stickers, etc. All merch options for all our designs are available here. Here's a $15 off $50 voucher for new customers if you're looking at the sweatshirts- or a LOT of stickers!* The song that goes all around in your head is “Sweet Dreams” and it's in 8D which is what makes it so funky. You HAVE to use headphones to get the full affect.Join the conversation!Tell us what you do for self care! What would you like to share about your experiences with wintering?Subscribe to receive new posts and join the community! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.reshelvingalexandria.com

It's an Ask Mayim Anything episode! Mayim and Jonathan do a deep dive breakdown of listener-submitted questions surrounding addiction, family mental illness, sleep, EMDR therapy, and childbirth trauma. They discuss potential long term effects of sleep deprivation on mental health, the correlation between phone addiction and binding anxiety, and give advice for those who have loved ones struggling with substance abuse. We're also joined by a very special guest who shares her experiences with the increasingly popular EMDR therapy and how it changes the organization of memory. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.Al-Anon website: Al-Anon.orgBialikBreakdown.comYouTube.com/mayimbialik

In this episode, Shavonne sits down with Kelly Phillips, MDiv and Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Staff Therapist at The Summit Counseling Center in Johns Creek, GA. ABOUT Kelly Phillips, MDiV, LCSW Drawn to the intersection of spirituality and mental health, Kelly found the utmost joy in listening to people’s stories. She began her career as a student youth pastor and later worked as a community-based mental health therapist. Prior to joining The Summit, she worked in private practice in Brookhaven, GA. She has had the privilege of working alongside individuals, couples, and families dealing with relationship issues, grief and loss, life transitions, addiction, and various personal concerns such as anxiety, depression, OCD, and other behavioral challenges. As part of her work, she is committed to working with individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ or anyone questioning/exploring their gender identity. Kelly utilizes an integrative approach with her clients to explore the negative effects of stressful or traumatic life experiences that get in the way of achieving their goals. She has advanced training in trauma-informed care and evidence-based practices. Through her work with children and adolescents, she has found that understanding attachment and the caregiver relationship is vital to helping families function more effectively. Caregivers are incorporated throughout the course of therapy. A lifelong learner, she attends many continuing education workshops each year and reads books and professional journals related to mental health, therapy, nutrition, and wellness. She has also facilitated grief support groups and co-presented trauma-informed workshops to other mental health professionals. RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS EPISODE Visit www.summitcounseling.org Learn more about Kelly Phillips at https://summitcounseling.org/therapist/kelly-phillips/ HELPFUL RESOURCES RELATED TO TRAUMA RECOMMENDED BY KELLY https://www.acesaware.org/ace-fundamentals/principles-of-trauma-informed-care https://www.nctsn.org/trauma-informed-care https://neufeldinstitute.org https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org https://trauma.blog.yorku.ca https://neurosciencenews.com https://arcframework.org/what-is-a-provider/what-does-arc-training-involve https://www.albertafamilywellness.org/resources/video/how-brains-are-built-core-story-of-brain-development https://betterlesson.com https://kidcarecanada.org https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care https://www.smartrecovery.org https://drdansiegel.com https://www.teacherwise.org BOOKS RELATED TO TRAUMA RECOMMENDED BY KELLY The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk The Body Remembers, The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment by Babette Rothschild The Developing Mind by Dan Siegel Getting Past Your Past by Francine Shapiro In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine Hold Onto Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate Looking Through the Eyes of Trauma and Dissociation: An Illustrated Guide for EMDR Therapists and Clients by Sandra Paulsen The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh Neurobiologically Informed Trauma Therapy with Children and Adolescents by Linda Chapman Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma by Peter Levine Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life by Jon Kabat- Zinn The Presence Process by Michael Brown When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts by Richard Schwartz Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors by Lisa Ferentz Healing the Angry Brain by Ronald Potter-Efron CREDITS Theme Music

Episode #40: The vast majority of adults in the U.S., more than 70%, have experienced some type of traumatic event, and research shows that trauma survivors have a high incidence of physical and mental health illnesses. Trauma has such a severe impact on the body because of the way it affects, and ultimately rewires, the brain. The good news is that the human nervous system has the capacity to recover. Joining us is yoga teacher Abbey Asher, who describes how she learned to attend to her own mental health and nervous system while she was caring for her husband through his 4-year illness and eventual death from brain cancer. Psychotherapist  and trauma specialist Karen Ouse, LMFT joins us to share her knowledge of nervous system physiology and to discuss how to grow awareness, calm the nervous system, and build resilience to facilitate trauma recovery. Broadcast: 3/6/22 Special thanks  to Jeanne Baldzikowski for audio production, to Jennifer Young for research and outreach, and to Izzy Weisz for marketing. And thanks to acoustic guitarist Adrian Legg for composing, performing, and donating the use of our theme music. LISTEN ANYTIME or subscribe to get new or past episodes delivered to your listening device: Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher  / TuneIn JOIN EMAIL LIST Want to know our interesting topic each month? Simply  SIGN UP for our email list! FOLLOW US Facebook  @stateofmindksqd Instagram @state_of_mind.radio SUGGEST A TOPIC If you or someone you know has topic ideas for future shows or a story of mental health recovery to share, please email debra.stateofmind@ksqd.org SHARE YOUR STORY In Your Voice are short segments on the show where a listener gets to share their experience of the topic we are discussing. You can call us at 831- 824-4324 and leave a 1-3 minute message about: a mental health experience you've had, something that has contributed to your mental health recovery journey, or share a resource that has helped you. Alternatively, you can make a 1-3 minute audio recording right on your phone and email that file to debra.stateofmind@ksqd.org. Your voice may just become part of one of our future shows! SUPPORT OR UNDERWRITE If you like what you're hearing here on KSQD, also affectionately called K– Squid, you can become a “Philanthropod on the Squid Squad” by becoming a supporting member  and help keep KSQD surfing the air waves! Consider underwriting your business or agency and showing our listeners your support for State of Mind. RESOURCES Books & Articles The Body Keeps the Score:  Brain, mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (2014) by Bessel Van Der Kolk — This book explores how the body retains the imprints of trauma. The author is a neuroscientist who explains why we suffer and opportunities for healing from the trauma.  There is a wonderful chapter on yoga and learning how to inhabit your body. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (2005) by Pema Chödrön, an American Tibetan Buddhist. — According to traditional Buddhist teaching, we must learn to stop running from suffering and instead actually learn to approach it — fearlessly, compassionately, and with curiosity. Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self Image, and the Capacity for Relationship (2012) by Dr. Laurence Heller and Dr. Aline LaPierre — A practical guide to help understand the principles involved in the NARM™ model which draws from somatic-based psychotherapy and neuroscience to offer tools for healing—and moving past—early trauma. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness (2010) by Peter Levine —Poses the idea that idea that trauma is neither a disease nor a disorder, but rather an injury caused by fright, helplessness and loss that can be healed by engaging our innate capacity to self-regulate high states of arousal and intense emotions. Explains the theory of Somatic Experiencing® and learn how physiology is dysregulated by trauma. Man's Search for Meaning (2006) by Viktor E. Frankl — This is a seminal book that is a must read for anyone experiencing trauma.  The book recounts Viktor Frankl's experiences in the concentration camps of WWII and the school of therapy he invented to help us confront our trauma and losses. What if There's No Such Thing As Closure by Meg Bernhard / New York Times / Dec. 15, 2021 Updated Dec. 19, 2021 — The article describes the groundbreaking research by social scientist, Pauline Bass, who invented the term “ambiguous loss” to describe absences that are often not unacknowledged. You can also listen to this article using this link. Podcast New York Times Ezra Klein Podcast: That Anxiety You're Feeling; It's a Habit You Can Unlearn / New York Times Ezra Klein Podcast / April 20, 2021— Jud Brewer is an associate professor of psychiatry at Brown University, where he is the director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center. He has a new book called “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind,”  In this interview with Ezra Klein, Brewer discusses his research on anxiety, which he sees as a kind of addiction. Websites Somatic Experiencing® — Dedicated to supporting trauma resolution and resilience through culturally responsive professional training and education, research, and outreach around the globe. The NARM™ Training Institute — Descriptions of offerings for this therapeutic modality, including how to become a member of the NARM™ Inner Circle Community. Greater Good Magazine — The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and hosts this online magazine that teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. The online magazine offers no-cost videos, articles, and The Science of Happiness, a podcast on the science and skills of well-being. More Info Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) - An overview from the US Department of Health and Human Services of the ACEs model of understanding risk factors contributing to developmental and relational trauma, common responses and the impacts of such experiences on later physical and mental health.  This page also links to numerous other resources. ACEs Fact Sheet - by the Centers for Disease Control Take The ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does And Doesn't Mean - NPR Article / March 2, 20152:57 PM ET / by Laura Stareccheski Self-Care for Trauma Yoga with Adriene —  A wonderful way to access free yoga videos for all levels, including beginners. Community Counseling Family Service Agency (FSA) of the Central Coast is a dedicated underwriter of State of Mind. FSA provides resources, support, and counseling services to adults and children. FSA believes in the power and potential of people of all ages and backgrounds to discover their own creative solutions and welcomes people of diverse cultures, genders, sexual orientations, ages, faiths, socio-economic backgrounds.  FSA Counseling Offices offer Medi-Cal, Medicare, and low-cost, sliding scale services in both downtown Santa Cruz 831-423-9444 x200 and in Soquel 831-346-6767 x200. Contact Guests Abbey Asher — Iyengar inspired yoga teacher; classes held in person at the Vet's Hall in downtown Santa Cruz,  on zoom or privately in Abbey's home. Email: aasher@ucsc.edu Phone: 831-334-5919 Karen Ouse, LMFT — Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, NARM Therapist. Offering online sessions to individuals and couples; specializing in healing trauma from a heart-centered, relational approach. Email: karenouse@santacruztraumatherapist.com Phone: (831)-689-7676

If you're a man who has sex with women, chances are extremely high you've slept with a woman with sexual trauma. Signs can include: she avoids sex (even if she used to want it); she dissociates during sex (she's checked out, not into it, or it feels like she's not really there); she physically pushes you away; and more.It takes a lot of trust for someone to let you know this is part of their history. And if she does tell you, or the two of you discover this, what then? When your wife or girlfriend is a survivor of sexual trauma (child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault), it affects your sex life. For example, how do you balance your own need for a vibrant, healthy sex life if she clearly doesn't want to talk about it? Here, we discuss how to navigate this dynamic, including both supporting your woman and speaking up about your own sexual needs.Books referenced in this episode:• Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter Levine & Ann Frederick• In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine & Gabor Mate

Julia Barry is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, and certified EMDR Practitioner in Boston, MA. Julia's clinical practice focuses on the treatment of trauma and dissociative disorders. She has received training in psychodynamic psychotherapy, with an emphasis on adult and infant attachment as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, and advanced training in Somatic Experiencing® and EMDR.  In This EpisodeJulia's WebsiteIn an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, Peter A. LevineBad Therapy: Master Therapists Share Their Worst Failures, by Jeffrey A. Kottler, Jon CarlsonSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-trauma-therapist-podcast-with-guy-macpherson-phd-inspiring-interviews-with-thought-leaders-in-the-field-of-trauma/exclusive-contentThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5739761/advertisement

In this short 17 min review I look at how Peter Levine describes the body as the seat of trauma. The younger you are when this happens the more deeply this embeds along with shame. The viscerally stored messages of threat are why top down approaches (i.e talk therapy) are seldom successful in resolving trauma. This bottom up approach allows someone to connect with their body's messages without fear and just track the sensations and resolve them. Trauma is anything that overwhelms our nervous system. Shame also becomes embedded as the child believes they are the source of the problem and thus they are bad, or wrong. A pervasive sense of badness/wrongness (or even self-loathing). These procedural memories of frozen responses can cause bodily symptoms of frozen shoulder and IBS. Even if the person is functional and manages to have a reasonable life of work, raising a family, it can be a 'cardboard existence' of disconnect with their body.  Learning to deal with these somatic imprints in a therapeutic environment can resolved longstanding issues that defy medical science. Thank you Peter for such a wonderful and useful book. This should be required reading for all medicine.

Part of “The Essentially Better Life” Series: Topic: Trauma & Inner Child Work Guest: Jana Glass, LPC Jana Glass is a licensed therapist in Georgia who specializes in Trauma. She is certified in Brain Spotting… we will talk a little more about that… and she does focused work with people who are working to sustain sobriety, as well as work around perinatal mental health and trauma. The information and insight she shares in this conversation is going to be so helpful to so many people. This conversation with Jana is filled with great insights, and practical things you can do to help move yourself toward the very best you can be, and help you find the Essentially Better life. Connect with Jana Glass: supportivesolutionsga.com Jana's Book Recommendation: In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness By Peter Levine, PhD To get started with essential oils and join my Essentially Better Oil Tribe click here or go to my website www.essentiallybetterlife.com ~~~~~~~ Support this podcast: by the support button right here, or JOIN MY PATREON MEMBERSHIP Thanks for joining this episode. Here are some links to check out: Follow me on social: Instagram: @essentiallybetterlife Facebook: www.facebook.com/theessentiallybetterlife Check out my website www.essentiallybetterlife.com for all kinds of information on: * Business and Personal Coaching * My Book: “Essentially Better: essential oils for people with feelings” * And even some great stuff on essential oils. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wendy-bruton/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wendy-bruton/support

Many couples start out hot and heavy when it comes to sex, only to see that sexual heat fade. One of the sources of this can be unresolved sexual trauma in one or both partners ... which can be hard to talk about. How do you bring up your own need for a dynamic and fulfilling sex life when she clearly doesn't want to talk about it? Here, we look at the dynamic when your wife or girlfriend is a survivor of sexual trauma (child sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault), how it affects your sex life, and what to do about it. If you're a man looking to figure out how to both support your woman in her sexual healing work, and how to speak up about your own need for a thriving sex life (which trauma is getting in the way of), you won't want to miss this. Books referenced in this episode: Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma , by Peter Levine & Ann Frederick In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness , by Peter Levine & Gabor Mate

In this short 17 min review I look at how Peter Levine describes the body as the seat of trauma. The younger you are when this happens the more deeply this embeds along with shame. The viscerally stored messages of threat are why top down approaches (i.e talk therapy) are seldom successful in resolving trauma. This bottom up approach allows someone to connect with their body's messages without fear and just track the sensations and resolve them. Trauma is anything that overwhelms our nervous system. Shame also becomes embedded as the child believes they are the source of the problem and thus they are bad, or wrong. A pervasive sense of badness/wrongness (or even self-loathing). These procedural memories of frozen responses can cause bodily symptoms of frozen shoulder and IBS. Even if the person is functional and manages to have a reasonable life of work, raising a family, it can be a 'cardboard existence' of disconnect with their body.  Learning to deal with these somatic imprints in a therapeutic environment can resolved longstanding issues that defy medical science. Thank you Peter for such a wonderful and useful book. This should be required reading for all medicine.

Guest Introduction: This is Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast episode 38. I’m Cindy MacMillan and today’s guest is Cathy Cheshire.  Welcome to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. Each week, join Cindy MacMillan as she interviews coaches, spiritual explorers, and celebrants from all walks of life about beginnings, endings, and the messy bits in-between. Self-love, well-being, and mindset are at the heart of our conversations because once you change the inside, the outside will begin to change as well.   After dark seasons of great loss, Cathy Cheshire discovered the most helpful information from academic experts. Sharing this healthy grief and healing information in easy to understand terms, she created programs for learning, receiving grief coaching, and becoming a certified grief coach.  Cathy has several free downloadable gifts about healing at www.cathycheshire.com/free-gifts Here’s a glimpse of our conversation: (3:00) And then desperate for love, going through three divorces, and then ultimately the worst loss, of my only child and then 10 years later, my husband's only child. Those in the depths of that grief, there is a pain that I didn't even know existed. And I struggled to find healthy information. (11:00) You know, I am saying what I what I've come to learn is healing is about being whole, our mind, our emotions, our body, and our spirit, which I've gone through periods of time and ignored to my own detriment. So, the thought part is, and one of the free gifts talks about thought, mind, emotion, the body, the most profound lesson for me, is that I am in control of my mind. (16:44) But what happens is, and what happened to me is, we go along our robotic life until something happens to shake us to look at our beliefs, to listen to the whispers that if we allow ourselves in meditation, or prayer or even just calming the mind, to be guided, and, and in my research, religious people call it God, spiritual people call it collective consciousness. And even scientists call it the quantum field, there are powers to guide us, if we are allowing ourselves to come to a place that we will let that happen. (34:27) I would tell them, everything's going to be okay. Nobody ever said that to me. And so I never thought it would. But I know that now. If I can get through the death of two children, I can get through anything. Resources Mentioned:  The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter A. Levine You can find Cathy Cheshire at: Website You’ve been listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life and my conversation with Cathy Cheshire. If you enjoy this show and want a free and easy way to help us grow, the most effective way you can help is to: Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” on iTunes Write us a review on iTunes Or, share this show with one friend right now which I absolutely would love for you to do! I know it seems so simple, but ratings and reviews can help influence the choice of podcasts people choose to listen to. You’d be amazed to know how much it helps. And don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. You can reach me via the website CynthiaMacMillan.com. Until next time live inspired! If you enjoyed this conversation with Cathy Cheshire, you might also enjoy these other episodes:   When We Shut Down on Grief We Shut Down on Life With Jasmin Jenkins From Software Engineer to Clinical Hypnotherapist with Lori Burke Anxiety and Wholeness with Jennifer Kremer

This week an anonymous guest ("A") shares her experiences with childhood sexual abuse. She tells her story and talks about some of the forms of therapy that have helped her recover: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems, and Trauma Touch Therapy. You can email A at investinyourgoodness@gmail.com. A's Book Recommendations: "Hush: Moving From Silence to Healing After Childhood Sexual Abuse" by Nicole Braddock Bromley. "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie. "Succulent Wild Woman" by SARK. "Understanding the Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable, and Volatile Relationship" by Christine Ann Lawson. "Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype" by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. "In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness" by Peter A. Levine. Featured: Original theme music by Neil Lucas.

Dr. Peter Levine with Micheál O'Mathúna on Covid19, Fear, Trauma, Resilience, Presence + Shamanism   Find out more below... This interview was conducted by Micheál O'Mathúna who is a Journalist, Author, Filmmaker, Media Relations Consultant and Radio Show presenter. He also conducts one-to-one coaching, group coaching and delivers transformative workshops in various areas of health and wellbeing. He is also the founder of The Health Zone, which an inspiring, motivational and educational platform to empower people to be healthier, happier, more authentic and realise their true potential in their lives. You can find out more about Micheál O'Mathúna and The Health Zone here. You listen to every episode of The Health Zone here ------> http://www.thehealthzones.com/ Follow us on Instagram here ---> https://www.instagram.com/dhealthzone/ Follow us on Facebook here ----> https://www.facebook.com/thehealthzoneshow/ Follow us on Twitter here ---> https://twitter.com/dhealthzone Subscribe to our YouTube channel here ---> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbZXDYJF_ypdjEmQk-BEIg ---> Join our Facebook Group here ---> https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehealthzone/ Peter tells us: ✓  How Fear is The Killer of The Mind ✓  The Importance of Opening Into The Fear ✓  How You Can Disassociate From Pain or Trauma in Your Body ✓  How Trauma Effects Whole Communities, Nations and The World ✓  How the Somatic Experiencing Method Can Promote Resilience During Covid19 ✓  How Emotional Pain Gets Stored In Your Body Cells  ✓  What You Can Learn From Shamanic Traditions in Healing Trauma ✓  How You Can Only Be Present For Another When You Are Present in Yourself    Dr Peter Levine, Ph.D. is the founder and pioneer of Somatic Experiencing® (SE®)and has made it his life-time's work to continue developing it. He holds doctorates in both Medical Biophysics and Psychology. Dr Peter A. Levine received his PhD in medical biophysics from the University of California in Berkeley and also holds a doctorate in psychology from International University. He has worked in the field of stress and trauma for over 40 years and is the developer of the Somatic Experiencing® method. Peter's original contribution to the field of Body-Psychotherapy was honoured in 2010 when he received the Lifetime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). That same year he also received the honorary Reis Davis Chair in Child Psychiatry for his innovative contribution to therapy for children and adolescents. Beginning in the 1970s, Peter's explorations into how animals deal with threat led to the development of the Somatic Experiencing method, a method that is highly effective in dealing with the effects of overwhelm on our nervous system, called Somatic Experiencing® (SE™). SE™ is a clinical methodology based upon an appreciation of why animals in the wild are not traumatized by routine threats to their lives, while humans, on the other hand, are readily overwhelmed and often subject to the traumatic symptoms of hyperarousal, shutdown and dysregulation. Dr Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project and was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of Psychologists for Social Responsibility in developing responses to large-scale disasters and ethnopolitical warfare. He is also a Senior Fellow at The Meadows Addiction and Trauma Treatment Center in Wickenburg, Arizona. Levine's international bestseller, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, has been translated into twenty-two languages. His recent interests include the prevention of trauma in children, and he has co-written two books, with Maggie Kline, in this area: Trauma Through a Child's Eyes and Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. His most recent book: In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, was released to rave reviews.  https://somaticexperiencing.com/  

From the Akkadian word lilitu ("of the night") Lilith has been called: Adam's first wife, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Inanna's handmaiden, a night-demon, a succubus, "the dark feminine," a bitch and a witch. If you have been slut-shamed, if you've called out abuse, if you've been named too loud or too angry or too anything: Lilith has been your ally. In this episode, Jasmine and Eliza speak with psychotherapist Kestrel Neathawk about how to own your rage and your fear (among other emotions), and how to metabolize these feelings constructively. Note: we recorded this episode in January 2020. The phrase "self-isolation," which comes up in the conversation, packs extra weight now, which we lacked the prescience to acknowledge... For more on Jasmine and Eliza, head to http://www.kosmictonic.com. For more on Kestrel: http://www.kestrelneathawk.comFor further reading and listening (i.e. books and podcasts we mentioned in the show):- In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk- The Whole-Brain Child by Dr. Dan Siegel - The Medicine Path Podcast by Brian James- The Numinous Podcast by Carmen Spagnola - Missing Witches Podcast and Ipsita Roy Chakraverti- Meditation: Waking Up app by Sam Harris

About Today’s GuestPaul C. Briggs is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, licensed massage therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. He is a seasoned clinician in emergency and wellness healthcare, having worked in agency, hospital and private practice settings. His professional career spans over 35 years, blending multiple paths in industry, mental and physical health, as well as massage and bodywork. Pauls is a Board Certified-TeleMental Health Provider™ and also has sustained a 30+ year involvement within the LGBTQ+ community as an activist, advocate and therapist.- Connect with Paul -HealingConcepts.org- Other Resources Mentioned -TraumaHealing.org | Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (book)In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness (book)---About the HostCalan Breckon is a Personal Development Coach who has been supporting individuals from all around the world in their professional and personal transitions and aspirations. He can help you identify and set goals, outline the steps to achieving them, understand your own blockages and map the resources in yourself to find the most efficient way of getting the results you want. He's been helping people increase their productivity, change careers, overcome communication challenges in the workplace, find better work-life balance, bridge the gap between personal and professional goals and understand their own needs and aspirations better.Join the Challenge!- Connect with Calan -DiscoveringYourTruth.comFacebook | Instagram---Music“Teamwork" by ScottHolmesmusic.comCC A NC

Listeners, hustlers welcome to the latest episode of YHHS , this is a first for the show where host Carl is joined from Santa Monica by one of the USA’s leading psychologist and hypnotherapist Dr. Dyan Haspell -Johnson (@drdyanhj) to discuss Dr. Peter Levin’s sensational book ‘In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness’ .Much to the flow of Dr. Dyan, the show goes into fantastic depth with a deep topic on how the body deals with such traumatic events, we discuss our own traumatic experiences and try to shed light on the healing process. Dr. Dyan has had the privilege to work with Dr. Levin on one of his masterclasses and considers him one of the world’s leading trauma specialists so this show is bringing this you, our fantastic listeners.We get to discuss Dr. Levin’s technique of somatic experience and the assessment of threat on the nervous system which was to lead to Dr. Dyan incorporating this into her own practice. A very practical approach to the fight, flight or freeze scenario , this episode offers some great advice to anyone feeling effects of trauma whether past or present. Please listeners point this fantastic episode to anyone who could be needing just a little bit of help in their lives.For me information on the book:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8582180-in-an-unspoken-voice For more information on Dr. Dyan:https://www.drdyan.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/drdyanhj?lang=en

  Carl Jung wrote: “The symbols of the self arise in the depths of the body.”   People engage in body-oriented psychotherapy to reconnect with their instincts, affirm their feelings, develop healthier relationships, and explore more satisfying ways of working. They want to learn how to embody their deepest values. Along the way, they often form a more realistic body image. They come to know and love who they are, and connect with a life force that is deeper and more meaningful than they have previously known. - The Dancing Body in Psychotherapy   In this episode, Setsuko Tsuchiya explains why dance is one of the oldest forms of somatic therapy.   Originally from Japan, Setsuko Tsuchiya came to the USA and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts while studying western somatic therapy at Hawaii College of Health Sciences.  After becoming a licensed massage therapist, she began wondering if there could be such a thing as somatic (body) therapy that is independent of language and universally applicable to all cultures.  She is a member of USA Dance, Japan DanceSport Federation, Japan American Dance Therapy Association, Japan Dance Therapy Association, and an honored fellow of the American Association of Integrative Medicine.   To learn more about Setsuko Tsuchiya please visit her website: http://setsukotsuchiya.com/ For Intro and Ad-Free episodes:  https://www.patreon.com/aquestforwellbeingpodcast  Podcast Page: https://fitforjoy.org/podcast

Alex and Amy reflect on what they've learned from this experience of creating the Wonder Body coloring book, and specifically from the "4th chapter". Could it be that all these senses are really what intimacy is all about? Resources mentioned: Peter Levine's -  , In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness Wonder Body Coloring Book! - http://wonderbody.us Plus here's your downloadable "4th Chapter" page to color along with us. Thanks to the folks on Patreon who are supporting this podcast and all of Body Trust’s other work! Go visit Patreon and become a patreon yourself to support the free podcasts, newsletters, and resources that we create for you. Music: Grateful to Little Dog Big Ears for their Creative Commons licensed music She Sees Mice (intro and outro). Make sure to subscribe in iTunes or Sticher. And give us a 5-star review in iTunes, it helps us reach more beloved explorers.   Alex and Amy reflect on what they've learned from this experience of creating the Wonder Body coloring book, and specifically from the "4th chapter". Could it be that all these senses are really what intimacy is all about?

One of the most important things that you can develop in your life, and in your relationship, is your resilience - the way that you bounce back from the challenges that life throws your way. How do you recover in a way that leaves you even stronger, more connected, more inspired than before? In today’s episode, we’re talking with Dr. Peter Levine, creator of Somatic Experiencing, author of the bestseller Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, and co-author, with Maggie Kline, of Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. Peter and I explore exactly how to build your own resiliency - and how to also help your partner, and your kids become more resilient.  Please enjoy this week’s episode, with Dr. Peter Levine, on Relationship Alive! We’ll show you how to tap into the language of sensation, which gives you a window into the deepest parts of your brain and body. We’ll explain how to show up for others in your life, to support them in the most effective way possible. And you’ll discover how to help children access their innate ability to heal as well. Resources: Here is a link to Relationship Alive episode 29, my first conversation with Peter Levine: How to Heal Your Triggers and Trauma Peter’s author page on Amazon FREE Relationship Communication Secrets Guide Peter Levine’s website Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (to locate certified SE practitioners) Relationship Alive Community on Facebook Amazing intro/outro music graciously provided courtesy of:  The Railsplitters - Check them Out Transcript: Neil Sattin: Hello and welcome to another episode of Relationship Alive. This is your host, Neil Sattin. How do you foster resiliency in yourself and in your partner and if you have kids, in your kids? When it comes to relationship and how we are in the world, there's perhaps nothing as important as how resilient we are because let's face it. Life sometimes sends problems our way or things that are challenging. And if you're expecting everything to be a cakewalk, then life is going to be really hard for you. Neil Sattin: On the flip side, if when things go wrong, you think, "Oh, my goodness, it's over now," then things are also going to be hard for you. In order to get through anything that happens to you and come out the other side stronger and more vibrant and to bring that same quality into your relationship and to bring that same quality to, if you have kids in your life, the way that they respond to the world. That is what we are going to talk about today. Neil Sattin: In order to do so, we have brought back one of our most esteemed guests to the Relationship Alive podcast. His name is Dr. Peter Levine, and he is one of the world's experts on how to heal from trauma. He was first on the show back in Episode 29 and if you're interested in checking that out, you can go to http://www.neilsattin.com/trauma and you can hear all about how to heal your triggers and trauma in relationship. Neil Sattin: We're not going to cover much of that material. We're going to try to cover new ground here. I invite you to listen to Episode 29. In the meantime, it's not a prerequisite for today's conversation and we are going to dive deep on the topic of resiliency. If you want a transcript and guide for this episode, you can visit http://www.neilsattin.com/levine as in Peter Levine and that's spelled L-E-V-I-N-E or you can text the word "passion" to the number 33444 and follow the instructions and I will send you a link where you can download that show guide and transcript. Neil Sattin: In the meantime, Peter Levine, thank you so much for joining us today. It's great to have you back here on Relationship Alive. Peter Levine: Thank you. It's good to be back. I enjoyed the last time. Neil Sattin: Well, it's always exciting to be able to chat with you and you are someone who has been on the forefront of figuring out how we heal the things that keep us stuck. And there's nothing that I think defines resilience more than the ability to get unstuck when you're going through something. Peter Levine: Indeed, I like that. I think that's right on it. It's about when we get stuck, somehow knowing we can handle it because of an inner sense in our bodies, in our organism and that we can also receive and give support at times that are really challenging. Neil Sattin: Yeah. I'm inspired by in your book, Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past, which I happen to have here right in front me. You talked about this location in the brain where resides our capacity for wanting to persevere through adversity. Peter Levine: Wow, you obviously have actually read it. Yeah, that is central to healing from trauma, and also for being able to stay in a supported intimate relationship. There amazingly are areas in the brain, specific areas that appear literally to be involved with the will to persevere in the face of significant obstacles. Peter Levine: If you think about it, it makes sense because we wouldn't be able to survive as a species if we didn't have that capacity. I don't say it's the same as resilience but it's a big important component of resilience. In working with people who have been traumatized for 45 years, and I think back on it, I think really my job is to help them enlist that capacity, connect to that capacity and by doing that being able to move forward in difficult times. But I think they're very closely related, this will to persevere and resilience. Peter Levine: I also see resilience as an autonomic exercise and what I mean by that is when we're in states of fear, our autonomic nervous system gets activated in particular ways and that really affects our whole perception of the world and our cognition really because it's strong ... But it's a foundation for many perceptions. And if we're able to experience ourselves, for example, our heart rate increasing and then experiencing it decreasing, we're doing an autonomic exercise. Peter Levine: This is something that couples can do with each other by just being present when one of the members is feeling frightened. “It's okay, and so what happens now and what happens next? And is there anything about that? Is there anything else about that?” To be there with the person, to help them move through the stuck places is a great gift and I really believe that in one way or another, most, maybe even all successful couples have some degree of this capacity. Neil Sattin: Yeah, and in the interest of increasing that and maybe even getting a little bit more detail about what you were just mentioning, I'm thinking now because as I mentioned before we jumped on the interview, I just read your amazing book, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids: A Parents' Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience. One of the things that I loved about the book was not only feeling way more resourced in terms of how I show up for my own children but also you stressed the importance for parents of being able to understand the language of the body so that you can have those communications with your children and help them understand the language of the body. Neil Sattin: But one thing I'd love for you to talk about is how there's this way of communicating about sensation that is how these deeper parts of our brain actually perceive the world that's not about ... Because I think the temptation, if I were sitting with my partner would be, if I were saying “what's next” and “what happens next” we would be caught in these zoo of thoughts and feelings. I love bringing it down to the deeper level of sensations. Can you talk a little bit about that and why it's so important to develop a vocabulary around sensation in your body? Peter Levine: Yeah, for sure. All of our emotions have sensation-based components. Indeed many emotions, particularly difficult emotions, are a combination of physical sensations and cognitive thoughts or beliefs. And together, they drive an emotional state such as fear or rage and if we are able to become aware of the sensations that actually underlie those emotions, then we are able to allow the sensations to change, to transform and also noticing the thoughts that are involved, and doing that has the sometimes miraculous way to actually change our emotions. Peter Levine: Because one of the things about difficult emotions - called negative emotions - is they just have a tendency to keep going and keep going as much as we can understand them or understand our thoughts about them. Really, it's difficult to change them and I really believe my experience is that again, the way that we can change the ... One of the ways that we can change these difficult emotions is by the alchemy of working with these sensations, the underlying sensations and also sensations of goodness. Peter Levine: In my major book, In An Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, the key is in both. And restoring goodness also is a sensation, a feeling of felt sensation of resilience. When I say goodness, I don't mean like a good child, a good spouse, a good so forth and so on. I mean, more of the Buddhistic understanding of goodness - that it's a feeling of wholeness and a feeling like this, like wholeness, are some of the most important antidotes again for these difficult emotions and sensations, that allow us to move through them because we have this innate capacity to heal. Peter Levine: Originally, I studied this in animals and how they rebound in the aftermath of prey animals and predation but it's led me to a more general understanding that there is this profound instinct similar to the instinct to persevere - they're related, I'm sure, to heal - that we yearn healing. And in a way, in relationships, I'm sure as you and many of your speakers have noted that we tend to pick people with similar traumas or complementary traumas. At first, we're very much in love, which is often the first phase of a relationship, but then what happens when the stuff hits the fan, how do we deal with that in a collaborative way, in a corrective way? Peter Levine: Again, this is so important in restoring resilience because co-regulation is tremendously important. I'm looking forward to it and later this month, there's a big Evolution of Psychology conference in Anaheim and I'm on a panel with Sue Johnson. I think you've interviewed Sue and if any of your readers don't know, Sue is the leading person in understanding the emotions that go on in couples' dynamics and really has a strong emphasis on co-regulation. Peter Levine: What I'm saying is that we need both co-regulation, of course, but we also need the tools for our own regulation, for our own building of resilience. I see the two blending together very nicely. Neil Sattin: Taking a step back, I guess just to- Peter Levine: Let me go back, one other thing. Neil Sattin: Yeah, go ahead. Peter Levine: We're talking about with our children. By learning to read their bodies and helping them connect with their sensations, we are building a tremendous reservoir of resilience that they will add skills that they will carry for their whole lives. Again, one of the things that as parents that we need to be able to do is when there's ... In the inevitable fall or God knows the ride to the emergency room, we need first to take care of our own sensations and emotions because children are incredible mimickers. They will pick up the emotion of the parent. Peter Levine: You know, anybody who's flown in an airplane in the last 25 years, what do they call them? The cabin personnel, they make the announcement that in the unlikely event of depressurization, the oxygen mask will come down. If you have a child or somebody infirm next to you, put the mask on your face first and then put the mask on the child. In other words, calm yourself first so that the children are not picking up the fear. Or very often, the parents override the fear with anger and they're very angry at the child. Again, children will pick this up. Peter Levine: If we learn to take care of ourselves, self-regulation, we then can impart that capacity or support that developing capacity in our kids. When I work with kids when there's been a relatively acute trauma, sometimes, it just takes a few minutes of play and they go right to the place where they are stuck in their bodies. I just help them move through that and then, they're off back to play again. Peter Levine: These tools are tremendously important and probably a quarter of the book or the eighth of the book, I guess, probably is about exercises to help the parents maintain this resilience in the face of the catastrophes that will befall the children and the parents. It's a given. Kids, especially when they get into the more active phase around 18 months, 2 years where they're just scooting everywhere and climbing and falling and pulling flower pots down on their sweet little heads. They get terrified but again, if we hold our own center and then help the child contain those difficult emotions and sensations, they will calm often surprisingly quickly, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Peter Levine: The way you support children, it's age-dependent. The way you support a baby who's tremendously upset is way different than the way you support a four-year-old. With a young child, you're going to be holding the child and rocking the child. With the four-year-old, you're going to sitting by child's side and maybe placing your hand as we suggest in the book, on the child's back until the breathing reestablished itself, the spontaneous breathing reestablished itself. Peter Levine: The amazing thing, I think, the side effect of this is that kids start doing it for themselves and many of the children that I've worked tell me how they've done it in their school when something happens to one of the students. They sit there and they're with the student in that way. Actually, when I was designing the cover of the book with North Atlantic, I wanted it to be red. It has a picture of children in the middle. This is not red, but the rest of the cover is red and the idea, please forgive me, is Mao Zedong and the way he wanted the red book, well, he insisted that the red book be in the hands of everybody in China that had his sayings. Peter Levine: The idea here is that every parent could have this book and could share it with other parents. One of the things that I think geopolitically is that when we're in a fearful state, any leader, and we've had ample evidence of this, who says there's an enemy out there. They want to attack us. They want to humiliate us. They want to take our jobs away and I am the only person that can protect you. No names mentioned. Peter Levine: That's going to grab a lot of people. But if you're not in a fearful state, then you don't buy into that. You really think about it. I'm hoping also that this book in the next generation will give us more citizens, more democratic citizens allowed to or what's the word I'm looking for? Empowered, really, to make effective action. Neil Sattin: Yeah, as I was reading the book for one thing, and actually this brings me to a question because I was reading it and I was, of course, thinking, "Wow, I wish I had read this before my kids were born." I want to fill in a gap or two but perhaps before we do that, I'm just going to ask you this question which is, let's say, my son. He's going to turn 11 in a couple of months, but there are things that I remember having happened with him. When he was two and tumbled down the stairs or three or four years ago, he jumped off a swing set and ended up breaking his arm. These are some traumatic events in his life. I'm wondering, and this is obviously going to have some bearing for adults as well. How do I know if those things are lodged within him as trauma? And if so, what's a way to invite him into releasing that? Peter Levine: Well often, you'll see it, 11 is an age where you can really also talk to the child- Neil Sattin: Definitely. Peter Levine: And sometimes, we're sitting around. We'll say something like ... Maybe even if we're at the top of stairs or something like that and I would just maybe sit down with the child and saying, "Gosh, I remember when you fell down these stairs when you were two years old. Do you remember anything about that?" If the child very quickly says no, then you have a good indication there's something there. Or, if they say yes, if they reflect and then say yes, then it's an opportunity, really a wonderful opportunity to explore that. Peter Levine: What I sometimes will do is, for example, if the child was falling, I'll hold the child or put my hand on the back of the child and hold the child and let them fall into my hand gradually and then to see what happens as they have this controlled fall. Because again, you have your hands, they're not going to fall. But they have the feeling, the sensations of falling. That may bring up images or sensations that were associated with the earlier event when they tumble down a flight. I guess, it was a flight of stairs. I think that was just an assumption I made. Peter Levine: In games, in play, in just talking, 11-year-old, you were able to say again, "Remember, a couple of year ..." When was it that happened, a couple of years ago? Neil Sattin: Well, that and the stairs, that was a long time ago, but I know he remembers it because it's come up before in conversation. Peter Levine: Well, I would again make a game at it with a falling game. Sometimes, I'll do it just holding them with my hands, letting them slowly fall backwards, for example, or forward. You can do either one, and then I'll put a really big, super big pillow or combination of pillows and then they can begin to ... I'll let them down part way and see if they want to play the game where you release them and they fall into the pillows. Peter Levine: At first, there may be some fear. You might see it in their eyes or their heartbeat might increase. They might tense a little bit, but you see when you continue with this controlled falling and they're falling into the soft cushions, the kids love it. And very often, it's something simple like that which is all that's needed. Something simple like that. Neil Sattin: Where would it come in, for instance, just using my son as an example. Let's play a game. Let's do this thing, and let's say I notice something in him, where would it come into ask him or to invite him to name the qualities of sensation that he's feeling within him? Peter Levine: Well, again, if you talk to him, "I wonder if you remember the tumble you took down the stairs when you were really little, when you were about two years old." If the child says yes, then the sensations are going to be right there. If they're not remembering it, you can say, "Well, when you just even think about that, think about how it might have been for you. Is there any place in your body that you can actually feel that?" Again, most children will point to some part of their body. Peter Levine: Then, you take it to the next step. "Okay, and you feel that sensation. Does it have a shape? Does it have a size? Does it have a color? What does it feel like?" And so forth. You start asking these what I call open-ended questions. Neil Sattin: What is it about naming those sensations that's so important? Peter Levine: Well, of course, the most important thing, of course, is feeling the sensations, being in contact with the sensations. But naming them is also important, because that's a way that the child can reference them in the future. It's kind of like a flag attached to the sensation. "Okay, this sensation has a name. The next time I have this sensation, I have a name and when I have the name, I can also notice the sensation." You're shifting back and forth. Neil Sattin: Yeah, and that reminds me of how important it is for all of us really to have the experience of moving through - which is part of what contributes to resiliency - is knowing that the pendulum swings the other way. Peter Levine: That's right. Yeah, I call that pendulation, because no matter what we're feeling ... What we tend to do when there's been a difficult sensation is we recoil from it. We try to push it away and by pushing it away, it actually makes it seem stronger. That which we resist persists. If you have a sensation that's coming up, imagine your hand moving upwards and your hand is in a fist, your arm moving upwards and you take the other hand and you put it over that hand that wants to move up. Well, then it's going to push harder against your upper hand and then your upper hand is going to push harder against it. It then seems like this is going to be overwhelming and we lose resilience. Peter Levine: However, when we're able to experience the sensation and that it moves through, that it increases and it decreases, that it contracts and it expands. It contracts and expands and expands and expands. This is the expansion, which I talked about when I say goodness or wholeness. Again, I think it's very deeply related to resilience. I think we're talking about many, many, many of these different states and processes that increase a resilience. Neil Sattin: When a child is able to get related to that inner sensation, and I think this is true for adults as well that when we're sitting with our partner and able to say, "Okay, like right now, I'm feeling this constriction in my chest and this heat in the palms of my hands. There's tension behind my eyes like I almost want to cry." When you can get really related to that sensation, then you can- Peter Levine: I'm sorry, to which sensation? The sensation of? Neil Sattin: To all of those, I guess, like those things that are happening in your body. Like one, just like you were saying earlier, when you feel those states again, it can remind you like, "Oh, I've been here before," and “I know what's going on” so there's that. But then, there's also ... And you talk about this in terms of pendulation, if you can get acquainted with the sensations of goodness and what that feels like in your body as well. Peter Levine: That's right. Neil Sattin: Then that really connects you with that full range of experience and how you move from one to the other. Peter Levine: When you experience goodness, it stays with you and it really helps you get that whatever you're feeling, whatever the sensations are, they will change. But the bigger reservoir of goodness we have, the more resilient. A study was done, oh, gosh, I don't remember by whom or when. I think Bessel told me about it, Bessel van der Kolk, that if a person, a child has had tremendous trauma in their lives, neglect and abuse, that child will actually fare okay - in other words, you'll be able to work with that person - if one adult in their lives has cared about them and loved them unconditionally. Peter Levine: In a way, that's amazing. Again, I think that's something that contributes to that reservoir of goodness and resilience that somebody really reflected our feelings and our states and imparted upon us that gift of being seen, of being known, of being cared for, of being loved. It's very important. Peter Levine: Again, most people that you see have had, I believe, one encounter with that reservoir of goodness and so, sometimes actually with adults but possibly also with children, to remember together that person. When you remember that person, how does it sense in your body? How does it feel in your body when you see the picture of grandma and how she would, when you were sick, she would come and put her hand on your forehead and reassure you. These are valuable. These are lodestars that help us return to our own capacity for resilience and wholeness. Neil Sattin: One thing that strikes me too is that that is why relationship can be so profoundly healing and allow people to reach new levels of their own thriving in life is if you're able to find that in partnership or your partner is willing to see you unconditionally and hold space for you and accept you in your vulnerable moments, then that allows your system to do what it needs to do to evolve past the things that- Peter Levine: Right, right. Yeah. Well, unconditional love is not necessarily a given. Neil Sattin: That's true. Peter Levine: Hopefully, it's a given between a parent and a child. But I think that just being sufficiently centered and caring can catalyze healing. I don't think there's any question about that. I think it's really important that couples sort of work out a ritual of sorts where if one person needs something, that they can communicate that. And then the other person, their job is to try to be there for that person. And it should be relatively equal. Each person should have a relative number of things. Peter Levine: Although, particularly, I'm thinking about couples where one of the spouses is coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq. They're very, very traumatized and it's very likely, and hopefully that their spouse, their partner is going to be able to be there for them in those difficult times. I can't tell you how healing that is. It's not easy because a lot of times, because of the fear, the spouse becomes like the enemy. It's almost like you're expecting them to throw a hand grenade at you. So, it's tricky. Peter Levine: If people want, they can go to ... It's on YouTube, and it's called Ray's Story, Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing, where I work with a young marine who was blown up by two of these IEDs and then lost ... I think his best friend died in his arms just before that, and how we worked with the shock of that. And then, how we worked together with he and his wife and their new child. And at that time, it was really helping her develop the skills to be with him and to not pursue him when he really needed to withdraw. Peter Levine: I think it's a short documentary. It's about 20 minutes. I recommend looking at it because it really talks a lot about this. Because when you're highly traumatized, your resilience is very, very low and vice versa when your resilience is higher, the trauma has less of a corrosive effect. But then again, I think it's also important that there'd be some kind of equality that ... I guess I'm saying that one person doesn't become the therapist for the other person, that there's reciprocity - which you have to have in a relationship, of course. Neil Sattin: Yeah, I have some faith in the pendulation in relationship as well where that reciprocity may not have to all be at the same time, that most likely if one partner is having their moment where they really need to be attended to, the other partner will have their moment at some point down the road. Peter Levine: Yes. You can pretty well be assured of that. Neil Sattin: Yeah. And even when people aren't coming back from war zones, and I think the fact that your work is so helpful for people who are suffering such severe trauma, that's like a testament to just how powerful your work is. And at the same time, when you're hijacked and kind of triggered by your emotions and whatever is happening with your partner, you're going to feel like your partner is out to get you. I think that one of the biggest things for partners to realize is to establish like, "Oh, I'm actually safe with you," like, "You're not out to get me or get something from me." Sometimes, there are some reckoning that has to happen for that to actually be true- Peter Levine: Indeed. Neil Sattin: For people to renegotiate how they even come together in partnership. Peter Levine: Absolutely. Again, the idea of making a ritual out of it and because of pendulation, no matter what we're feeling, it may transiently ... It may temporarily feel worse but if you're able to stay with it and maintain an observing presence, it will shift. And often, this observing presence is fostered by the support that we get from our partners. Neil Sattin: Yeah. Can we talk for a moment about what that looks like? Because I think there's a danger in being the witness whether it's with your partner or with your kids of maybe intervening too soon. What does that process actually look like where something stuck gets resolved? Peter Levine: Well, let's just say it's a heterosexual couple. The husband comes in and he's had a difficult day at work. It's not a trauma per se, but he failed to get a promotion. The person got the promotion who he felt didn't deserve it, and he's really angry. And he comes home, and there were toys gathered all over the floor, no different than any other day when he would be returning home. He's angry, and he yells at the kids, "Dammit, pick these toys up! You always leave toys in the middle of the room," something like that. Peter Levine: Let's say the spouse is able to maintain her center and then she can approach her husband and say, "Yeah, it seems like something is upsetting you. And I'd like to just offer myself of just being here so that you can feel what you're feeling." But again, this has to be a pre-agreed upon ritual that you give the permission. You empower the other person to do this for you. Again, because when you're angry, sometimes the tendency is to snap at the partner, not just the kids but the partner. Peter Levine: Again, we have to find a way that we have some rules and regulations built into it. Neil Sattin: Yeah. I like a code word sometimes in a time like that. Peter Levine: Sure. "Okay” or “leave me alone right now." Neil Sattin: Right. I was thinking more like something even kind of like one partner comes in and says, "This is a ..." I'm just going to make something up here. "This is a Oriole moment," or "This is a Blue Jay moment," or, "We're in code Cardinal for Red" Peter Levine: Oh, I see. I didn't know what an Oriole moment is back then. Neil Sattin: Right, just a way like some pre-arranged designation so that the partner doesn't have to say, "Wow, you seemed really triggered right now." Peter Levine: Oh, got it. Got it. Okay, good idea. Neil Sattin: If I can say, "Code Cardinal," then the other partner, "I would love to hold space for you right now. I would love to just hear what's going on with you." Then - takes a little bit of the edge of. Peter Levine: Right. "Can I just be there with you?" Neil Sattin: Yeah. Peter Levine: No, code word is a good idea because each person probably knows what word is most likely to work for them and not be reactive to it. Neil Sattin: Good point. Peter Levine: Yeah. I think that's an idea. I think that's a great idea. I know some couples, when the other couple is really like anxious and getting ready to, in their perception to snap at them, I had couples that just say, "Eggshells." That's it, and often, they laugh together but not always. You're concerned. You're noticing that you are walking on eggshells. Maybe that's useful. Peter Levine: But anyhow, let the person pick their own. That's the one that's more likely to work and nothing is going to work all the time. That's another given. There are times when it won't work and you don't want to be discouraged by that. That's just the nature of- Neil Sattin: Resilience. Peter Levine: Resilience, of building resilience. It doesn't happen all at once. It doesn't always seem to happen “increase, increase, increase” because sometimes, you're feeling more resilient and then, something happens and it feels like you're less resilient. But the overall movement is towards greater resilience. Again, I think that's just part of how we are built. That's part of our evolutionary advantage, is to have this kind of resilience. Neil Sattin: Right. And yet so often, it doesn't happen. People do get stuck in trauma or couples get stuck in a pattern of how they interact with each other. I'm curious getting back to our example of the husband who comes home, the partner says, "Could I hold some space for you?" What's likely to happen next? Peter Levine: Well, let's say a favorable outcome what I've seen many times. Again, let's just say it's heterosexual couple. The husband is coming home and he's obviously activated. Just by being there and being present and saying, "I'm here," saying it verbally and non-verbally, "I am here. I am here for you." Often, the tears will just start flowing from the spouse's eyes, from the husband's eyes, tears of relief and tears of gratitude. And that's another part that's really important in resilience, is not the belief in gratitude but the inner experience of gratefulness, of gratitude. Peter Levine: Again, that's something that we can cultivate together because it's really what we want. We don't want to be angry and withdraw and isolate ourselves and become more angry. We want to be able to move through it. If people are in a relationship, they're committed to a passionate relationship. If you are committed to that, then you have to be able to work with these difficult emotions. Otherwise, there won't be the passion. The passion will die as these emotions get more and more suppressed. Peter Levine: I think if people are committed to a passionate relationship, then they also are committed to being there for each other with these difficult emotions. Neil Sattin: Tears are normal to experience? Peter Levine: Tears, even sometimes, you'll see shaking and trembling and spontaneous breaths. Sometimes, there'll be even, of course, sobbing. When they're sobbing or even when there's just the tears, very often if the spouse or the partner says, "Can I hold you?" Or, "I'd like to hold you." And they give some kind of a non-verbal cue that it's okay, just holding the person when they're in that emotional pain. God, how liberating that can be to be literally held? Neil Sattin: Right. And this really challenging because sometimes when your partner is in pain, it's hard to know, like to know what am I supposed to do in this moment. Being willing to make an offer like that. How would I know if I'm holding space for my partner and they're crying and shaking, like how do I know if everything is okay versus like things are not okay? Peter Levine: Again, no matter what the emotion is, if you're helping to hold the space including holding the person, and I'll put in the question like, or statement like this, "I'd like to hold you. Just nod if that's okay." So, they don't have to think because they will, "Is it okay if I could hold you now?" Well, then the person has to start thinking about it, which takes them out of the feeling. But if you're able to do something like that I just described, "I really would like to hold you. If that's okay, just nod or just look at me for a moment." Peter Levine: Then, to be held ... Because almost all of us who have been traumatized have not been held in those critical times when we should have been held - but it's never too late to have a resilient childhood. It's never too late to have a happy child because the child not only lives within us but that child's ability to rebound, to be resilient also lives within us. Neil Sattin: Yeah, and I'm wondering, what does it look like? Like how do these things ... How would it typically resolve? Because I think one thing that a lot of us can feel a lot of fear going into tears and I want to offer this because if you're listening to the show, and maybe you're thinking like, "Oh, God, I got some tears to shed," or like I want you to have a sense of, that there is another side like what does it look through when you get through the tears? What does it look through like if you feel yourself starting to shake? What's on the other side of the that and how do you know when you're getting there? Peter Levine: Yeah. Again, almost any sensation where the person … It's in a safe enough situation and the person is able to stand back enough to observe them. I can barely ever think of a sensation that didn't become more good, more glad, more whole. It's just our nature, and it's a skill. You have to practice. It doesn't happen all at once, so a couple shouldn't feel frustrated if it doesn't work at once. And if the spouse that's in the distress barks at you, just to feel your own body, of course, and remind yourself that you're not the target, that they're angry at somebody else. Peter Levine: And then again, sometimes, the partner will say something like, "Maybe it seems like you just want to be alone right now, and if you need me, I'm here. And so, let's just talk a little bit later," because again, a lot of times and again, I know this is like stereotypic but it's also true. A lot of times, the men don't want to deal with it then. We need some more time just to be with ourselves and then we can reach out for support and help. It would be great if it didn't happen that way, that we're always open to support but we're not. We're not. We need also to acknowledge and respect that. Neil Sattin: Right. Peter Levine: Again, to know because if you have ... As your relationship grows and as trust continues, those skills really build. And I've seen clients, where they're just really angry at each other at one moment and then boom. They're in love with each other again, and again, and again. It does take practice. It does take appreciating that nothing is going to happen perfectly. Nothing is going to happen all at once. That it's a gradual process of deepening as relationships are about deepening the connection and deepening our skill to be with ourselves and to be with the other. Neil Sattin: In the How to Trauma-Proof Your Kids book, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids, you talk about offering children the opportunity to tell the story of what happened. Peter Levine: Well, that's usually after you've gone through first the bodily reactions. Neil Sattin: Yes. Peter Levine: The crying, the shaking, the trembling, the spontaneous breaths, and leaving time for that to settle. And then, I know a number of parent who told me and say that happens like just before dinner. Well, then they'll have the family dinner together and then afterwards to sit by the child and say, "Wow, you know, when you fell off your bicycle, that really scared me. God, I bet it really scared you. Do you remember? Do you remember what it was like to fall off?" And then the child, if they want, can then start talking about the content of how scary it was, about how they couldn't get their breath, but then they could get their breath when they were crying just then. Peter Levine: Yeah, it's fine to talk about it but again to at least separate it in time with moving through the shock part of it and moving towards a more beneficial sensations, more supportive sensations. Neil Sattin: Right. You've moved from shock. Maybe even numbness into really tuning into the bodily sensation and the things that are uncomfortable in a moment- Peter Levine: That's right. Neil Sattin: And by being there, it initiates the process. I think this is what you're talking about that by attending to that sensation, there's a natural mechanism at work that invites it to evolve to a place of release, which is going to feel good in the end. Peter Levine: Yeah. We will always, always open, almost always open to release given an adequate amount of support. Neil Sattin: Right. What I loved too is you talked about the importance of time in between questions, so when you're asking like what are you sensing or what comes next to just leave space there. Peter Levine: Yes, that's right. Adults tend to be linear time, this, then that, then that, then this, then that, then this, then that, like a long straight trajectory. Kids don't do that. They're much more with what the so-called aboriginal people called circular time. And children are like that. They get up in the morning. They have their breakfast. They go to school. They come back. They have milk and cookies, milk and Oreos. They go out and play. The parents call them for dinner. They come and they eat. They play. They go to sleep. They wake up. They get dressed. They have breakfast. They go off to school. It's a very different relationship of time. It's a much more right brain way of relating to time. Peter Levine: Yes, adults will often tend to rush things when you need pauses, and the children will give you clues about that. One of the case examples I give or the examples I give in Trauma-Proofing your Kids is a play where with Sammy who had a fall, cracked his ... had to go to the emergency room for stitches and so forth. And then, we were playing the game of rescuing Pooh bear. Pooh bear was in the hospital. Each time, he would give us very clear signals of what he needed then, and our children give us these cues if we're paying attention. And in order to pay attention, we have to be able to be relatively comfortable within ourselves. Again, this is something that the parents can practice with each other, and it just spreads to the child, and it spreads to the child's playmates, and it spreads to the whole village as it were. Neil Sattin: Peter, you've been so generous with your time and your wisdom as before. I have one more question for you, if you don't mind that, that just sprang in with what you just said, which is ... For one thing, I'm impressed by your faith in our ability to heal, to get to a place of goodness and wholeness. And what you said about the children, that they can communicate to us exactly what they need if we're willing to pay attention and offer space. And I'm thinking as an adult, how do we recognize the signs within ourselves of what we need in a given moment? Peter Levine: Well, that takes practice because again, when we're in a scary or a vulnerable moment, our early pattern may be to withdraw. But again, we can unlearn that and learn new ones. When you talk about faith, well, I guess I could kind of relate to that. I could relate to that, but it's also 45 years of experience in seeing this happen thousands of times. Neil Sattin: Yes. Peter Levine: I guess I know it because of experience. I guess if you want to call that faith, okay, we have to call it faith, but it's just ... The human being never ceases to amaze me. I think we're all like this meadow of different colored flowers, and there were all moving from our roots to our stems, to the flower, to the bud, to the flower and opening and opening and opening. And I think opening is basic human need, a basic human drive. Peter Levine: I think Anais Nin said something like this, "When the pain of tightening into a bud becomes more than the pain of opening as a flower, then we will open." And there's some truth to that, of course, but I don't think it's just pain that brings us towards opening. I think it's just this innate capacity, the desire to open, to be fully alive, to be able to say, "I'm alive, I'm here, I'm real. I'm here, I'm alive and I'm real. I'm alive and I'm here." That's what everyone wants. Peter Levine: Again, faith, it's observation. I was trained as a scientist and a lot of that is about observation. Yogi Berra said it this way, "You can observe a lot just by watching." And I would say that. Again, in the book, we give a number of different exercises for the parents to help them get more in contact with their inner sensations and their own resilience. Neil Sattin: And I would like also, following on your metaphor, I would love for this conversation to plant the seed, that pain isn't required to get you to this place of blossoming. That knowing that it's possible to blossom will hopefully help you invite your partner, invite your children, invite yourself into that experience. Peter Levine: Exactamente as they say in Brazil. Exactly. Neil Sattin: Well, Peter, thank you so much for being with us today. Your books, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids, Trauma and Memory, Healing Trauma, Waking the Tiger, so many classics that are just completely inspiring, both in the level of recognizing what's possible but also understanding what is happening within us and in the world around us. It's such an honor to be able to talk to you and to share your work with the world. Neil Sattin: As a reminder, if you want the show guide and transcript for today's episode, you can visit neilsattin.com/levine, as in Peter Levine. You can also text the word passion to the number 33444 and follow the instructions. And we will have links as well to Peter's work, to his books. Peter, what do you think is the best way for people to find out more about what you're doing in the world? Is there a particular website you'd like them to visit? Peter Levine: Yeah. There's the website of my training institute. It's www.traumahealing.org. And there are lists of therapists and you can find that, for example, therapists that specialize with children or with relationships. And then I have a website with different information of where I might be giving a public lecture or something like that or some videos that are available. That's www.somaticexperiencing.com, or dot org, I think. Peter Levine: Yeah, you can get material there. And apparently, although, I've never seen them, people tell me there are a number of interviews or lectures that are available on YouTube. So, I guess if you just YouTube my Peter A. Levine, it will come up with a bunch of stuff. Neil Sattin: Great. I think- Peter Levine: And it's delightful to talk with you again, Neil, really. I so much appreciate what you're doing because really we are designed to be in relationship, and to keep our relationships alive. That's the real task. It sure is for me. Okay. Neil Sattin: Thank you, and your work has been so helpful in my life. And I know the thousands upon thousands of listeners who listened to our first conversation together. So, really exciting to talk to you. Thanks, Peter.  

Today’s Podcast is on PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD was first added to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association. When I first heard the term PTSD in the 80’s and 90’s it was something that I thought was tied to veterans coming back from war. Now when I hear about someone suffering from PTSD I recognize it as a someone who has experienced trauma in some way. Could be a car accident, a sexual assault, a mugging or in the case of today’s guest, a bike accident. Today’s guest is David Field. Before becoming a Trauma Therapist in training he worked with artists that included Radiohead, Crowded House and Carly Simon. After a traumatic bicycle accident in California, David spent years in pain and rehabilitation and suffered from depression and PTSD. Last year he made a life changing decision to go back to school and become a trauma therapist.   DAVID’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION:  Peter Levine: In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness   SHOW NOTES ON PTSD RELATING TO BRAIN TRAUMA: PQQ - pyrroloquinoline quinone - discovered about 50 years ago, PQQ is currently being researched for its role in healing the brain. PQQ has been found to increase the formation of new nerve cells. PQQ can promote growth of new mitochondria and improve the function of existing mitochondria. PQQ has been shown to help protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases and the effects of traumatic brain injury, including damage from stroke.   Mitochondria - Mitochondria are rod-shaped organelles that generate power for a cell. Responsible for aerobic cellular respiration, the process of converting oxygen and nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical energy that powers the cell's metabolic activities.  Mitochondria divide independently of the cell in which they reside, meaning mitochondrial replication is not dependent on cellular division.    Healthy Fats - It's easy to understand the importance of omega 3's and phospholipids when one realizes that the human brain and nervous system are made up of approximately 60% fat (mostly DHA - an omega 3 fatty acid).   Omega 3 Fatty Acids Support inflammation response Support mood and cognitive function Brain and nervous system mostly DHA Omega 3 protocol used for brain injury   Phospholipids - fats needed to build brain cell membranes that are fluid enough to release the neurotransmitters
 phosphatidylserine - required by the brain to manufacture memory-related neurotransmitters and functional membrane lipids, one of the few things shown to reverse age-related memory loss in clinical studies. phosphatidylcholine - required by the brain to manufacture memory-related neurotransmitters and functional membrane lipids. Essential nutrient necessary for normal brain function and the most abundant phospholipid found in the body. It’s found in its highest concentration in the liver and brain. alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha GPC) - Required by the brain to manufacture memory-related neurotransmitters and functional membrane lipids it’s believed to support cognitive function in high doses.   Lion's Mane - powerful medicinal mushroom and nerve tonic that benefits the brain and nervous system. Lion's Mane has been used successfully if Japan with patients with mild cognitive impairments. Lion's Mane is believed to have nerve-regenerative properties. Lion's Mane contains at least two classes of Nerve Growth Factors (NGFs)    Bacopa Monnieri - a powerful adaptogen commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine that is believed to support brain health, memory, and cognitive function.   Has been used for centuries for memory support and to cope with stress. Research has found the compounds in Bacopa to support the brain cells that prompt the regeneration of brain tissue.   Curcumin - the extract of Turmeric that supports the bodies inflammation response when used properly. Is currently being used to treat central nervous system injury,inflammation, and specifically for traumatic brain injury. Nervines - herbs that are of general benefit to the nervous system, whether they be tonifying or simply help to calm the nerves. Oatstraw Chamomile Lemon Balm Motherwort Lion's Mane - really more of a long-run tonic.  The best results come in time with this one.  Adaptogens - herbs or compounds considered to be safe that improve the bodies resiliency in dealing with physical, emotional, or environmental stress.   Cordyceps Ashwagandha Rhodiola Rosea Asian Ginseng American Ginseng  Moomiyo (Shilajiit)