In this episode, Jenn is joined by Candace Liger—fitness coach, activist, founder of The Center for Body Autonomy and Co-Director of Trauma Informed Weight Lifting. Candace shares how movement can serve as a powerful tool for healing, resistance, and liberation. Drawing from her personal history, including a family legacy of muscular dystrophy and early experiences with sport and embodiment, Candace shares how fitness became both a protective measure and a portal for deeper transformation. Together, they explore the concept of “taking up space” as a radical and healing act, especially for those historically marginalized or silenced, and how weightlifting can offer a consensual way to engage with stress, power, and resilience.

Candace discusses how traditional fitness culture often centers aesthetics and strict requirements, while trauma-informed weightlifting invites self-trust, consent, and emotional presence. They speak about the often-overlooked grief that can accompany physical transformation and the importance of authenticity, both for clients and trainers. This conversation is a deep exploration of how movement spaces can shift from performative and exhaustive to liberatory and relationship-driven—and how asking what freedom feels like in the body can be a transformative question for us all. ✨Go to traumainformedweightlifting.com or follow on IG: @centerforbody @traumainformedweightlifting to learn more about Candace and Trauma Informed Weight Lifting!

💙INTERESTED IN TRAUMA INFORMED WEIGHT LIFTING?💙

We have 15 hour foundational trainings happening online every month! Our Foundations Training program is the place to start to learn more about TIWL. It’s our online course that takes 15 hrs. to complete and 1.5 NASM CEU's available! Looking for even more? Our 8-week Certification Program begins in September! Head to tiwl.org to learn more!

🧡INTERESTED IN TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA?🧡

We have 20-hour foundational trainings happening all year round, and all over the world! Go to traumasensitiveyoga.com to learn more, and to sign up for our 300-Hour Certification program in September ( Approved for 26.5 CECs for social workers with ASWB and as a 300-hour training with Yoga Alliance. ) go to traumasensitiveyoga.com/certification

⭐️Be sure to check out healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about the show, and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC. and Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes!

🩵On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org ________________________________________________________

Copyright Credit: Center For Trauma and Embodiment 2025

In this powerful episode, journalist and author Lee Hawkins joins Jenn Turner to explore the deep and far-reaching impact of intergenerational trauma. Drawing from his book I Am Nobody’s Slave, Hawkins shares his personal journey of uncovering his family's hidden history, including generations of racial violence, land theft, and silence around loss. Through genetic research and oral histories, he exposes how systemic racism, secrecy, and corporal punishment shaped not only his ancestors’ lives but also his own upbringing—and how courageously confronting these truths has allowed him to reclaim healing, understanding, and connection. 

Hawkins reflects on how historical trauma is often internalized through shame, silence, and loyalty to harmful cycles, and he calls for a new kind of legacy—one grounded in curiosity, honesty, and nonviolent social change. He discusses the healing power of therapy, the role of education in disrupting ignorance, and how family and community support can shift generational outcomes. His story is one of courageous truth-telling and resilience, offering a roadmap for those seeking to break cycles of harm and move toward collective healing and transformation.

 ✨Go to Leehawkinsjr.com to learn more about Lee and be sure to checkout his book I AM NOBODY'S SLAVE which you can check out more and purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Am-Nobodys-Slave-Uncovering-Familys/dp/0062823167  

 🧡INTERESTED IN TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA?🧡 We have 20-hour foundational trainings happening all year round, and all over the world! Go to traumasensitiveyoga.com to learn more, and to sign up for our 300-Hour Certification program in September ( Approved for 26.5 CECs for social workers with ASWB and as a 300-hour training with Yoga Alliance. ) go to traumasensitiveyoga.com/certification  

⭐️Be sure to check out healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about the show, and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC. and Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes!  

💙On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org 

________________________________________________________ 

Copyright Credit: Center For Trauma and Embodiment 2025 

In this rich and heartfelt conversation, Jenn is joined by Jivana Heyman—founder of Accessible Yoga and a longtime activist whose work began during the HIV/AIDS crisis in San Francisco. Together, they explore what it means to truly make yoga inclusive—not just in theory, but in real, embodied practice. Jivana shares how his personal journey, shaped by his grandmother, activism, and lived experience as a gay man and spiritual seeker, informs his commitment to creating safe, empowering spaces for all bodies and identities.

Their conversation touches on the roles of meditation, self-care, and compassion in healing; the complexities of grief and trauma; and the nuances of the teacher-student relationship. Jivana speaks to the necessity of clear boundaries in teaching, the power of perception, and how humor and lightness can transform even the most difficult spaces. At its heart, this episode is a call to honor individual paths, support collective healing, and imagine a yoga world built on community, accessibility, and love.

✨Go to jivanaheyman.com to learn more about Jivana and head to accessibleyoga.org for more information on accessible yoga!

🧡INTERESTED IN TRAUMA SENSITIVE YOGA?🧡 We have 20-hour foundational trainings happening all year round, and all over the world! Go to traumasensitiveyoga.com to learn more, and to sign up for our 300-Hour Certification program in September ( Approved for 26.5 CECs for social workers with ASWB and as a 300-hour training with Yoga Alliance. ) go to traumasensitiveyoga.com/certification

⭐️Be sure to check out healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about the show, and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC. and Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes!

💙On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org ________________________________________________________

Copyright Credit: Center For Trauma and Embodiment 2025

This week, Jenn chats with Ayanna Freedom who shares her journey into somatic healing, emphasizing the importance of understanding trauma as a bodily experience rather than just a mental one, and truly embodying love. She discusses the challenges faced by BIPOC individuals in accessing holistic healing and the need for integrated approaches that address systemic issues.

This conversation highlights the significance of community and safe spaces in the healing process, as well as the ongoing struggle against the medical model's limitations in addressing trauma; similarly the impact of white supremacy on marginalized bodies, and the radical act of listening to one's body. Ayanna and Jenn explore the themes of healing, body acceptance, and the impact of dominant culture on self-image and access to healing. They discuss the urgency of healing, the importance of taking up space, cultural appropriation, and the need for more BIPOC providers in healing spaces.

✨Go to ayannafreedom.com to learn more about Ayanna and head to healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about the show, and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC.

💙Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes! On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org

________________________________________________________ Copyright Credit: Center For Trauma and Embodiment 2025

EPISODE CONTENT WARNINGS:

05:37 Sudden Death of Child

12:29 Mentions of Food Restriction

Jenn Turner, LMHC sits down with Peggy J. Bowers, Ph.D. for an impactful and vulnerable conversation as they delve into the profound themes of trauma, healing, and the power of storytelling, particularly through literature. They explore how narratives can help individuals process their experiences and the importance of community in the grieving process. Peggy shares her personal journey of grief and healing through poetry. In this conversation, Peggy and Jenn explore how creative expression can facilitate healing, the importance of body awareness in understanding trauma, and the journey towards vulnerability and self-compassion. This conversation emphasizes the interconnectedness of mind and body in the healing process and the challenges of coping mechanisms developed as a means of self-protection. We discuss the importance of being open and compassionate towards oneself and others, the power of community, and the courage it takes to ask for help, especially in times of grief and trauma.

✨Go to healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about Peggy and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC.

💙Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes! On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org

Natalie Silverstein, MPH joins Jenn Turner, LMHC for an impactful and vulnerable conversation as they dive into the complexities of parenting in a challenging world, the importance of facing difficult realities, and the transformative power of turning personal struggles into positive action. Natalie shares her journey as a mother and advocate, particularly in light of her husband's diagnosis with a genetic form of Parkinson's disease. They discuss the need for honesty in parenting, the significance of community service, and the role of philanthropy in creating change. Jenn and Natalie explore the importance of language in how we perceive and interact with those in need and how we embody both suffering and resilience, and the choices we make in facing adversity. Natalie shares her personal journey of vulnerability and the importance of breaking cycles of negativity, ultimately advocating for kindness and hope as essential components of the human experience. 

You can find out more about Natalie by going to simpleactsguide.com or checking out her Instagram and podcast @simpleactsguide. Natalie's two books Simple Acts: The Busy Teen's Guide to Making a Difference and Simple Acts: The Busy Family's Guide to Giving Back can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Check out Natalie's work with The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson's with GBA at silversteinfoundation.org.💛

To check out the poem "Good Bones" by Maggie Smith, read by Natalie in this episode, go to www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones.

✨Go to healwithcfte.org/podcast for more information about On Trauma and Power, and your host Jenn Turner, LMHC.

💙Follow us on instagram instagram.com/ontraumaandpower @ontraumaandpower to stay updated on future episodes! On Trauma and Power with Jenn Turner, LMHC is produced by the Center For Trauma and Embodiment. To learn more about CFTE, head to healwithcfte.org ________________________________________________________

Copyright Credit: Maggie Smith, "Good Bones" from Waxwing. Copyright © 2016 by Maggie Smith. Reprinted by permission of Waxwing magazine

In this profound and vulnerable conversation, Jenn and Rodrigo explore the transformative power of adaptive yoga, particularly for individuals who have experienced trauma and disability. Rodrigo shares his personal journey from a physical yoga practice to a more thoughtful, spiritual approach after his spinal cord injury. They discuss the coexistence of grief and joy, emphasizing the importance of embracing all emotions. Rodrigo also highlights the need for greater accessibility in yoga, advocating for inclusivity and education for yoga teachers to better serve individuals with disabilities. In this episode, Jenn and Rodrigo explore powerful themes of adaptive yoga, trauma, and community building; they discuss the importance of finding safety in the body, and the journey of befriending trauma and the significance of accessibility and the need for yoga to be a welcoming space for everyone.

Rodrigo Souza (he/him) is an Adaptive and Accessible Yoga teacher with experience teaching yoga to people who have undergone Trauma and disability. Rodrigo sustained a spinal cord injury after a fall accident. Through direct personal experience with traumatic injury and chronic pain, discovering the need to take charge of his recovery to optimize long-term well-being, he decided to become a Yoga teacher and teach from his own experience, creating Allihopa Accessible & Adaptive Virtual Yoga Studio where he teaches folks with a diverse range of abilities from all over the world.

He also teaches for several Non-profits, Community Centres and newly injured folks in an Active Rehabilitation Center in Sweden. Rodrigo is focused on creating a supportive community for those who have experienced trauma, loss & and disability through Adaptive & Accessible Yoga. He also leads a monthly Ambassador Mentorship program for Accessible Yoga teachers, emphasising creating a robust and supportive community for those seeking to bring Yoga to marginalised groups. The program is designed to infuse their Yoga careers with purpose and meaning by serving the underserved with love and compassion. You can find out more about Rodrigo and how to work with him by visiting allihopayoga.com or connect on Social media channels @allihopayoga.

In this enlightening and powerful conversation, Dr. Desmonette Hazly and Jenn explore the multifaceted nature of trauma and healing. They discuss the importance of mindfulness practices, the stigma surrounding mental health care, and the need for a trauma-informed approach that empowers individuals. Dr. Hazly emphasizes the significance of community and cultural perspectives in healing, advocating for a shift from viewing trauma solely as a disorder to recognizing the potential for post-traumatic growth. This episode highlights the necessity of understanding the individual’s experience and fostering a supportive environment that encourages self-empowerment and holistic healing.

Dr. Viann Nguyen-Feng shares her insights on community engagement, the mind-body connection, and the importance of research in counseling psychology. She shares with Jenn her origin story and personal journey into the field, the significance of cultural heritage in her practices, the significance of the min-body connection, and the role of community support in trauma recovery. Viann and Jenn discuss the need for collaboration in research and the importance of pacing in community work, culminating in a discussion about radical healing interventions for BIPOC communities.

Dr. Tiffany Johnson, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Georgia Tech University joins your host, Jenn Turner, LMHC to explore the integration of trauma-informed practices within organizational behavior and academia. They discuss the importance of grounding in the present moment, the impact of racial and gender norms in the workplace, and the necessity of reimagining work culture to promote equity and wellness. Tiffany shares her journey of incorporating trauma awareness into her teaching and the challenges of navigating academia while prioritizing personal well-being. This conversation emphasizes the power of self-discovery, agency, and the collective responsibility to create change in organizational structures.