Yoga For Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga

Host Liz Albanis talks with integrative trauma therapist and spiritual medium Laurel LeMohn about how early experiences can shape the nervous system even when we have no conscious memory. We dig into trauma-informed yoga, pendulation, glimmers, and why your breath is the one anchor that always comes back with you. 

• Laurel’s theme of transformation and how progress is not linear 
• Letting go of the core belief “I am not worthy” and noticing perfectionism in new forms 
• Infant medical trauma, isolation, and how the body can remember without cognitive memory 
• Mediumship, intuition, and the decision to build stability before opening spiritually 
• Grief and ongoing connection after losing a chosen uncle 
• Grounding practices for regulation, including feet on the earth and simple rituals 
• Ethical containers, consent, and pacing when working with trauma and altered states 
• Pendulation and stopping when resistance appears to avoid re-traumatisation 
• Trauma-informed yoga without needing students to disclose their story 
• Consent tokens, minimal assumptions, and holding space when someone is distressed 
• Mental diet, social media audit, triggers and glimmers as nervous system cues 
• Breathwork training and the reminder that your breath belongs to you 

About Laurel:

Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, wellness coach, and host of the podcast Spiritual Friction. She is the founder of Redwood Coast Psychotherapy and SoulBody Wellness, a wellness practice rooted in community, transformation, and growth. Her work focuses on trauma healing, nervous system regulation, embodiment, spirituality, and authentic storytelling, creating spaces for those seeking greater self-awareness, connection, and emotional clarity.  

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/soulbodywellnesshealth 

https://www.facebook.com/redwoodcoastpsychotherapy

Instagram: 

Websites: 

https://www.soulbodywellness.health

https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com 

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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Host and yoga therapist Liz Albanis shares a candid update on why episodes will no longer be coming out weekly. Liz then pivots into practical advice for anyone pitching themselves as a podcast guest. Liz break down what makes a pitch feel sincere, how to show you’ve done the work, and why supporting the show after you record matters. 

Copy paste pitches are everywhere, and they’re exhausting for hosts to read.  A short bonus announcement with a  behind-the-scenes look at what makes a podcast guest pitch land well and what makes it get deleted fast, 

From both sides of the mic, Liz has learned that the best outreach starts with one thing: intention. Before you email a host, ask whether you  fit the podcast niche, whether you’ve actually listened to the show, and whether you want to be associated with that podcast long term. Then make the pitch specific. I talk through simple ways to prove you listened, what to include so your message stands out, and why hosts can tell when a guest pitching service is spamming on your behalf.


If you’re a podcast host, this is also an encouragement to vet guests and protect your listeners.

• Checking you genuinely fit the podcast niche before pitching 
• Why listening to the show and reading the website and show notes first is important
• Avoiding spammy, copy paste outreach (or obviously AI written and not edited) 
• Making your pitch specific 
• Explaining what you uniquely bring to that audience 
• Supporting the show through promotion, bonus episodes, links, and useful extras (or 5 star reviews which was inadvertently not mentioned in hindsight)
• Offering a pre-interview call and being easy to work with 
• Giving hosts time to respond and understanding block recording 
• Reflecting on intention so the pitch feels aligned and respectful 

Check out this podcast on your favourite channel:

Mic to Millions 

Podcast Guest Businesses mentioned:

Podwritten

Podcast Guests

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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Your breath has been carrying you all day, even when you forget it is there. Host, Liz Albanis who is a certified yoga therapist and a registered senior yoga teacher, guides you into a grounded gratitude meditation. This practice stems from Lifeforce Yoga (founded by Amy Weintraub author of Yoga For Depression, Yoga Skills for Therapists and Yoga For Your Mood Deck). Liz credits her training with Amy, current owner of Lifeforce Yoga (Rose Kress) and her mentor Sherry Rubin for their tutelage.  
Please note that this meditation involves kumbhaka (breath holds and retention) that is contra-indicated in pregnancy and many cardiovascular conditions. The imager (Bhavana) may be contra-indicated in psychosis and mania.

The recording begins with setup guidance. An invitation to practice in what way is comfortable for you. 

• Use props if you want or need
• Keep your eyes open or soften, whichever feels best for you. if you want,
• You're encouraged to let this be “your way today” with no pressure to manufacture gratitude.
• Feel free to pause or discontinue the practice at any time if it doesn't serve you.

A guided gratitude meditation that starts with comfort, choice, and zero pressure to feel anything on demand. Liz then guides a pranayama (yogic breath-work) sequence. This incorporates Havana (imagery) in the form of going up and down a mountain visualisation to pair breath awareness with real, specific gratitude. 

• Settling into a supported position with props and options 
• Breathing softly through the nose and using Liz's  voice as an anchor
• Welcoming sensations, feelings, and thoughts as part of the practice
• Letting gratitude arise naturally rather than forcing it 
• Noticing gratitude for breath and heartbeat 
• Loving through gratitude for eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and feet
• Reflecting on support, technology, and the shift towards santosha
• Introducing optional kumbhaka and a paced mountain breath pattern
• Visualising gratitude across past, yesterday, today, and the future 
• Returning to natural breath, nostril awareness, and grounding to close

Enjoy the practice! 

Please note:
This stair step practice stems from LifeForce Yoga. A style of yoga founded by Amy Weintraub, a pioneer in the field of yoga for mental health. A style developed for working with the mood. She is an inspiration to me and many!  It has been tweaked a little bit to focus on gratitude rather than energy or calm/anxiety. A heartfelt thank you to my teachers, Amy Weintraub, Rose Kress and Sherry Rubin. Click here for more information:
Lifeforce Yoga (owned and run by Rose Kress):

https://yogafordepression.com/

https://amyweintraub.com/

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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“Release your trauma.”

It’s become one of the most common promises in the somatic wellness world. But what if trauma isn’t something sitting inside the body waiting to be removed?

And what happens when you’ve tried therapy, yoga, breathwork or other wellbeing practices and still don’t feel the change you expected?

In Episode 40 of Yoga for Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga, Liz interviews Keri Marino, somatic yoga therapist, senior yoga teacher and founder of The Nourished Woman, for a nuanced conversation about somatic yoga for trauma, trauma integration and nervous system regulation.

Keri challenges the increasingly popular idea that recovering from trauma requires us to physically “release” something stored inside the body. Instead, she offers a different framework: integration.

Rather than trying to remove our past, trauma integration may involve developing a different relationship with our body, nervous system, emotions, choices, relationships and present-day life.

And that distinction matters.

Because when wellness messaging promises that a particular practice will “release trauma,” people who don't experience the promised result can be left wondering: Why didn't it work for me?

In this episode, we explore:

• What “somatic” actually means — and whether all yoga can be considered somatic
• Why intellectual understanding alone may not create a felt connection with the body
• The difference between top-down and bottom-up approaches
• Fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses
• Embodiment, interoception and proprioception
• What the window of tolerance means in trauma-aware practice
• Why Keri prefers trauma integration to the language of “trauma release”
• Why dramatic cathartic experiences aren't necessarily the goal of trauma-informed yoga
• The importance of scope of practice for yoga teachers
• Why choice, consent and agency matter in trauma-aware yoga
• What can happen when someone becomes anxious or experiences panic during yoga
• Why forcing stillness isn't always appropriate for an activated nervous system
• How gentle movement, breath and chanting may be incorporated before restorative practices
• What restorative yoga actually is and how it differs from sleep
• How to choose a yoga class when previous yoga experiences haven't helped
• Keri's experience of religious trauma and reconnecting with spirituality
• Bhakti yoga, devotion and developing a personal relationship with something greater than ourselves
• Why not all yoga is the same and not every practice is appropriate for every person

Keri also shares an experience from earlier in her career when she tried restorative yoga with a client experiencing a panic attack — and why it taught her the importance of meeting the nervous system where it is rather than automatically trying to make someone calm. 

A key question from this episode

Perhaps the question isn't:

“How do I get this trauma out of my body?”

Perhaps a more useful question is:

“How can I develop a safer, more connected relationship with myself now?”

That shift from removal to relationship sits at the heart of this conversation.

If you've tried yoga before and decided it “didn't work,” Keri also offers an important reminder: not all yoga is the same.

The style, pace, environment, teacher, amount of choice you're given and opportunity for genuine rest can all influence your experience.

About Keri Marino

Keri Marino is a somatic yoga therapist and senior yoga teacher with 17 years of experience working at the intersection of yoga and women's mental health. She is the founder of The Nourished Woman — a brand devoted to helping women feel wildly whole, free and at home in themselves through the full depth of yoga practice. Keri works with women one-to-one, hosts The Nourished Woman Podcast and leads The Nourished Woman Sanctuary — a devoted monthly membership where women are initiated into the full depth of yoga as a transformational path. She leads workshops and trainings that bring the devotional yogic tradition to the women who need it most. She is based in Greenville, SC and believes yoga is not stress relief — it's liberation. 

Connect: Instagram Website  Youtube

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

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Join host Liz Albanis (Yoga Therapist and Senior Yoga Teacher) as she reflects on the potential dangers of meditation. Meditation has a reputation as a guaranteed fix, but the truth is messier and far more human. We take on a question that’s been circulating online: can meditation be dangerous? And if it can, how do you tell the difference between a practice that helps you settle and a practice that quietly makes things worse?

We talk about what people often mean when they say “meditation”, especially approaches focused on deep stillness and emptying the mind. For some listeners, that can be nourishing. For others, particularly people living with PTSD, major anxiety, depression, mania, or a history of psychosis, it can be destabilising. We unpack why broad claims like “meditation is always good” or “meditation is bad for everyone” don’t hold up, and we use a simple lens to stay honest: always is always wrong, never is never right.

We also clear up confusion around breathwork and pranayama. In many yoga traditions, breath awareness and subtle breathing techniques can be part of meditation and a doorway into it, but manipulating the breath can also carry risks. From silent retreats to small daily practices, we share practical ways to go slower, choose an anchor when your mind needs one, and treat contraindications seriously. Most importantly, we draw a bright line around scope: yoga teachers aren’t mental health professionals unless they’re also qualified, so if you’re vulnerable, your psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist should be part of the plan.

Key Topics

• The limits of black and white thinking about meditation and yoga. 
• What “emptying the mind” can mean and why it can be risky .
• How PTSD and other mental health challenges can change the impact of meditation 
• Why pranayama and breath awareness can be part of meditation 
• The penicillin analogy for individual differences and contraindications 
• Why silent retreats can be too much and how to start slowly 
• Using mantra, hasta mudras, sound, or movement as an anchor for the mind 
• Why mental health professionals matter more than yoga advice for high-risk histories 

References:
Stephens, Mark. Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations and Techniques. North Atlantic Books, 2010.

Weintraub, Amy. Yoga Skills for Therapists: Effective Practices for Mood Management. W. W. Norton & Company, 2012, (notably p. 27.)

Quote

“If we talked to our children the way we talk to ourselves, we would be arrested for child abuse.”

Often attributed to Mark Twain; original source unverified.

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
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Join host Liz Albanis (Yoga Therapist and Senior Yoga Teacher) as she reflects on a recent mistake she made while on holidays and what that showed her about her own yoga practice. You can be doing everything “right” and still get ambushed by that inner voice that says you’re stupid, behind, or not good enough. Why that happens, how it can be amplified by ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), How yoga offers a practical way through it via svadhyaya, the practice of self-study from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Liz explains how mindful yoga practice has the potential to build real-life resilience.  Not through perfection, but through awareness, breath, and a kinder response to mistakes.
Liz unpacks what svadhyaya looks like on the mat in asana, pranayama, and meditation. Why “mindless yoga” can miss the point. lnd paying attention to the thoughts that arise when you get the sequence wrong or feel challenged. Those reactions often mirror how we handle stress off the mat, which is exactly why yoga for trauma can be so transformational when it’s practised with care and support. 

•  svadhyaya as the fourth niyama and a foundation for mind training 
• Self-study on the mat through breath, sensation, and noticing reactions 
• Repeated thought patterns and habits that shape suffering 
• Why criticism can hit harder with ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria 
• Using discomfort in poses as a doorway to awareness 
• The witness perspective in meditation to reduce judgement and build freedom 
• Taking practice off the mat through journalling and daily pauses

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
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Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

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Host, Liz Albanis  unpacks what somatic yoga actually means.  Somatic yoga is trending these days. It is often used like a magic stamp: regulate your nervous system, release trauma, heal fast. It doesn't guarantee catharsis. Nor an instant emotional release. Just the radical, practical shift from chasing a shape to sensing what’s happening inside you. But is it actually different? Or is it just for click bait, likes  and search engine optimisation? The word somatic is getting stretched into a marketing claim across the wellness industry. Liz also describes modern yoga. Why it's became so visual. A lot of postural classes reward flexibility, perfect alignment, and a certain look, sometimes to the point where mindfulness and interoception get lost. 

Key Topics:

• Defining somatic as the living body experienced from within 
• Modern yoga, traditional yoga and somatic yoga
• Nervous system regulation and yoga
• Top down versus bottom up cueing in yoga and why it matters
• What bottom-up cues look like and how they build interoception and agency 
• separating buzzwords from real nervous system regulation 
• Contrasting traditional yoga’s mind training with modern postural yoga 
• How trauma can shape breath, posture, tension, and body awareness 
• Yoga is not gymnastics 
• Ethics and scope of practice. Should yoga teachers be promising to release trauma?  
  
  

When teaching yoga becomes top-down and comparative, yoga can start to feel like a performance or even a gymnastics class.

About the host:
Liz Albanis is a certified yoga therapist in Australia. She is also registered senior teacher with Yoga Australia. Having taught for over 14 years, over 1000 hours and completed over 1,000 hours of training. She helps people online and in person. As well as mentors fellow yoga teachers.

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
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Host Liz Albanis invited you to try a trauma informed meditative relaxation. A progressive muscle relaxation, to help you to start noticing sensations in your body. Trauma can often cause a disconnect. If this is you, that's common and there's nothing wrong with this. Your body can learn the difference between being told to “relax” and being helped to feel supported.  
If you’ve been carrying stress in your jaw, shoulders, hands, or feet, this is a gentle way to come back to yourself.

You can practise: 

• Lying down or seated:
• With props if you’ve got them and want to}. Props may aid  your muscles and mind to soften.
• Whatever lighting feels most supportive.
• With someone or by yourself, again what feels most supportive.
• Feel free to discontinue the practice at any time. It's your practice and no one else's. 
• Feel free to add music.

If you're curious to know more before we start:

 Starting with simple breath awareness. Breathing softly through the nose if it’s available, noticing where the breath lands, and letting my voice be an anchor when your attention drifts. There’s no pressure to do it “right”. You’re welcome to adjust, keep your eyes open, pause, or even fall asleep. That permission is part of the practice, and it’s why this guided meditation can work so well for anxiety, burnout, and bedtime wind-down.

Halfway through, an invitation to introduce a sankalpa. A heartfelt intention or affirmation you plant quietly in the background. Then we moving into progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), tensing and releasing key muscle groups. So you can feel the contrast between effort and ease.  Finish with a full body release into the ground, a moment many people notice as warmth, lightness, or calm.

If this helped, subscribe for more guided mindfulness and relaxation practices, share it with a friend who needs a reset, What did you notice first when you let gWe guide a slow, supportive meditation that helps you settle your body, soften your breath, and feel safe enough to relax. We layer in a sankalpa intention and progressive muscle relaxation so you can notice the clear difference between tension and ease.

Important disclaimer: about the words “healing,” “recovery” and “therapeutic”: These terms are used throughout this podcast and accompanying content in a general, educational and experiential sense. They are not intended to imply or guarantee that yoga, yoga therapy, somatic practices or any other practice will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent trauma, PTSD, anxiety or any other medical or mental health condition. Individual experiences and outcomes vary. This content is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalised medical, psychological or other professional healthcare. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified health professional regarding your individual circumstances.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

Instagram:  Youtube

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

Instagram:  Youtube

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the show? We’d love a review!
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want to make video and audio editing quicker and simpler? Get 50% off the first 2 months of the Descript Creator Monthly Plan. 

Instagram:  Youtube