“The survival strategies that keep us alive, are also what keep us from living.”
And that’s just one of the many golden nuggets that my guest Linda Thai, shared during our powerful and intimate conversation. I kept asking her to repeat herself because all the wisdom she was speaking was too good to be missed!
Today on The Karen Kenney Show, I’m thrilled to introduce you to the amazing Linda Thai. I was lucky to study with Linda recently, and I was so moved by her personal story and inspired by her professional work, that I just knew I had to have her on the podcast!
Linda is a somatic therapist, mental health clinician, storyteller, community builder and educator. She assists internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, with his private small group psychotherapy workshops aimed at healing attachment trauma.
Linda also uses her background in trauma therapy, somatic therapies and yoga to guide others through the steps that help them to recognize and safely release tension through resourcing the body.
We talk about how the body (and the nervous system) holds implicit or subconscious memories that we may not be aware of. And that by working with and through the body, we can access a deeper truth, that isn't possible when we go through cognitive (intellectual) awareness.
She also shares that there's a narrative that we tell ourselves and that we told ourselves, and that we hang on to. And yet, if we pause for long enough and sink into the body, there's something else that's wanting to emerge.
With this knowledge, we can begin to move from a state of trauma - to one of empowered self-awareness that allows us to connect back into ourselves and each other.
No longer do we have to abandon ourselves; we can instead get curious and listen to the stories our bodies are trying to tell us, so that we can play a proactive part in our own healing and come home to ourselves.
KK's Key Takeaways
Having Traumatized Parents (3:39)
Forgiveness Is An Outcome (12:06)
The Space To Rage (18:28)
Perpetually Pessimistic (26:37)
Build A Set Of Toys (38:39)
Inspire And Ignite (51:46)
Mammalian Instinct (1:06:02)
Thinking Of Myself Less (1:17:55)
Water Ourselves (1:28:18)
Look Out The Window (1:37:13)
Between The Healer And The Wounded (1:42:43)
Hold My Own Story (1:48:25)
Linda Thai is a somatic therapist, trauma therapist, mental health clinician, storyteller, and educator who has had her own lived experiences of individual, collective, historical and cultural traumatization...and healing. She uses her background in trauma therapy, somatic therapies and yoga to guide others through steps that help you to recognize and safely release tension through resourcing the body. She believes in empowering others through education and skills, thereby igniting potential and fueling your innate desire to learn, to grow, to heal.
Linda is an adjunct faculty member in the Social Work Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and specializes in trauma-informed care and compassion fatigue resilience skills; Mental health clinician at ND Systems, specializing in somatic therapies and trauma therapy. She assists internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, with his private small group psychotherapy workshops aimed at healing attachment trauma. In her work at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, she is responsible for training clinicians in all departments, including psychology, nursing and medicine. She has a Master of Social Work with an emphasis on the neurobiology of attachment and trauma.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
WEBSITE: https://www.linda-thai.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LindaThaiCoachingConsulting
RECOMMENDED READING: https://www.linda-thai.com/resources/recommended-readings
Karen Kenney is a certified Spiritual Mentor, author, speaker, and the host of The Karen Kenney Show Podcast. She’s also the founder of THE NEST - an online spiritual membership & community.
She’s been a student & guide of A Course in Miracles for close to three decades, a yoga teacher for 20+ years and is a longtime practitioner of Passage Meditation. She’s also a Gateless Writing Instructor & workshop facilitator and is currently working on a memoir.
KK grew up in Lawrence & Boston, MA, and graduated from BU with a degree in Communications. She’s known for her storytelling, her sense of humor, her love of the Divine and her “down-to-earth” practical approach to Spirituality. Her signature process: Your Story to Your Glory™ - helps people transform their old stories of victimization & suffering, so they can choose Love over fear, improve their most important relationships, deepen their connection to Self, Source & Spirit, and live from a place of forgiveness, flow, freedom & fun!
A sought-after speaker, spiritual teacher, and thought leader for podcasts, shows, live events, and mastermind programs, Karen's been invited to speak & teach on various platforms, stages & retreat centers across the country, including the renowned Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.
You can learn more & connect with KK at: www.karenkenney.com
