EP64: Beyond Talk Therapy: Transforming Trauma Through Embodied Practice with Charna Cassell

09/05/2025 48 min Episodio 64
EP64: Beyond Talk Therapy: Transforming Trauma Through Embodied Practice with Charna Cassell

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Episode Synopsis

In this episode, Alex talks with Charna Cassell, a Trauma-Trained Psychotherapist and Sexuality Coach  from Oakland who combines somatic coaching, bodywork, and energy medicine in her practice. Charna explains why talk therapy often fails to create change in trauma recovery, and how physical practices can transform the nervous system in ways cognitive understanding cannot.Charna shares her journey through "boundary bootcamp" at Good Vibrations and her training at the Strozzi Institute. "I really needed physical practice," she says about why ten years of talk therapy created awareness but didn't change her nervous system responses.Throughout the conversation, Charna demonstrates somatic exercises that reveal embodied habits. She explains how our bodies show our patterns under minimal stress and introduces the concept that "until you have an embodied No, you can't have a genuine Yes." The episode covers how repetition creates new neural pathways—like a deer path that becomes visible after being walked repeatedly—and how practice transforms boundaries from rigid or absent to compassionate.Key Highlights: 00:00 Introduction to Charna04:06 Boundary bootcamp experience10:15 Strozzi Institute training14:47 Current practice overview18:36 Contact exercise demonstration24:02 Freeze response explained27:45 Boundary progression stages31:42 Healing relationship boundaries33:16 Bodywork benefits described37:54 Kundalini yoga journey40:31 Managing collective fear42:27 Breath of fire technique44:04 Ways to work with CharnaLinks & ResourcesWebsite: https://charnacassell.com/Website:https://passionatelife.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laidopenpodcastFacebookL: https://www.facebook.com/LaidOpenPodcast/ Podcast: https://charnacassell.com/laidopen/Find us Online: Sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the power of embodiment:https://www.redbeardsomatictherapy.com/Follow us on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedBeardSomaticTherapyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/redbeardsomatictherapyLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermgreene

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