In Season 1 - Episode 5 of Logos, Jennifer Nelson speaks with yoga teacher Gena Kenny about the long road of recovery after trauma, and how gentle, embodied practices can help regulate the nervous system over time. This conversation focuses on why restorative yoga, somatic movement, sound healing, and Yoga Nidra can create the conditions for real healing, not as a quick fix, but through consistent practice and safety. In this episode, Jennifer shares her personal journey from feeling broken and frozen to slowly reclaiming her body, her breath, and her sense of inner safety. Gena explains the philosophy and mechanics behind her approach, including how presence, rest, and guided awareness support the body’s natural healing response.

https://genakenny.com.au/

https://www.youtube.com/@genakennyyoga9598

The Book mentioned: Overcoming Trauma through Yoga

Reclaiming Your Body by David Emerson Elizabeth Hopper

(Please purchase through your locally owned bookstores)

Key topics

• Jennifer Nelson shares how a year of restorative yoga helped her recover from trauma and begin regulating her nervous system.
• Gena Kenny explains how her own yoga journey began 30 years ago after a knee injury while working as a firefighter.
• In this episode: yoga is framed as a path to healing the body and also to honoring yourself and living in your own truth.
• Gena shares the influence of Hawaiian philosophy, especially the idea of being pa’a, or solid, by knowing who you are and what you are here for.
• The conversation explores how trauma, grief, fear, and chronic stress can freeze the body and keep someone in a state of protection.
• Jennifer describes how slow, gentle classes helped her move trapped grief out of her body and gradually feel safe enough to rest.
• Gena explains that the nervous system needs both sympathetic energy and parasympathetic rest, and that many people have never truly learned how to relax.
• The episode breaks down how somatic movement, restorative yoga, and inquiry into breath and sensation can help the body self-regulate.
• Gena discusses Yoga Nidra as a guided practice that helps access deeper brain and unconscious patterns, supporting better sleep and deeper rest.
• Jennifer and Gena also talk about mudras, sound bowls, music, and the layered healing effect of combining multiple practices in one class.