Narcissism, at its root, means to numb. April Harter is redefining this term from being someone who is self-obsessed & arrogant to something much more complex and nuanced.

April Harter is a therapist that works with people to heal their racism and other narcissistic tendencies. She specializes in narcissism and has come to understand it as a result of childhood trauma, particularly involving attachment securities.

Secure attachment is a fancy way of saying that one could rely on their guardians to feel safe, seen, and loved while growing up. Narcissism, as April understands it, is a direct result of someone with relational trauma who didn't get to develop safety and self-regulation within themselves while growing up.

This is why she sees narcissistic behavior as something that can be healed if the person is willing to do the work at processing and healing stuck trauma, because once you are safe and comfortable to feel your discomfort, then you simply do not need numbing behaviors anymore.

For more information on April's work, visit her at https://www.narcissismrecoverycenter.com/ or on IG @narcissismrecoverycenter.

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Gail Morrison, aka Gaiamore, is an artist, eco-therapist and teacher of earth-based spiritual practices. I had her on to share her personal journey with us, how her journey to listen to her body when it was full of cancer led her to the Earth-based practices.

In this episode we discuss paganism, co-regulating in nature, and she leads me in a short but powerful divination session with a tree in NYC's Greenwich Village.

For more information on the Earth Deck, consultations, & readings please visit www.naturedivination.com.

Visit Gaiamore on Facebook: www.facebook.com/naturedivination.

Email Gaiamore at: [email protected]

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Dr. Amber McZeal is a gift to the world. A writer, vocalist, sacred scholar, and activist she utilizes sound therapy and guided somatic imagery to engage the knowledge of the body. She is a pioneer, and inventor, of the process that she calls "Decolonizing The Psyche".

In this episode, we speak about how our psyches became colonized and how we can begin to decolonize them, returning to a sacred center of self that respects the "other" as different in expression, but same in Spirit.

We speak about race as a construct for division, a myth. Something to understand so we can unlearn it and redevelop our brains and bodies so that we can show up to our world with greater compassion and respect for our fellow human beings.

To quote Amber: "We humans have the same desires & needs, but different cultural manifestations".

Amber's work: https://decolonizingthepsyche.com/
Join Amber's Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/817992224926466
Read about Resmaa and his book: https://www.resmaa.com/
Join Karine Bell's "Somatic Abolitionism":  https://www.rootedandembodied.com/

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Today's episode features Dr. Carolyn Elliott, creator & author of the transformative work that she calls "Existential Kink". It is a radical practice of shifting your energy of disgust into pure turn on.

Turn on, in this case, being quite expansive: genital turn on, happiness, full body light-up - essentially transforming a negative charge into a positive one. Transforming how the body experiences situations so that everything can actually work for you, not against you.

Carolyn discovered this work out of her own suffering. Addicted to heroin, poor, and in an abusive relationship she noticed how, unconsciously, her body and mind were loving the very things that she consciously claimed to hate or not want in her life anymore.

As a Somatic Therapist, I love her work. It is the essence of how I work with the body. Noticing where we hold and constrict around energy and, slowly, learning how to expand and move the energy to transform stress & trauma into vitality. I find Carolyn's work to be a compliment to trauma healing. It may not be for everyone, but those courageous enough to try it will have lots of fun and, possibly, faster results than just straight up talk therapy.

To take one of Carolyn's courses, visit: www.carolyngraceelliott.com.
To get her new book Existential Kink, visit: www.existentialkink.com

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Today's episode is a discussion with Natalie Ross. She is the co-founder of the collective Earth Speak, which offers a beautiful virtual community that includes monthly meetings, videos, and podcasts that all serve as resources for connecting to yourself more holistically and with the Earth in mind.

I interviewed her after a quote I read of hers that said "Judgement is the death of intuition". Have a listen.

For more information on Natalie's collective, visit www.earthspeak.love.

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

We hear about how important it is to "have boundaries", but what does that even mean? We have to be able to feel our boundaries before we can ever express them. Can we have too many boundaries? What do boundaries have to do with racism? We explore it all in this episode where I am joined by 4 of my colleagues for a round table discussion about boundaries through the holistic lens of somatic therapy. 

If you feel inclined to reach out to anyone at the "table", feel free to contact them below.

Linda Dukess: http://www.lindabernsteintherapy.com/
Alexis Katz: https://www.alexiskatzlcsw.com/
Laurie Robbins: http://www.robbinscounseling.com/
Daniel Schidlowsky: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/daniel-schidlowsky-kingston-ny/342788

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

In this episode, I discuss the somatic exercise of finding safety in the body. Safety is the opposite of threat, and threat is the root cause of all trauma.

Our bodies speak in sensations. Trauma & stress express themselves through constriction of the body. Where peace & safety express themselves through openness and relief in the body.

This episode walks explains how we can find the safety in ourselves & create a practice of building upon it. At about 14 minutes in, I begin an embodiment meditation. Around 28 minutes in, I feature an 8 minute sound healing that was composed by Evan Glenn Adams (Emerald Light Sound Healing) to help you deepen into your state of safety and regulation even further.

This work is the foundational practice of creating a regulated nervous system.

To hear more of Emerald Light Sound Healing's work, visit: http://www.emeraldlightsoundhealing.com/

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Dave Berger. He is one of my teachers and his work is deeply rooted in the physiology of trauma: how trauma shows up in the body. We speak about chronic pain, the need to relax around the constriction for healing, and how to become embodied so we can listen to our bodies before reacting to things and people.

For more information on Dave's work, visit https://www.daveberger.net/.

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Beans are the word! Karen Hurd is a strict whole food nutritionist that discovered the life-saving benefits of beans over 30 years ago when she used soluble fiber to save her 18 month old daughter's life. Her philosophies, education, and protocol have helped thousands and thousands of individuals heal from serious chronic disease, as well as boost the health of people living an already balanced life. 

I interviewed her to find out the science behind beans, debunk some common myths that might keep you from eating them, and she generously gave use a foundation of where to begin in our healing journeys with food. I review it all at the end because it's so much information.

I have been on her protocol for about 6 weeks. It is the most accessible, simple, & inexpensive protocol I've ever been on, next to being macrobiotic. I lost 8 pounds, all of my bloating is gone, my skin looks beautiful, and my sense of clarity and sustained energy is quite unparalleled to where it's ever been before.

Karen still maintains her private practice and, because her waiting list is endless, she has dozens of affordable, pre-recorded courses on her website. Visit www.karenhurd.com to get started.

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]

Addiction is the result of not knowing how to find safety in yourself. So we go out into the world and find people, substances, and situations that make us feel safe. Then we become dependent on them. This is not a character flaw or a behavioral issue, it's a vulnerable experience as a result of childhood trauma. In this episode I am joined by David McNamara. David is a recovery coach, substance abuse counselor, filmmaker, Zen practitioner, & former cocaine addict. 

David is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, which led to a somatic experience of being "weak" and "disempowered". Cocaine reversed that sensation, helping him feel alive and powerful and he became dependent on it for over 20 years until he discovered meditation and began working on his childhood trauma somatically. In 2019, he founded Samadhi; a holistic recovery center based in Kingston, NY for those suffering from substance abuse and related disorders and addictions. All services are completely free. What a blessing!

Anyone, anywhere in the world, can visit https://www.samadhiny.org and click on the "Calendar" tab. Right now, you can check out the site and discover endless resources from group work, to somatic therapy, to trauma-informed yoga. All for free, to help serve you in your journey to heal and be in touch with your whole, beautiful, and innocent self.

Register here for the upcoming August 9th webinar, "Supporting Boys Through Puberty: Navigating P*rnography, Hormones & Isolation".

Learn more and register for the weekend at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina: https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/event/faculty/luis-mojica/creating-safety-within/

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You can learn more on the website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/

Learn more about the self-led course here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/self-led-new

Join the waitlist to pre-order Luis' book here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book

You can follow Luis on Instagram @holistic.life.navigation

Questions? You can email us at [email protected]