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 Charna
• 04:06 Boundary bootcamp experience
• 10:15 Strozzi Institute training
• 14:47 Current practice overview
• 18:36 Contact exercise demonstration
• 24:02 Freeze response explained
• 27:45 Boundary progression stages
• 31:42 Healing relationship boundaries
• 33:16 Bodywork benefits described
• 37:54 Kundalini yoga journey
• 40:31 Managing collective fear
• 42:27 Breath of fire technique
• 44:04 Ways to work with Charna

Links & Resources

• Website: https://charnacassell.com/
• Website:https://passionatelife.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laidopenpodcast
• FacebookL: https://www.facebook.com/LaidOpenPodcast/
• Podcast: https://charnacassell.com/laidopen/

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In this episode of the Red Beard Embodiment podcast, host Alex welcomes Simona Irwin and Layah Jane Singer-Wilson for a genuine conversation about Five Rhythms dance as a pathway to befriending fear and healing trauma.

The guests share their personal stories – Simona recounting her first Five Rhythms experience that brought unexpected tears after years of emotional blockage during her health struggles, and Layah describing how movement became her medicine during a pivotal health crisis in her twenties. Together, they discuss their collaborative course "BEFRIENDING EMBODIED MOVEMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO 5RHYTHMS™" created to bring this transformative practice to everyone, including those who might be homebound or facing physical limitations.

Through gentle explanations and personal examples, they reveal how the five rhythms – flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness – create a container for our emotional lives, allowing fear and other difficult feelings to move through the body naturally. Their approach honors both the cathartic potential of movement and the importance of regulation, creating a trauma-sensitive framework that meets practitioners exactly where they are.

Whether you're curious about embodied practices or seeking new ways to process old wounds, this conversation offers compassionate insight into how our bodies naturally know the way through fear when given the chance to move with awareness.

Key Highlights:

• [00:00:] Welcome and introduction to our guests
• [01:12] Five Rhythms as embodied healing practice
• [02:39] Simona and Layah's backgrounds and expertise
• [05:46] Simona's moving first dance experience
• [10:20] Understanding the five rhythms wave
• [13:16] How Layah found her calling through movement
• [17:34] Alex shares his dance journey beginnings
• [20:19] The origins with Gabrielle Roth at Esalen
• [27:33] Creating trauma-sensitive movement spaces
• [31:12] Inside their accessible online course
• [33:35] Movement and nervous system regulation
• [37:27] Mindfulness principles in movement practice
• [41:16] Adaptations for all bodies and abilities
• [46:31] A personal healing story through dance
• [51:11] How to join the movement community

Links & Resources

Layah Jane

• Website: layahjane.com
• Instagram: @layahjane.movement

Simona

• Website: turningtowards.me
• Instagram: @turningtowards

Find us Online:

Sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the power of embodiment:

https://www.redbeardsomatictherapy.com/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedBeardSomaticTherapy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redbeardsomatictherapy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermgreene

What if your client’s tremor, stretch, or undulation wasn’t a symptom—but a sign of healing? In this episode, Alex sits down with physical therapist, somatic educator and TRE Provider, Joel Begin to explore the natural, spontaneous movements that often arise in bodywork, movement therapy, and somatic healing—but are still largely misunderstood.

Joel shares the story behind his 2022 paper, “Characterizing a Common Class of Spontaneous Movements,” a collaborative work that brings together perspectives from across the globe to map out how tremors, shakes, and fluid movements emerge across therapeutic, spiritual, and cultural contexts. From TRE® and myofascial unwinding to Qigong and authentic movement, Joel helps us reframe these expressions not as random or pathological—but as beneceptive and healing.

Together, we explore the potential of spontaneous movement as a doorway into nervous system regulation, trauma resolution, and embodied intelligence. This episode invites you to see what might already be happening in your sessions with new eyes—and perhaps, to trust the body just a little more.

Key Highlights:

• [00:02:00] The Paper That Sparked It All: Characterizing a Common Class of Spontaneous Movements
• [00:08:00] What Is Myofascial Unwinding?
• [00:14:30] Modalities That Evoke Spontaneous Movement
• [00:17:45] Spiritual Practices & Movement States
• [00:24:00] Case Study: Spontaneous Movement After Surgery
• [00:27:00] When Movement Feels Uncomfortable
• [00:33:00] TRE®, Trauma, and the Polyvagal Lens
• [00:38:45] Understanding Freeze Through Biotensegrity
• [00:41:00] What Makes These Movements Arise?
• [00:43:30] Creating a Container for Curiosity

Links & Resources

• Joel Begin’s 2022 Paper:
  “Characterizing a Common Class of Spontaneous Movements”
  Read the full paper in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
• Joel Begin’s Practice – Creative Pathways PT
• Continuum Movement: https://continuummovement.com/
• Somatic Experiencing by Peter Levine: https://www.somaticexperiencing.com/about-peter
• Polyvagal Theory by Dr. Stephen Porges: https://www.stephenporges.com/
• Myofascial Release John F. Barnes

Find us Online:

Sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the power of embodiment:

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermgreene