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Authentic power emerges when we embrace all aspects of ourselves—even the parts that growl. In this fascinating conversation with Thayer Cuson Case, we journey from Zen monastery halls to trauma therapy rooms, exploring how spiritual practice and trauma work can integrate to create whole-person healing.

Thayer's remarkable path began with teenage meditation, led through college football and a career-ending injury, then to 18 months living in a Zen monastery. This winding road eventually guided him to trauma therapy after experiencing firsthand the aftermath of 9/11 as an EMT. Throughout our discussion, he reveals how these seemingly disparate experiences created the foundation for his psycho-spiritual somatic approach to healing.

The heart of our conversation explores aggression—not as something to suppress, but as vital energy essential to fully embodied living. "Waking the tiger isn't about making people calm," Thayer explains, challenging common misconceptions about trauma work. Instead, he describes how truly embodied aggression feels "powerful, sexy, and full of life," while offering practical insights into recognizing when our relationship with aggression becomes either explosive or repressed.

We dive into fascinating territory when discussing the unexpected value of sometimes blocking tears to allow necessary aggression to emerge, especially for those conditioned to discharge emotion quickly. This nuanced understanding extends to exploring how athletes often struggle with identity and energy regulation when formal sports careers end—a transition that left both of us navigating challenging emotional terrain.

The conversation culminates with Thayer sharing how group therapy creates powerful opportunities to "play through" developmental wounds in real-time settings. His explanation of uncoupling relational trauma through authentic interaction offers hope for deeper healing than individual work alone sometimes provides.

Whether you're interested in trauma healing, spiritual practice without bypassing, or understanding your relationship with aggression, this episode offers profound insights from someone who walks both contemplative and therapeutic paths with equal dedication. Listen now and discover how embracing your inner tiger might be the key to authentic wholeness.

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What happens when architectural design meets Somatic Experiencing®? Hannah Milks takes us on a fascinating journey through her work as a trauma-informed designer who applies nervous system knowledge to the pieces of clothing we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

Hannah's path began unusually—with a graduate thesis on trauma-informed police buildings. This exploration led her to question not just how trauma affects people, but how spaces could actively support healing. While completing her SE™ training, Hannah developed a unique perspective that blends architectural concepts like "prospect and refuge" with somatic understanding of how bodies naturally regulate.

The conversation explores practical applications of this work, from simple interventions (like adding air filters to therapy offices) to locating retreat spaces in Costa Rica specifically for caregivers learning to receive support. Hannah shares how architectural elements can create pendulation experiences similar to what happens in SE™ sessions—allowing bodies to move between feelings of safety and expansion in ways that support healing.

In this episode, we also dive into somatic journaling, a practice Hannah developed that helps individuals explore and care for their own nervous systems. Using writing prompts designed with titration and pendulation in mind, participants explore their relationship with their bodies while tracking sensations rather than getting lost in stories.

Most compelling is Hannah's perspective on space as an extension of relationship. From the chairs we sit in to the air we breathe, our environments aren't neutral backgrounds but active participants in our well-being. By understanding how bodies want to heal, we can design spaces that support that process—translating the wisdom of the body into the language of architecture.

For more information about Hannah, you can follow her on Instagram @CleverBabesCo. You can also explore her website at cleverbabes.co.

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What does Superman reveal about our deepest psychological needs and fears? Superman isn't just a superhero – he's a mirror reflecting our cultural psyche and personal values.

Trauma therapists Thayer, Burt, and guest Ali explore what makes this flat-arc character simultaneously compelling and frustrating. Superman's unwavering goodness feels both aspirational and unrealistic to many of us who navigate moral complexities daily. His secure attachment offers a fascinating counterpoint to trauma-origin superheroes, demonstrating how stable, loving parenting can create resilience and moral clarity even when faced with earth-shattering revelations.

The conversation delves briefly into anti-Superman narratives like "The Boys" and "Invincible," exploring what happens when similar powers exist without moral guidance. When Superman chooses not to intervene in geopolitical conflicts despite having the ability, it raises profound questions about boundaries, agency, and responsibility that mirror our own struggles with helping versus controlling.

Most fascinating is how Superman at times functions as a Rorschach test – we see in him what we need or what we fear. His character challenges us to examine where our own moral lines exist. Would we steal medicine to save our child? Would we kill to protect someone we love? Superman's consistent choices illuminate our own moral complexity by contrast.

Whether you're a comic book fan or simply interested in the psychology behind our cultural heroes, this episode offers fresh insights into how Superman continues to captivate our imagination and challenge our understanding of power, goodness, and what it means to be truly heroic in a complicated world.

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Kelly Shaw joins us to explore the transformative power of somatic therapy in addressing trauma through bodywork and touch. Through his unique approach combining acupuncture, osteopathic modalities, and somatic experiencing, Kelly creates a healing environment where bodies can feel safe to receive therapeutic touch.

• Transitioning from acupuncture to somatic experiencing after discovering trauma patterns in clients' bodies
• Developing a therapeutic approach based on three intersecting factors: practitioner's toolset, client's needs, and client's ability to receive
• Understanding body consent as distinct from verbal consent in therapeutic touch
• Working with the female body's history of medicalization and helping clients find authentic boundaries
• Finding the hypotonic (under-resourced) areas rather than just addressing hypertonic (tense) areas
• Taking daily naps as essential practitioner self-care to remain present for clients
• Exploring Body Dynamics as a developmental framework that complements trauma work
• Recognizing when addressing developmental resources is more effective than targeting trauma directly

For those interested in learning more about Kelly's work or to schedule a consultation, visit www.shaweastasianmedicine.com or contact him through the information available on his website.

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In this episode, Joshua and I discuss a wide-range of topics from trauma healing to free will. I enjoyed exploring the playful and profound edges of somatic work and the concept of choice. In this episode, I especially enjoyed the warmth and insight Joshua brought into a thoughtful dialogue. 

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In this episode of Sneaky Powerful, Cindy Brooks shares with Ali and the audience, the ways she integrates SE™ into her work. Cindy provides information and stories of her work with the implementation of intentional time outside, art therapy, and equine therapy. Her wisdom, experience, and heart offer so much hope and opportunity for healing. 

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As a healing community we are increasingly understanding the way trauma can get stored in our bodies, specifically our nervous systems. Dr. Alice Kerby is a doctor of physical therapy in San Diego, CA. Her specialty is working with women in recovery and people living on high alert. In this episode, Dr. Alice and Ali spend time talking about the countervortices of nature and backpacking, how to start moving, and how to stay with ourselves even when we feel overwhelmed. Dr. Alice provides helpful information about awareness and self-care as a way to manage habitual patterns that can create suffering.

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On episode twelve Ali shares some of the personal reasons she loves Somatic Experiencing®. As she works to heal from her own childhood sexual abuse, Ali offers a glimpse of what it's like to work with a particular symptom of her trauma related to inescapable attack. This episode is dedicated to Ali's clients, who show up so courageously and persistently to pursue a "good" life. 

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In episode eleven of Sneaky Powerful, Lexi Frank Newhall, a therapist and SEP in Bozeman, Montana, shares some of her experience and wisdom regarding perinatal mental health. Lexi and Ali share some of their experiences, personally and professionally, that involve new babies, parenting, and romantic relationships when children are added to the mix. Lexi's knowledge and perspective is so valuable and her warm heart is such a gift.

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This episode of Sneaky Powerful highlights the Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (and more), Britt Frank. As Britt and Ali discuss invaluable concepts from Britt's book, The Science of Stuck, several insights are offered. Specifically, the relatable experience of feeling stuck. So many of us have struggled with feelings of immobility or lack of motivation in various areas of our life. Britt's book synthesizes real life examples with the physiology and neurobiology of these experiences. Britt has a a direct wisdom that comes through in her fun personality as well as her effective writing style. Her knowledge slices through sometimes confusing or abstract conceptualizations providing exactly the information we need to move toward healing.

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