Movement Is Medicine. Healing Is a Skill. Strength Begins with Showing Up.

What if pain is not something to fight, but something trying to teach you how to live differently in your body?

In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation, I sit down with Tom Morrison for a raw and honest conversation about how movement becomes a pathway through stress, anxiety, injury, and the quiet weight of depression that often follows when the body stops feeling like home. This is not about training harder. This is about learning how to trust yourself again, one small movement at a time.

We explore how mobility, strength, and mindset work together to create long-term resilience, why pain is often a signal asking for change rather than something to fear, and how ego can silently sabotage healing, recovery, and progress. Tom shares his personal journey from injury to confidence, and we unpack how community, routine, and consistency can become powerful tools for stress management, emotional regulation, and rebuilding identity after physical and psychological setbacks.

This conversation is for athletes navigating injury, coaches supporting people under pressure, veterans carrying invisible weight, and anyone living with chronic stress, anxiety, or low mood who is searching for a way back into their body. Because healing is not dramatic. It is daily. It is quiet. And it begins with showing up when motivation disappears.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Movement and Healing
02:48 Strength and Flexibility in Recovery
05:59 Pain, Injury, and Mental Shifts
09:00 Identity, Stress, and the Injured Body
11:39 Community and Emotional Support
14:32 Simple Movements and Daily Progress
17:29 Injury, Recovery, and Real Life Experience
20:39 Confidence, Consistency, and Mental Strength
23:18 Routine, Stress Management, and Healing
26:10 Ego, Pressure, and Setbacks
29:12 Mobility for Long-Term Health
31:51 Patience, Anxiety, and Sustainable Progress
34:39 Coaching Through Injury and Burnout
37:38 Mindset for Leaders Under Pressure
40:40 Long-Term Health and Emotional Resilience
43:31 Final Reflections on Movement and Healing

movement, healing, strength, flexibility, injury recovery, mindset, coaching, mobility, community, routine, stress, stress management, anxiety, depression, emotional wellbeing, mental health, trauma recovery, movement heals the mind, athlete mental health, physical rehabilitation, identity after injury, sustainable training, long-term health, resilience, recovery mindset, coaching psychology

This Is Not Just a Military Story. It’s a Human One.

In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation, I sit down with military veteran Rick Clement to explore what happens after the uniform comes off, when service, injury, and identity after military life collide, and the real work of rebuilding, recovery, and purpose after service begins.

Rick reflects on joining the UK Armed Forces, the bonds formed through military camaraderie, and his Afghanistan deployment during Op Herrick, serving with the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment and the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. Along the way, he shares a simple but powerful truth: “It’s not just about medals, it’s about the people and the journey behind them.”

The conversation moves into veterans’ mental health, rehabilitation and resilience, and the role of support systems and charities for injured veterans in helping people find their footing again after life-changing injury and trauma. Rick speaks openly about learning to rebuild his life after losing both legs, and how community, humour, movement, and small, achievable goals became foundations for independence, healing, and trauma recovery. As he puts it, “Talking is huge — connection changes everything.”

If you care about veteran stories, mental health in the armed forces, injury recovery journeys, resilience after deployment, transformation through training, healing through community, and finding identity and purpose after service, this military resilience podcast episode offers perspective, compassion, and something meaningful to carry into your own life.

💬 COMMENT: What has helped you stay resilient during a difficult season?
🔔 SUBSCRIBE: For thoughtful conversations on trauma, recovery, and the role of movement, connection, and community in mental health.📰 Join the community on Substack – Transformation Through Training:
👉 https://substack.commilitary veteran podcast, veterans mental health, Op Herrick Afghanistan, Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, injury recovery journey, rehabilitation and resilience, trauma recovery podcast, military camaraderie, identity after service, healing through community, transformation after injury, support systems for veterans, purpose after military service, mental health in the armed forces, life after deployment, recovery and independence, resilience stories podcast, UK military veterans

This isn’t just a rugby league conversation.
It’s a story about identity, pain, resilience, and the fight that never leaves you.

In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation, Dr James Alder sits down with rugby league legend Micky Mcilorum for a raw, powerful, and deeply human conversation about life inside elite professional sport, and the cost of surviving it.

From his upbringing and the roots of his toughness, to the emotional and psychological toll of injury, criticism, and constant pressure, Micky opens up about the realities fans rarely see. Drawing on his journey across Super League, including his time with Wigan Warriors, Hull KR, and Catalans Dragons, this episode explores how elite sport shapes identity, tests self-belief, and forces adaptation without losing core values.

Together, James and Micky unpack resilience in rugby league, mental health in sport, the evolution of coaching cultures, and what true toughness really means. This is not about highlight reels, it’s about effort, commitment, and the inner strength built through struggle.

Whether you’re an athlete, coach, veteran, or someone navigating your own personal battles, this episode is a reminder that the fighter within doesn’t fade, it grows stronger through adversity.

Key themes explored:
• Resilience and identity in professional rugby league
• The psychological impact of injury and setbacks
• Self-belief, discipline, and core values
• Mental health awareness in elite sport
• Toughness beyond physicality
• Coaching, leadership, and cultural change
• Growth through struggle and adversity

If you would like to support my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space toheal.

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#TraumaTrainingTransformation #RugbyLeagueLegend #SuperLeague #WiganWarriors #HullKR #CatalansDragons #MentalHealthInSport #Resilience #AthleteMindset #EliteSport #SportsPsychology #InjuryRecovery #SelfBelief #Toughness #Leadership #CoachingCulture #Identity #PerformancePsychology #HealingThroughMovement

In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation, host James Alder sits down with Emma Taylor, a former Canadian international rugby player from Nova Scotia, now competing in professional women’s rugby with Ealing Trail Finders.

Emma shares her journey through rugby, from her early influences and development pathways to the challenge of transitioning into the national team environment. She speaks honestly about the physical demands of elite rugby, but also about the emotional and psychological pressures that often remain unseen in professional sport. This conversation explores resilience in rugby, mental health in women’s sport, and the complex relationship between identity, performance, and transition.

Throughout the episode, Emma reflects on how community support played a crucial role in her development, how playing rugby in different countries shaped her perspective, and how learning to adapt her role within different team environments strengthened her both as an athlete and a person. She also speaks candidly about stepping back from the national team, finding renewed purpose in supporting teammates, and redefining what strength means beyond physical toughness.

This episode highlights the emotional demands of professional sport, particularly for female athletes, and why those demands are so often overlooked. Emma’s story offers valuable insight for young female rugby players, encouraging them to pursue their passion for sport on their own terms, focus on personal growth, and define success for themselves rather than feeling pressure to meet national or external expectations.

If you are interested in women’s rugby, professional athletes, mental resilience, sport psychology, athlete transition, or how movement supports mental health, this episode offers an honest and grounded exploration of what it truly takes to thrive in high performance environments.

If this episode spoke to you, inspired you, or simply made you feel a little less alone, I would love for you to stay connected. Follow and subscribe to Trauma, Training and Transformation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. You can also watch every episode in full on my YouTube channel JamesAlder 003 and join my community on Substack through Transformation Through Training, where I share deeper reflections, writing, and resources that support recovery and personal growth.

Your engagement genuinely matters. Every follow, every share, every comment or message helps this community reach more people who are navigating their own battles. It allows me to keep creating honest conversations about healing, movement, identity, and resilience.

If you would like to support my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space to heal.

#womensrugby#athletementalhealth#sportpsychology#rugbymentalhealth#resilienceinsport#femaleathletes#highperformancesport#athleteidentity#traumatrainingtransformation

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In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation, Dr. James Alder sits down with Jamin Hodgkins for a conversation that goes far beyond rugby.

This is not a highlight reel.
It is a reckoning.

From Bermuda to Canada to the UK, Jamin’s journey exposes the hidden cost of chasing performance across borders, systems, and expectations. What happens when your body keeps moving forward, but your identity is left behind? When selection, contracts, and coaches begin to shape who you believe you are?

Together, we unpack the silent pressure young athletes carry. The weight of proving you belong. The fear of standing still. The mental toll of constantly being assessed, ranked, and compared. Jamin speaks candidly about mentors who steadied him, moments that tested him, and the internal battles that never show up on a team sheet.

At its core, this episode asks uncomfortable but necessary questions:
Who are you when rugby is taken away?
What does resilience actually look like when no one is watching?
And how do support systems, honesty, and self awareness become performance tools, not weaknesses?

This is a conversation about movement as survival. About training as structure. About growth that starts in the mind long before it shows in the body.

If you are an athlete, coach, parent, or anyone navigating pressure, identity, or transition, this episode is for you.

#TraumaTrainingTransformation

If this episode spoke toyou, inspired you, or simply made you feel a little less alone, I would lovefor you to stay connected. Follow and subscribe to Trauma, Training andTransformation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. You can alsowatch every episode in full on my YouTube channel JamesAlder-003 and join mycommunity on Substack through Transformation Through Training, where I sharedeeper reflections, writing, and resources that support recovery and personalgrowth.

Your engagement genuinelymatters. Every follow, every share, every comment or message helps thiscommunity reach more people who are navigating their own battles. It allows meto keep creating honest conversations about healing, movement, identity, and resilience.

If you would like tosupport my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your supporthelps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space toheal.

Buy Me a Coffee orSupport Me – https://buymeacoffee.com/jamesalder003

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In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation, I sit down with Matt Gallant, an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach in English Premiership rugby, to explore what it truly means to build stronger humans rather than just stronger athletes.

We move beyond the weight room and into the real demands of high performance sport. Pressure. Identity. Emotional load. And the psychological resilience required to survive and thrive in elite environments.

Matt speaks openly about the responsibility of shaping athletes under constant expectation, how he balances performance with wellbeing, and why the inner work matters just as much as physical output. This is a conversation about leadership, trust, and creating environments where athletes can grow without breaking.

As a military veteran living with PTSD, this podcast is part of my own journey of healing through movement. This episode sits at the heart of that mission. It explores how training can become therapy, how strength is rebuilt from the inside out, and why human first coaching matters more than ever.

If this episode spoke to you, inspired you, or simply made you feel a little less alone, I would love for you to stay connected. Follow and subscribe to Trauma, Training and Transformation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. You can also watch every episode in full on my YouTube channel JamesAlder 003 and join my community on Substack through Transformation Through Training, where I share deeper reflections, writing, and resources that support recovery and personal growth.

Your engagement genuinely matters. Every follow, every share, every comment or message helps this community reach more people who are navigating their own battles. It allows me to keep creating honest conversations about healing, movement, identity, and resilience.

If you would like to support my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space to heal.

Listen now and join the conversation on what real strength really means.

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In this episode, I sit down with rugby coach Stuart Edwards for an honest and timely conversation about coaching, vulnerability, and mental health. We explore what it really means to support coaches in high pressure environments and why connection, not invincibility, is the foundation of effective leadership and wellbeing.

Stuart challenges the long held belief that coaches must carry everything alone. He speaks openly about the stigma around asking for help, particularly among men, and reframes vulnerability as a professional strength rather than a weakness. Throughout the conversation, we return to one central idea: support should not be reactive or crisis driven, it should be built into coaching cultures from the start.

This episode is about normalising honest conversations, reducing stress through connection, and putting practical wellbeing frameworks in place so coaches feel supported, heard, and valued. Sometimes support is not complicated. Sometimes it is just a question, an answer, or a phone call that reminds someone they are not alone.

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In high-performance sport, resilience isn’t optional, it’s the foundation.
In this episode, we sit down with the incredible Emma Delory, a coach whose leadership, clarity, and compassion redefine what true athlete support looks like. Emma opens up about navigating selection and deselection with integrity, building strong coaching relationships, and setting expectations that help athletes grow, even through the toughest moments.

If you're interested in resilience, high performance, coaching, athlete support, and the real emotional journey behind selection decisions, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends.

If this episode spoke toyou, inspired you, or simply made you feel a little less alone, I would love for you to stay connected. Follow and subscribe to @Trauma, Training and Transformation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. You can also watch every episode in full on my YouTube channel JamesAlder-003 and join my community on Substack through Transformation Through Training, where I share deeper reflections, writing, and resources that support recovery and personalgrowth.

Your engagement genuinelymatters. Every follow, every share, every comment or message helps this community reach more people who are navigating their own battles. It allows me to keep creating honest conversations about healing, movement, identity, and resilience.

If you would like tosupport my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space to heal.

Buy Me a Coffee orSupport Me – https://buymeacoffee.com/jamesalder003

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In this episode I sit down with Sabeeha Somani to explore the deeper meaning of yoga and why it has become such an important practice for mental health. Sabeeha shares her journey from competitive gymnastics to finding yoga as a space where she could breathe again, release pressure, and reconnect with herself. We talk about how breath control can calm the mind, how movement can unlock emotions that have been held inside for years, and how yoga gently guides people towards self acceptance and inner peace.

As many listeners know, I live with PTSD. This podcast is part of my own healing journey. These conversations help me make sense of my experiences, stay grounded, and offer support to others who might be silently struggling. Yoga has been one of the tools that helped me rebuild parts of myself that trauma had taken, and this episode reflects the hope and strength that movement can bring.

If this conversation speaks to you or supports you in any way, I would be grateful if you would consider buying me a coffee. It helps me continue creating episodes that reach people who feel lost, overwhelmed, or in need of a reminder that they are not alone.

If this episode spoke to you, inspired you, or simply made you feel a little less alone, I would love for you to stay connected. Follow and subscribe to Trauma, Training and Transformation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Podcasts. You can also watch every episode in full on my YouTube channel JamesAlder003, and join my community on Substack through Transformation Through Training, where I share deeper reflections, writing, and resources that support recovery and personal growth.

Your engagement genuinely matters. Every follow, every share, every comment or message helps this community reach more people who are navigating their own battles. It allows me to keep creating honest conversations about healing, movement, identity, and resilience.

If you would like to support my work directly, you can do so through Buy Me A Coffee. Your support helps me continue this mission to give others hope, strength, and a space to heal.

Buy Me a Coffee or Support Me
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In this episode of Trauma Training and Transformation, Dr. James Alder and performance coach Charlie Blaxland discuss the evolution of fitness from a purely physical endeavor to a mindful practice that promotes mental well-being. They explore the importance of motivation, discipline, and community in fitness, the impact of social media, and the significance of nutrition and breathing in achieving a balanced lifestyle. The conversation emphasizes the transformative power of movement and the necessity of creating a supportive environment in gyms for individuals of all abilities.

Keywords

fitness, mental health, mindful movement, personal training, motivation, discipline, nutrition, community, body image, transformation

Takeaways

Fitness can evolve from pushing the body to healing the mind.

Discipline is key to building a consistent fitness routine.

Social media can motivate people to start their fitness journey.

Community in the gym can enhance the workout experience.

Mental health benefits are a primary reason people seek fitness.

Fitness should be viewed as a lifestyle, not a temporary fix.

Breathing techniques can improve performance and mindfulness.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in overall health and fitness.

Movement is essential for both physical and mental well-being.

It's important to embrace imperfection and be kind to oneself in the fitness journey.

YouTube - James Alder - YouTubeSubstack - James Alder | SubstackInstagram - @transformationthroughtraining

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