Beyond Trauma: Recent Episodes
lara land
Explore the inner workings of the mind body system with neuroscientists, yoga instructors, and through the first hand experiences of those who have been impacted by trauma. Discover how to shift your patterns, begin to heal yourself, and make changes which promote the wellbeing of those around you.
In this honest and raw conversation, Whitney Lyn Allen shares the details of her husband's tragic accident and later death in service of others also dealing with trauma and loss. Whitney used her experience to catapult her into a career and life change and became a certified grief coach. She shares her extensive knowledge in this episode of what survival mode is and feels like, grief hijacking and how to maintain boundaries, tips for flashbacks, and her feelings on finding love after loss. Whitney is an author, attorney, and certified grief educator. Her book, Running in Trauma Stilettos is about grief and life after loss and is available everywhere books are sold. Instagram/TikTok-@whitneylynallen
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this powerful episode, we discuss a potential outcome of trauma that is often ignored: Post-traumatic growth. Discover how to get through a traumatic experience to growth and the difference between post-traumatic growth and resilience. Learn what makes the difference between people who remain stuck in trauma response and those that are able to make the leap forward. Trauma is relational and generational. Understand how we are all connected to it and impacted by it as well as why the body is so important in relation to our own trauma. Gain new insights you may not have heard before including the importance of and how to create safety as a friend, family member, yoga teacher, or therapist so that survivors can move forward using Edith's powerful stages. We also discuss the impact. of working with folks with terminal diagnoses and how loss and death can lead to meaning-making. If you or someone you know is going through the end of life, or you are interested in understanding more about how recognizing the inevitability of death can allow you to live more fully and meaningfully, check out my work as an End of Life Doula and upcoming workshop on learning to live life more fully by embracing death. Dr. Edith Shiro is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Miami, Florida. She specializes in trauma nd posttraumatic growth, holding space and guiding her patients to achieve greater potential and higher consciousness. Dr. Shiro is a cofounder of the Trauma and Resilience Center, a board member of the World Happiness Foundation, and an active member of Cadena International, providing humanitarian aid and disaster prevention worldwide, and is on the advisory board of international humanitarian organization HIAS. She has worked at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, the Cambodian refugee clinic at Montefiore Medical Center, and the Human Rights Clinical Support Network at REFUGE, among others. Dr. Shiro offers workshops on trauma-based therapy for mental health professionals and is a frequent guest on various TV shows, podcasts and radio programs. Follow her on Instagram. Linda Sparrowe, author, mentor, and teacher, with deep roots in both ancient and contemporary yoga and meditation, specializes in practices for physical, emotional, and spiritual health. She has served as editor-in-chief of Yoga International and Natural Solutions magazines and as managing editor, acting editor, and contributing editor of Yoga Journal. She has lent her writing and editing skills to a variety of book projects, from celebrity memoirs to spiritual self-help books; from the psychology of pleasure to posttraumatic growth. She has authored six books of her own including the award-winning Yoga At Home: Inspiration for Creating Your Own Personal Practice (Rizzoli Publications); A Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health: A Lifelong Guide to Wellness (Shambhala Publications, Boston); and Yoga for Healthy Bones (also a Shambhala publication). Outside the office, Linda has continued her commitment to holistic health. She was instrumental in launching the Courageous Women, Fearless Living retreats for women with breast and reproductive cancers (her heart’s work) and she also speaks about and leads workshops on grief and loss, moving through the stages of our lives, and how yoga helps us learn to love ourselves. Follow her on Instagram.
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this episode, we discuss how to work with kids and teens in a way that opens them up instead of closing them off. The information my two guests share so generously is applicable to therapists, parents, teachers, or anyone with a child in their life. Learn what it means to attune to the young people in your life. Some areas of interest are the importance of early intervention, correct attachment, and coregulation. From listening to this episode you will gain a greater understanding of how trauma specifically affects those affected in childhood, about soothing a child and how we might be getting it wrong, and the right and wrong ways to repair harm. Discover how play therapy and how it is used to learn and teach things, regulate the body, and explore big feelings. Ann Beckley-Forest, LCSW, RPT-S, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Buffalo, New York. Her specialties include attachment and child and adolescent trauma, and she also works with adult survivors. She is certified in EMDR and is an EMDR Approved Consultant and Trainer and a faculty member of the Child Trauma Institute, as well as a Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor and Approved Provider of play therapy continuing education through the Association for Play Therapy. She provides consultation in person and remotely, and gives trainings locally and internationally and is the co-founder of Playful EMDR, an online hub for training and consultation. Her primary interest is in the intersection of play therapy and EMDR and has published on this topic including as co-editor of EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach (2020). Annie Monaco, LCSW, RPT, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Registered Play Therapist and a faculty member of both the Child Trauma Institute and of University at Buffalo School of Social Work. Annie travels throughout the US and internationally providing trauma-informed trainings and agency and therapist consultation. She is a trainer of EMDR, Progressive Counting and Attachment & Dissociation. She a contributor and co-editor of the 2020 book, EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach. She has extensive training in complex trauma, family therapy, play therapy, and restorative justice and over 25 years’ experience in serving children, teens, families and adults. Her private practice in Amherst, New York includes complex issues such as foster care, out of country adoptions, juvenile justice and dissociation. She is also the co-founder of Playful EMDR, an online hub for training and consultation. Join the Virtual Playful EMDR Summit for EMDR therapists who work with children or teens and want to incorporate EMDR: https://cvent.me/0Xz3wz
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
This episode of Finding Harmony Podcast with Harmony Slater and Russell Case- aired in Feb to promote the pre-sale of my book, The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga which is now available everywhere. If you haven’t gotten your copy please go to my site www.laraland.us and order. If you have ordered- THANK YOU - I appreciate you. Please take a minute to go on Amazon or Goodreads or both and write a review! Reviews make a big difference in getting this work viewed. If you are feeling really generous you can do one here of the podcast while you are on that review train! In this podcast, I think you will enjoy this flip of the script as Harmony and Russell interview me about my experience of generational trauma, insights from my yoga practice, and how I coach folks to be more trauma-sensitive in any field. You will witness me in action coaching Russell a bit in this show. It’s pretty cool! I also wanted to let you know about my upcoming trauma-sensitive Ashtanga weekend training- at Miami Life Center from August 18th-20th. This training is a yoga informed training for teachers and long time practitioners using essential Ashtanga techniques. More details and registration HERE.
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this conversation with activist and healer Reggie Hubbard, we discuss how to be real as a yoga teacher by using your true voice, sound bowls, gongs, and DJs. This truth (Satva) when the students experience it disrupts and creates real change which Reggie has termed “Active Peace”. Reggie illustrates this through his story and his actions. Tune into this episode to grow a deeper understanding of the chakra system and how it helps to express truth with love, how to find your community, get out of hopelessness, wake up, and make change. Reggie is the founder/chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga. His yoga and meditation practice has served as a sanctuary of peace and perspective while navigating the stresses of being a black man in the world, serving in pressure-filled jobs at the height of politics, and have helped him navigate complicated emotions (anger, grief, disappointment) to find and nurture peace of mind and ease of spirit. Reggie shares his practice in service to helping people navigate this thing called life with more creativity, authenticity, peace, and ease. He has extensively studied with leading teachers in yogic, meditative, and dharmic disciplines while also remembering that the best teacher is an eternal student. He is a graduate of the MMTCP (Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program) 2023 cohort and is always seeking new ways of sharing ancient wisdom with modern audiences. Through Active Peace Yoga, he offers asana and meditation classes to help others nurture peace of mind, creativity, and equanimity in spirit and physical health - helping people nurture well-being as foundational, rather than an afterthought. Reggie has taught Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, major labor unions, leading progressive organizations, and individuals from all walks of life - simple tools for managing stress and bringing peace to mind, body, and spirit. Active Peace also offers strategic guidance on creating healthier cultures and organizational norms rooted in well-being, compassion, and results. Reggie's life work sits at the intersection of bringing more peace and balance to activists; guiding the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens; and, enhancing the well-being of all walks of life. Achieving this balance is how we catalyze transformative change in our society, which we are desperately in need of at this moment. He also is passionate about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI); normalizing grief and loss; and, sharing healing rituals with marginalized communities to enhance our collective well-being. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and an MBA in international strategy from the Vlerick Business School in Belgium. You can find out more at www.activepeaceyoga.com.
I also wanted to let you know about my upcoming trauma-sensitive weekend - at Kripalu supporting survivors with embodied practices - for all to look into grief and trauma and stress held in your body and grow more compassionate toward yourself and others also holding these tensions and reacting from them- all about Kripalu- food, extra yoga classes, nature walks, quiet, etc. - June 20th - July 2nd so coming into July 4th time and a great gift to give yourself or come to the campus w a friend you will feel serene just arriving there. I'll also be leading a three-day retreat and trauma training workshop in the western Catskills. This ecological area is very healing and special to me. Details on that July 28th-30th. Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this episode, author and clinician, Dr. Trudy Gilbert-Eliot, explains how exposure to other people's trauma can cause post-traumatic stress. She breaks down how that occurs in the brain of the person exposed, the signs one will experience, and what to do both to prevent against it and help heal it. We talk about the specific professions most likely to encounter that exposure and practices such as mindfulness and CBT for helping change the narrative of one exposed. Dr. Gilbert-Eliot is rich with knowledge and deeply impressed me during our hour together. We will be working on the prevention of and healing of secondary trauma using embodied practices at my Kripalu workshop from June 30th-July 2nd. If you enjoyed this episode consider registering for that experience HERE. Trudy Gilbert-Eliot is a consultant and mental health practitioner. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She also obtained a Ph.D. in General Psychology from Capella University in Minnesota. Her book, “Healing Secondary Trauma”, was released May 2020. She has served as an expert witness for psychiatric court commitments, provided assessments in Emergency Room’s for those who recently attempted suicide, worked as a pediatric therapist in residential treatment, as Director of Admissions for a psychiatric facility, Director of Therapeutic Services for an outpatient clinic, and worked as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology. In the course of her work she has spoken at various conferences and as a workshop presenter on such topics as Critical Incident Response in Mental Health, Trauma-informed Care, Co-occurring Disorders in Treatment, Advanced Clinical Supervision, ASAM, Working with the Military in Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Burnout/Compassion Fatigue/Secondary Trauma for First Responders, Clinical Applications in Trauma, PTSD, and a presentation as part of the recertification of CIT personnel for LVMPD. Dr. Gilbert-Eliot has trained extensively in Trauma and is EMDR certified. She has also trained with the Gottmans in couples therapy and in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy with Behavioral Tech Research (Marsha Linehan, Ph.D.) and Alan Fruzetti, Ph.D. She is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and the American Psychological Association.
Your support is deeply appreciated! Any amount helps with production costs for the show. You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram Order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this wonderful conversation with my long-time friend and yoga service comrade, Pamela Stokes Eggleston, we discuss her experience with secondary trauma which she faced after taking care of her husband who returned from service with PTSD. We talk about the signs of trauma and how she's been able to take what she's learned to heal herself with yoga practice and help war veterans and their families. We also explore the importance of sleep and Pamela's core work helping folks to sleep better using the practice of yoga.
Pamela Stokes Eggleston, MBA, MS, C-IAYT, E-RYT-500, YACEP is the founder and Director of Yoga2Sleep, Co-Founder of Retreat to Spirit, and Clinic Faculty at the Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). She's a certified yoga therapist, meditation teacher, and end of life doula with specialized training in plant-based nutrition, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), and trauma-informed yoga to work with service members, veterans, their caregivers, and insomnia sufferers. Pamela has a Master of Science in Yoga Therapy and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She has served on the board of the Accessible Yoga Association, the advisory board of Yoga Unify, the Grant Advisory Committee of the Yoga Alliance Foundation, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Yoga Studies.
An accomplished consultant, advisor, published author and international speaker, Pamela has worked for numerous agencies including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Labor, as a yoga therapy intern for Johns Hopkins Medical Center, and as an advisor on Congress-supported publications centering on substance abuse, mental health, criminal justice, and military and veteran family matters. Find Pamela at www.yoga2sleep.com and www.retreattospirit.today and on Instagram
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Pre-order The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this episode with Michelle Casandra Johnson, we cover the importance of the grieving process and having practices that support it. We discuss how our practices have shifted since Covid-19 and the things we hope will not go back. Michelle talks about working with our ancestors and learning from their traumas and resistance as well as her special connection to her honey bees. Michelle wrote the foreward for my forthcoming book, The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga out with Shambhala Publications in May 2023. It was wonderful to connect with her here.
Michelle C. Johnson is an author, yoga teacher, social justice activist, intuitive healer, and Dismantling Racism trainer. She approaches her life and work from a place of empowerment, embodiment, and integration. As a dismantling racism trainer, she has worked with large corporations, non-profits, and community groups, including the ACLU-WA, Duke University, Google, This American Life, Auburn Seminary, Kripalu, Mercedes, Spotify, Lululemon, and many others. Michelle published Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World in 2017; the second edition of Skill in Action, published by Shambhala Publication, comes out November 2nd, 2021. She teaches workshops in yoga studios and community spaces nationwide. Michelle’s latest book, Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief, published by Shambhala Publications, came out in July 2021. Her upcoming book, We Heal Together: Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection, published my Shambhala Publications, is available for pre-order now and comes out in April 2023. Whether in an anti-oppression training, yoga space, individual or group intuitive healing session, the heart, healing, and wholeness are at the center of how Michelle approaches all of her work in the world. Michelle's Website & Instagram
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this conversation, Zahabiyah Yamasaki and I talk about how trauma-informed yoga can help survivors of sexual trauma, the power of the fully accepting, non-judgemental relationship, and tips for yoga teachers including trauma-informed language and the energy trauma-informed yoga teachers should bring into the classroom. Zabie shares why a survivor might choose yoga over talk therapy, the limitations on resources for survivors on college campuses and how she has been able to launch her 8-week trauma-sensitive yoga program in Universities nationwide. Zabie Yamasaki is the Founder of Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga which is an organization that offers trauma-informed yoga to survivors, consultation for universities and trauma agencies, and training for healing professionals. Zabie has trained thousands of yoga instructors and mental health professionals and her trauma-informed yoga program and curriculum is now being implemented at over 30 college campuses and trauma agencies including the University of California (UC) system, Stanford, Yale, USC, University of Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University. She is a survivor, mother, partner, daughter, sister, friend, and activist. She has received countless awards in victim services and leadership, including the Visionary in Victim Services award from one of the largest rape crisis centers in California and the Voice of Courage Award from Exhale to Inhale. She is the author of the book and affirmation deck published by Norton: Trauma-Informed Yoga for Survivors of Sexual Assault: Practices for Healing and Teaching with Compassion and forthcoming children's book published by PESI, Your Joy is Beautiful: The Magic of Knowing You Are Enough, Just as You Are.
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this special BONUS episode, I share a bit about the writing of my forthcoming book, The Essential Guide to Trauma Sensitive Yoga: How to Create Safer Spaces for All due out this May for Shambhala Publications. I also detail what you can expect to find inside the book and how you can get a first look at the cover and a chance to WIN a free copy! Make sure to listen to find out how!
Follow me at laralandyoga for more updates!
In this bravely vulnerable interview, D'Angela Alberty shares what it was like to grow up in an abusive family. Her story helps us understand how abuse follows an individual and just what it takes to disrupt that cycle. D'Angela's story is a gift for both folks going through abuse and for those who care enough to understand and look out for it. She details the people, resources, and questions that helped her escape and the practices she uses now to stay in tune with her self-worth and inner peace. Please note that this episode could be triggering. D’Angela Alberty (she/her/hers) is a lifelong learner, Criminal Justice graduate, Domestic Violence & Sexual Abuse Advocate, Meditation & Yoga Teacher, Energy Healer, & business owner. Choosing to focus on her physical wellness, D’Angela became a Certified Health & Wellness Coach in September 2021. D’Angela has 200+ hours of yoga training, ranging from vinyasa focus to trauma-informed practices. D’Angela completed the Three and a Half Acres Yoga training virtually in September 2021. D’Angela is a survivor of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse and has been free from all of the abuse for over a year now. She is also a solo parent to three young children ages 6, 3, & 2. D’Angela has opened her own business, Emotional Rebirth, LLC, to help trauma survivors break free of their story by reconnecting to their personal power. Find D'Angela on her Instagram or highly popular TicToc page.
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
In this deep episode with Lama Rod Owens, we discuss the what it means to face the reality of life and do the hard work of coming to know and love ourselves. We discuss the difference between practicing for comfort verses freedom, the wise message in anger, and how becoming more expansive actually leads to better boundaries. Plus, the roles of the teacher, the student and the teachings along this path. Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist, and authorized Lama (Buddhist Teacher) in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Rod is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School where he focused on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. He is the author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger, and a co-author of Radical Dharma, Talking Race, Love, and Liberation, which explores race in the context of American Buddhist communities. Lama Rod has been a teacher with the Daishin Zen Buddhist Temple, the Urban Yoga Foundation, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), a visiting teacher with Natural Dharma Fellowship and the Brooklyn Zen Center. He has been a faculty member for the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s professional education program in mindfulness for educators and has served as a guest faculty member for the school’s course Mindfulness for Educators. Lama Rod has been published and featured in several publications including Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Spirit Magazine. He has offered talks, retreats, and workshops for many organizations and universities including New York University, Yale University, Harvard University, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, Tufts University, University of Vermont, and Boston College. Website | Instagram
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
Micah Mortali and I discuss how nature immersion, rewilding, survival, ancestral skills can support our circadian rhythms, and proper release of melatonin, regulate our nervous systems and ease the impacts of trauma. We talk about the impact of technology on our psychies and that of our children, especially teens, the minimum unnegotiable outdoor time a human needs each week (so start tracking) and I share my personal experiences learning from Micah and how they helped me through some tough dysregulated times. Micah’s life’s work is about helping modern humans reconnect with their deeper, truer selves through mindfulness, rewilding, and immersion in the natural world. Micah is a lifelong student of the world’s great spiritual traditions whose undergraduate work was in comparative world religions. In his 20’s, he was a wilderness counselor and outdoor educator with young adults, guiding back country expeditions on both land and water. For the past 17 years, Micah has been leading retreats, trainings, and programs at Kripalu. Micah was the Director of the Kripalu Schools for 7 years, and it was during this period that he was inspired to create the groundbreaking Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership and write the book Rewilding: Meditations, Practices and Skills for Awakening in Nature published by Sounds True. Mich is a lifelong archer and in 2022 launched Mindful Archery at Kripalu and began work on his next book which will focus on archery as a spiritual practice. Micah holds a master’s degree in Health Arts and Sciences from Goddard College. He is dedicated to the idea that human beings are a self-aware expression of the living earth, and that our future depends on awakening to this reality, and remembering how to communicate more effectively with the systems that govern life on this planet. He lives with his wife and kids in the Berkshires, where he enjoys getting out into nature, listening to the Earth, and sitting by a crackling fire or a laughing brook as often as possible. Website Kripalu Instagram
Your support is deeply appreciated! Find me, Lara, on my Website / Instagram You can support this podcast with any level of donation here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
Seane Corn is an internationally-acclaimed yoga teacher, author, and public speaker who has been at the forefront of yoga, activism, and community service for 28 years. In this episode we delve into the significance of the tension we carry in our bodies, our addiction to holding onto it, and what happens when we begin to release it. We examine the specific medicine that yoga offers in allowing us to release past trauma, how it works, and the awakening to true self and to love that lies on the other side. Seane details her own ongoing process of coming to know herself and the shifts she is making as a result of this inner knowing. She has some special messages for yoga teachers and the yoga community.
Known for her social activism and impassioned teaching style, Seane is raw, honest, articulate, and spiritually inspired in her self-expression. Her leadership and commitment to justice for all beings, along with 30+ years of yoga practice, have galvanized thousands to practice, pray, find more purpose, and activate change from the inside out. A longtime student, Seane models authenticity in her yoga journey and is considered an artist in her craft.
Seane has chosen to use her platform to bring awareness to global issues, including social justice, sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS awareness, and animal rights. In 2005, she was named “National Yoga Ambassador” for YouthAIDS, and in 2013 received both the Global Green International Environmental Leadership Award and the Humanitarian Award from the Smithsonian Institute. She co-founded the organization Off the Mat, Into the World®, which trained leaders in community activism. Seane also co-founded the Global Seva Challenge, which raised over $3.5 million by activating yoga and wellness communities in fund and awareness-raising efforts. Her first book Revolution of the Soul, was published in Fall 2019. Her online program, Align With Source, has a global reach of thousands and has been a touchstone of community support during the pandemic.
Seane's Website Revolution of the Soul Seane's Instagram
Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify. Your support is deeply appreciated! Visit My Site Make a donation Instagram
In this solo episode of the Beyond Trauma Podcast, I take a look back at the wisdom our guests shared with us in Season 1 as well as drop some hints about Season 2 and who is to come...(hint... some MEGA stars) I also make some announcements about what I have been working on and how we might work together! Join me as usual for our next guest episode in two weeks!
Lara Land is a deeply compassionate coach, consultant and yoga teacher trainer specializing in trauma sensitivity. Her work is in helping to heal trauma both subtle and significant and train others to do the same using yoga, meditation, mindfulness and breathing practices. Lara has spent the last 25 years studying and sharing yoga asana, chanting, meditation, and philosophy directly from her teachers in India. Her commitment is to honor the traditions of yoga by responding to the needs of each individual, using a unique combination of practices and techniques that are appropriate for their personal growth. Some of her many certifications include: trauma informed mindfulness, life coaching, therapeutic fasting, and mindfulness in nature. Lara has been featured in and contributed to New York Magazine, Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, Apartment Therapy and on Fox5, CBS, NY1 and SiriusRadioXM.
As always, you can find me at: www.laraland.us www.soulfestrevolution.com www.threeandahalfacres.org www.buymeacoffee.com/CoachLara
In this conversation with community organizer, wellness activist and author, Kerri Kelly, we talk about the perpetual and often unspoken trauma present in our country due to the systems in place that have created and sustain a health, education, wealth, and wellness gap where some are able to seemingly thrive and others are given so little. We also talk about about what it does to us to be on the privileged side of that chasm and the ways it trains us to be isolated, numbed out, scarcity focused, and lonely. We also discuss an evolving definition of the word wellness and the importance of the agency to decide what that word means for us.
Kerri is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing wellbeing for all. She’s been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act.
A community organizer, wellness activist and author of the recently released book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for her inspired work to bridge transformational practice with social justice. She is a powerful facilitator, TED speaker and is the host of the prominent podcast, CTZN. You can learn more about her work at kerrikelly.co and ctznwell.org.
Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify. Your support is deeply appreciated! Visit My Site Make a donation Instagram
Nikki Myers is the creator of Y12SR Yoga of 12-step recovery. She is an expert on the subtle nature of addition and the ways to apply both cognitive and embodies practices to fully address addiction. We discuss how addiction is a part of us all and the ways we use it to find relief from being uncomfortable. Nikki is such a wealth of knowledge quoting Patanjali’s yoga sutras like pie and making the connections between the cognitive, somatic, and spiritual that we ALL NEED. Nikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher, yoga therapist, somatic experiencing practitioner, addictions recovery specialist and Ayurvedic specialist and founder of Y12SR a relapse prevention program that weaves yoga and the 12-step program. Her Y12SR meetings are available internationally and online! And her curriculum has become a feature of addiction recovery treatment centers. She was named a Yoga Journal Game Changer and is an honored recipient of the esteemed NUVO Cultural Visionary Award.She was named a Yoga Journal Game Changer and is an honored recipient of the esteemed NUVO Cultural Visionary Award.
Nikki's Website | Instagram
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Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
Dr. Liz Cohen discusses how the field of trauma research is changing and helping us understand more about neuroplasticity, the rewiring that happens to our brains from ongoing "small t traumas" that we may not have thought about as impacting us. Childhood situations where our needs were regularly unmet can result in responses which are more likely to be chronic. Do you find yourself in patterns with your partner or kids you can’t seem to get out of? We dissect how to get to know and understand our survival mechanisms and break those patterns. Dr. Cohen also shares great insights on how she combines clinical psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy and Somatic Experiencing, what she does in a session when she doesn’t know what to do next, and what we we are likely to see if we don’t take the time to feel deeply and reflect upon what happened in the last years with the covid crisis.
Dr. Cohen, a clinical psychologist, is the author of, Light at The Other Side of Divorce: Discovering the New You. She is the CEO and founder of the online divorce course and membership Afterglow: The Light at the Other Side of Divorce. Dr. Cohen is the CEO of the Center for CBT in NYC. Dr. Cohen received her PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University. She was the recipient of the prestigious American Psychological Foundation Research Award for her research on the emotional effects of 9/11. She has been featured on the Tamron Hall Show, the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Women’s Health, Huff Post, Thrive Global, Daily Beast and Good Housekeeping. Dr. Cohen is a weekly contributor to Psychology Today with her “Divorce Course” column. Dr. Cohen’s Divorce Doctor podcast which shares people’s divorce stories hit 10,000 downloads in only 3 months. Website / Instagram
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Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
I am honored to be in conversation with Devika Shankar, a transnational feminist, organizer, and advocate interested in supporting activists and organizers of color in building an embodied practice and increasing their capacity for resilience in the face of long-haul social justice work.
In this conversation we talk about what happens when our nervous system over reacts and the subtle practice of becoming more aware when that occurs. We discuss how to find practices which regulate us and why this self regulation is important for social justice movements to survive and thrive. We also dig into activism, resilience and how you can get involved in making a difference!
Devika has over 13 years of experience in the field of domestic violence, working with survivors of color, immigrants, youth, and LGBTQ survivors. She’s an organizer with AF3IRM, and In her work at Lumos Transforms, Devika provides and training on trauma-informed and resilience-oriented approaches.
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Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
As you will hear in this episode, Samantha Lucas is the survivor of multiple traumas which have impacted her life and for which yoga and meditation have been great practices on her path to healing and softening. In this episode Sam shares some of the ways the traumas she’s experienced have shown up in her personality and how yoga has shifted that, the ways she was able to practice when in the hospital, a realization she had in a previous interview with me about her body and her practice, and the number one advice she would give yoga teachers when sharing the practice with students with trauma. Plus, hear what Sam has to say about the folks drawn to Ashtanga Yoga and the number one tool she used to cure the “phantom pain” she experienced after losing her leg in a horrible motorcycle accident. Samantha Lucas has been practicing Mysore style ashtanga yoga since 2006 which she found after six years practicing other styles. Since her first trip in 2008 Samantha has returned almost yearly to continue her studies at KPJAYI, the Ashtanga Yoga Institute which authorized her to teach in 2014. *Please note that this episode does touch on those traumas and their affects including suicidal thoughts. Make sure to take care you are in the right space to listen. If you are, there are some great take aways for both yoga practitioners and teachers for how you can tailor the practice to reduce harm and promote healing.
Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify. Your support is deeply appreciated! Visit My Site Make a donation Instagram
In this episode with my dear friend, Alexandra Seidenstein, we discuss the study of epigenetics, a biological science which tracks patterns of activation or deactivation of our DNA expression. Ali's work and our conversation revolves around the changes in expressions of genes as a result of PTSD and her hypothesis of how those same genes might express themselves differently after longterm yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practices. We also talk about the importance of science in validating what we yoga practitioners know to be true, the loops associated with pain and trauma and how yoga can shift those, and what Ali sees happening in the future of science.
Ali’s insights from her personal life experience with and scientific research of yoga and trauma are unparalleled. Her understanding of and belief in eastern and western healing modalities and systems of measurement puts her in a unique position to share wisdom with all of us.
Alexandra Seidenstein is a yoga teacher with nearly 20 years of experience. She was previous on the faculty at NYU in the Biomolecular Engineering program, where she remains a premedical advisor. She is all but dissertation for her PhD with Dr. Brad Aouizerat at the Bluestone Clinic at NYU where her thesis research is focused on epigenetic, particular gene expression changes in response to PTSD. She is currently a 4th year medical student pursuing Orthopaedic Surgery. She holds a B.S in neuroscience and an M.S in molecular. biology. As the founder of the non-profit, Kids Who Care, Inc., Ali holds over 20 years experience in advocacy and leadership.
Alexandra Seidenstein Introduction to Yoga and Physiology Yoga for back pain. Transform the global food system
Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify. Your support is deeply appreciated! Visit My Site Make a donation Instagram
Yin/Restorative yoga teacher Marcy Tropin does not just help others heal through the teachings of yoga, she has survived multiple traumas herself. In this conversation she offers some really important insights she's had through her own experience taking ownership of her healing and her own narrative.
We discuss the importance of right effort in maintaining a longterm yoga practice. As you listen, I encourage you to think about places in your yoga practice and life you could increase or reduce effort for a better result. If you are a yoga teacher, there are some really good tips in here for how you can create and attract a safe space for your students by remembering and understanding what the experience is like from the student’s perspective. Make sure to listen closely for the equalizing way Marcy starts every class she teaches and the other resources she uses to support her and her students.
Marcy Tropin is certified in Alan Finger's ISHTA Yoga, Ancient Thai Healing, as a Relax and Rew Trainer through Judith Lasater, in Yin Yoga with Paul Grilley, and completed Shiva Rea's Advanced Teacher Training. Marcy is an intuitive healer, and works with students to release pain, and recover from injuries through private bodywork sessions. In 2017 she self-published Yin Yoga Master Class: A Memoir. In 2021, Marcy launched Thumbsky, an apparel brand with original designs combining yoga, humor, equality, art and writing. Follow Marcy's instagram here.
Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify. Your support is deeply appreciated! Visit My Site Make a donation Instagram
In this inaugural episode Hala and I dissect the core components to creating a safer, more trauma sensitive environment when teaching yoga. Hala offers invaluable advice about what yoga teachers should ask themselves before stepping in the yoga room and what we need to understand about the nervous system so that we don't cause harm to our students. Hala also offers outstanding advice about how to navigate different stress levels within the yoga space and how to understand where yoga fits in in the range of tools available for stress management.
Hala Khouri, M.A., SEP, E-RYT (she/her), is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the subject of trauma, embodiment and social justice. She has been teaching yoga and movement for over 25 years and has been doing clinical work and trainings for 15 years. Hala is a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, a training organization that bridges yoga and activism within a social justice framework and an Adjunct Professor at Pitzer College. She leads Collective Resilience trauma informed yoga trainings nationally. Hala also trains direct service providers and educators to be trauma informed and culturally responsive. She leads a monthly, online membership program called Radical Wellbeing. She is the author of Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos (Shambhala). Follow Hala's instagram here. Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs courtesy of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.
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We have all been touched by trauma and we have all experienced trauma and its impacts in very varied degrees and ways. Uncovering and understanding our own traumas whether generational, racial, sexual, medical or any combination of these or others, is the first step in identifying and eventually broadening our patterns and reactions. This is the commitment necessary for being better in our lives and more positively impacting others.
Whether you are a yoga teacher or practitioner, body worker, or coach, you'll want to tune in to broaden your understanding of trauma and the embodied practices we can use to soften its impacts.
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Opening and Closing music: Other People's Photographs compliments of Daniel Zaitchik. Follow Daniel on Spotify.