Episode 3 explores how trauma lives in the body, how we work with it through various modalities, and the miracle of survival. The hosts discuss the Prison Compassion Project, the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system, somatic practices, and the power of community in healing. This episode bridges understanding trauma with practical approaches to working with it.

Content Warning: This episode discusses trauma, PTSD, childhood adverse experiences, and includes references to violence. Please practice self-care while listening.

Sarah Furuya - Coach & Facilitator (20 years coaching experience, psychology/biology background)

Mary Stanley - Human Services student with minor in Trauma & Resilience

María Paula Farfán - Prison Compassion Project trauma-informed facilitator

Paula Esguerra - Meditation & yoga teacher, All Here meditation monitoring project

The 3 E's of Trauma (Revisited)

• Event - What actually happened (cannot be changed)
• Experience - Your personal interpretation (can be reframed)
• Effect - How it's stored in body and mind (can be addressed)

Trauma & Resilience

• Why they're taught together as "sisters born of the same experience"
• Trauma separates us; talking about trauma reunites us
• Growth comes not by erasing trauma, but by honoring survival

ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)

• Originated from 1998 CDC/Kaiser Permanente study of 70,000+ people
• 10 experiences across 3 categories: abuse, neglect, dysfunctional household
• Occurring between ages 0-18
• Scores of 4+ correlate with increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke
• "What happened to you" shapes reactions and behaviors

The Nervous System

• Sympathetic (fight/flight/freeze/fawn) - Survival mode responses
• Parasympathetic (rest/digest) - Where healing happens
• How trauma keeps us stuck in survival mode long-term

Body-Mind Connection

• Japanese concept: Kokoro (心) - means both "heart" and "mind/spirit" together
• In many cultures, body and mind aren't separated
• Trauma stored in body even when we understand it intellectually

"The Only Way Out Is Through" - You can run from pain, but it will catch you. Unprocessed trauma manifests as autoimmune disease, addiction, and physical illness.

"When You Can Name What You're Feeling, You Can Work On It" - Trauma awareness helps people understand their rage, reactions, and behaviors stem from trauma, not their core identity.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Protection - The body's survival responses (increased heart rate, narrowed vision, blood to limbs) are meant to be temporary. When they become chronic due to unprocessed trauma, they damage the body.

Mining Trauma for Mission - Traumatic experiences, when processed, can become sources of wisdom, purpose, and strength (Justice Albie Sachs example).

"Not More Than a Friend, Not Less Than a Friend" - Mark Whitwell's teaching on holding space without hierarchy in yoga/healing work.

Embodying Information - It's not enough to be trauma-informed; we must embody, integrate, and live from that information.

Mentioned in podcast

Prison Compassion Project - Trauma-informed circles combining education and yoga in prisons (US and Argentina)

All Here - Paula Esguerra's meditation monitoring project using brain wave...