This week, I sit down with Steve and Keri Swayer to do discuss Trauma Center Sensitive Yoga and the DTTI (Developmental Trauma Training Institute).

Keri Sawyer is an advanced yoga facilitator, seasoned speaker, and trainer with over a decade of experience in trauma-sensitive practices. She is the Founder of Openview Yoga and Co-Founder and Somatic Director at the Developmental Trauma Training Institute (DTTI). Keri also serves as Trainer Coordinator and Liaison for the Center for Trauma and Embodiment. Through these roles, Keri helps programs and organizations integrate body-based therapies and practices into their trauma-sensitive frameworks. She regularly consults with therapists, yoga facilitators, and other professionals to bring embodied approaches into clinical and community settings. As a licensed trainer in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Keri has supported professionals and communities in developing compassionate, body-centered practices that emphasize safety, choice, and present-moment awareness. She is deeply dedicated to creating spaces that empower individuals to reconnect with themselves and foster genuine healing. Through her facilitation, mentorship, and collaborative leadership, Keri continues to inspire both students and professionals in the fields of trauma recovery and embodied practice.

https://www.openviewyoga.com/ https://www.dtti.co/trauma-sensitive-yoga

Books Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body https://www.marcusbooks.com/book/9781038758026 Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment https://www.marcusbooks.com/book/9780393709506 Surviving Modern Yoga: Cult Dynamics, Charismatic Leaders, and What Survivors Can Teach Us

https://www.marcusbooks.com/book/9798889840107v

This rebroadcast is in memory of Jubi Arriola-Headley, who passed on October 17, 2025. He will be very greatly missed.

Black History/Pride/ Celebration Returning guest Jubi Arriola-Headley and I chat about their new book of Poetry Bound. We discuss the work and motivation/stories behind this collection of poems. We read several of them, and I hope you share them. Links https://www.justjubi.com https://www.instagram.com/jubijustjubi/ Bound https://www.perseabooks.com/bound

This week, I sit down with Candace "Coach Felyne" Liger to discuss TINK (Trauma-Informed Consensual Kink).

Originally from Mississippi, Candace is a NASM-certified fitness coach, BDSM/KINK coach, consent and harm reduction educator, and founder of the Center for Body Autonomy. With over 20 years of experience in kink and BDSM communities, and a background rooted in social justice and wellness, their work centers pleasure, inclusion, and liberation—supporting all bodies to thrive.

As a BDSM/KINK coach, Candace has facilitated workshops nationwide, including Felyne Fetish Fitness, which blends exercise with power dynamics, spoken word, and radical consent. They have also been featured as a TEDx Speaker and presented at events such as Sex on Stage (FL), Sex Down South Conference (ATL), Black Love Convergence (NC), and Whoreible Decisions (TX). A graduate of the National Organization of Victim Advocates' Academy, they have organized national campaigns examining the impacts of racial and gender-based oppression, sexual violence, and mass incarceration.

Their most recent campaign, #ConsentConscious, calls for comprehensive, trauma- informed consent education to strengthen both wellness and pleasure practices. Central to this work is Trauma-Informed Consensual Kink (TICK)—a reflective framework created by Black kink practitioners to deepen self, relational, and environmental awareness at the intersections of consent, pleasure, safety, and trauma.

🌐 www.TraumaInformedKink.com 📸 Instagram: Coach Felyne | TraumaInformedKink

Candace Liger - Founder www.CenterforBodyAutonomy.com www.ConsentConscious.com

On this episode, I sit down with Dr. Linnea Swanson, Psy.D, M.A., and LMFT. We talk about Brainspotting, training as a consultant, and her work in South Korea.

Linnea Swanson, Psy.D., M.A., LMFT (she/her/hers) is a Brainspotting Trainer and owner of Twinflower Psychological Services, LLC, located on the ancestral land of the Dakhóta people, now known as Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Swanson has been a therapist for over 20 years having worked in school, county, and private practice settings. She recently ended her 17 year teaching career as a professor in several different MFT graduate programs. She is currently in private practice and leads Brainspotting trainings in the U.S. and South Korea. Dr. Swanson's clinical practice is focused on working with individuals, couples and families. Dr. Swanson has a particular interest in working with adult transracial, transnational adoptees, interracial couples and couples in CNM relationships.

Links:

https://twinflowerpsych.com/index.html Brainspotting Consultant Training: https://twinflowerpsych.com/brainspotting-consultation-certification-and-cit-program.html

I sit down with Agatha Peters, author and psychotherapist. We talk about narcissm, recognizing and understanding it, and then how to go about healing from it.

A Nigerian-American psychotherapist, Agatha Peters is the founder of Beautiful Sunshine Therapy and the author of Trapped in Their Script: Reclaim Your Life from Narcissistic Parents & Cultural Expectations. She is dedicated to helping adult children of narcissistic parents, especially those from collectivist cultures, where family loyalty often overshadows individual well-being. Having experienced the healing power of therapy herself, she is passionate about helping others discover the same transformation and offers guidance on embracing one's identity while respecting cultural ties.

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agatha-peters-6209659a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19AW9BHBNM/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautifulsunshinetherapy?igsh=amR0dGhkbXVtbWQ1&utm_source=qr

"God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlxZHePuSOY&list=RDMlxZHePuSOY&start_radio=1

This rebroadcast is in memory of Jubi Arriola-Headley, who passed on October 17, 2025. He will be very greatly missed.

On this episode, I chat with JUBI ARRIOLA-HEADLEY, a Blacqueer poet, storyteller, and author of the poetry collection Original Kink. We discuss their poetry, creating, how they work is part of their mental health, and life as. Black Gay Men. Jubi share the opportunity they found, and the reality of publishing Poetry.

Jubi's Links: [email protected]

www.justjubi.com

https://www.justfemmeanddandy.com/vol-02

Pen America: https://pen.org/emerging-voices-fellowship/

This week, I sit down with Aja Evans, author of Feel Good Finance. We talk about how finances can tie into feelings of self-worth, therapy and talking about finances, and changing our perspectives around our money and how we deal with it.

Aja Evans is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, speaker, and author specializing in Financial Therapy. With over a decade of experience, Aja is determined to help more people break the taboo of keeping money and emotions secret. In addition to her practice, Aja is the president on the board of the Financial Therapy Association, consults with FinTech companies, and is the author of Feel Good Finance, available on book sites. Aja has been featured in a variety of major news outlets including The New York Times, Business Insider, NerdWallet, Time, and Teen Vogue. Aja is on a mission to get more people engaged in living their best lives while attuning to their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around money. Outside of work, you can find Aja chasing after her two young children as they hunt down the next delicious place to eat.

Links:

@AjaETherapy

AjaEvansCounseling.com

https://bookshop.org/p/books/feel-good-finance-untangle-your-relationship-with-money-for-better-mental-emotional-and-financial-well-being-aja-evans/84e09cbe907b38fe?ean=9781637745434&next=t&

Center for Financial Social Work: https://financialsocialwork.com/

Trauma of Money: https://www.thetraumaofmoney.com/

Financial Therapy Association: https://financialtherapyassociation.org/

This week, I sit down with hiphop artist Ken$on to talk about masculinity and Hip Hop. We discuss the definition and history of Hip hop, toxic masculinity, and Ken$on's approach to music.

Oakland born and Berkeley raised lyricist and activist Emmanuel "Ken$on" Williams blends authentic, skillful lyricism with street-level social commentary to tackle the root causes of systemic inequities. By tracing the dubious links between the financiers behind the world's most exploitative industries, Ken$on stands as a compelling example of true independence. Ken$on's grassroots journey has enabled him to create his own musical architecture—from passing out demos on Dropbox to launching immersive digital album experiences and his own streaming app. Unfazed by the mainstream media's constraints, Ken$on carves his own path, confident that his vision will attract a dedicated following. Ken$on's dynamic stage presence energizes the Oakland First Fridays $MOAK Cypher at the Alan Bluebird Center for Justice, a showcase he curates, hosts, and performs with the $MOAK Collective—empowering the next wave of Bay Area independent artists. To learn more or support Ken$on's grassroots movement, visit copsshouldntmurderpeople.com.

$moak Collective https://linktr.ee/smoakcollective

On this episode, Mercedes Samudio joins me to talk about the limited-run Marvel series Eyes of Wakanda.

Mercedes Samudio works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also trained in trauma-informed modalities which she uses in her work with parents to help them heal the past traumas that can influence the ways parents interact with themselves and their children.

Links:

Silver Screams (on The Old Ways Podcast): https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/5wspodcast

Reunion of Threads: https://youtu.be/1RhfiWKzn3Q?si=INcumBDFbO60Ahi1

The Black God's Drums: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Gods-Drums-Dj%C3%A8l%C3%AD-Clark/dp/1250294711

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin : https://www.ursulakleguin.com/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas

"The Ones Who Stay and Fight" by N.K. Jemisin: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-ones-who-stay-and-fight/

The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas: https://www.marcusbooks.com/book/9781479806072

Mercedes Samudio and I sit down to discuss the new Marvel film The Fantastic Four.

Mercedes Samudio works with parents around the world in developing a healthy parental identity with her revolutionary Parental Identity Development Model and incorporating her Shame-Proof Parenting philosophy to help reduce the shame parents experience as they raise healthy children. Mercedes is also trained in trauma-informed modalities which she uses in her work with parents to help them heal the past traumas that can influence the ways parents interact with themselves and their children.