Episode 13: Pain Is Our Greatest Teacher: Near-Death, Trauma, and Reclaiming Wholeness — with Dr. Colleen Quinn

Episode 15: There's Nothing Wrong With You: Trauma, Yoga, and Healing Your Nervous System — with Liz Albanis

Community & Support If this conversation stirred something in you, you're warmly invited to join our free online community gathering on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 PM PT—a space to slow down, connect, and remember you don't have to navigate life alone. Learn more and join us: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community] Guest Liz Albanis — Senior Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, and Trauma-Informed Health & Wellness Coach Episode Summary In this reflective and deeply personal episode of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers, Laurel LeMohn sits down with yoga therapist and trauma-informed health & wellness coach Liz Albanis for There's Nothing Wrong With You: Trauma, Yoga, and Healing Your Nervous System. Together, they explore trauma, nervous system regulation, yoga, grief, embodied healing, addiction recovery, the vagus nerve, and what it means to come home to your body when everything has told you something is wrong with it. Liz has survived childhood sexual assault, two devastating house fires, miscarriage, the loss of her mother, and a 15-year smoking habit she couldn't shake—until she walked into her first hot yoga class. She wasn't looking for transformation. She thought she was simply going to a hot yoga class to burn some calories. What she found instead was her nervous system beginning, slowly and quietly, to regulate for the first time. Together, Laurel and Liz explore what it means to hold space for others—and for ourselves—without pushing, without forcing, and without believing healing requires us to become someone different than we are. "Their conversation honors the body as a place of truth, not a problem to be solved." And it returns, again and again, to one quiet, steady message: There is nothing wrong with you. What We Explore in This Episode * Why no two bodies move the same way—and how skeletal variation changes the way we think about healing, yoga, and pain * What it means to grow up believing you're "not trying hard enough" * The relief of discovering there was never anything wrong with you * How yoga became a pathway out of addiction and into nervous system regulation * The second house fire that re-traumatized Liz—and what followed * Invitational language, sacred containers, and the gift of offering choice * The vagus nerve, tremoring, fascia, and what happens when the body is finally allowed to release * Why our thoughts are not complete reality * Trauma-informed yoga, embodied healing, and creating safety through choice * What Liz would say to little Liz—and to anyone walking a lonely path today Key Quotes "Yoga poses are like penicillin—one may be medicine for you, but poison to your neighbor." "I think a lot of people don't get that—even if you've gone through the same thing, because of our biology and our past experiences, we're going to have a different reaction." "There's nothing wrong with you." "You've been through a lot for a child. Keep trying. Ignore those who tell you there's something wrong with you. You are not alone in this experience—but your experience is completely unique." "Yoga saved me." "I don't think that's an exaggeration." Why This Conversation Matters So many of us have spent years believing we simply aren't trying hard enough. That everyone else can do the thing we can't. That there's something fundamentally wrong with the way we're built. Liz's story—of being told she was "dumb," that there was something "wrong" with her, and that she might as well stop trying—is also a story of slowly, imperfectly, and tenderly finding her way back to Self. Not by fixing herself. But by finally being met where she was. If you've ever thought: "I should be able to handle this on my own." If you've ever wondered whether your nervous system is responding exactly as it was designed to after trauma... Or questioned why you're still carrying something everyone else seems to have moved beyond... This conversation is for you. About the Guest Liz Albanis is a senior yoga teacher of nearly 14 years, yoga therapist, and trauma-informed health & wellness coach based in Canberra, Australia. Her work focuses on trauma-informed healing, nervous system regulation, embodied recovery, and making yoga accessible for every body. She trained through the Biomedical Institute of Yoga and Meditation (BIOME) and is registered with Yoga Australia. Liz's work is shaped by both advanced training and lived experience—including surviving childhood trauma, two house fires, miscarriage, the loss of her mother, and years of believing there was something wrong with her. Website: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizalbaniswellnessau/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lizalbaniswellnessau Podcast: Yoga for Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga About the Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers—a podcast exploring healing, trauma, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and what it means to be human through heartfelt, reflective conversations. Her work brings together trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and spirituality to create grounded, compassionate spaces where greater self-understanding, connection, and transformation become possible. Explore more episodes, community offerings, and resources at: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/ [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/] If you're seeking individualized support, I offer virtual trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults throughout California and Washington through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy. Learn more: https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/ [https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/] Stories held with care. Disclaimer Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers is an educational and storytelling podcast and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, or mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing emotional distress or are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional or your local emergency services.

Episode 14: Intuition Doesn't Shout: Trauma, Identity, and Human Potential — with Dr. Carol Talbot

Community & Support If this conversation stirred something in you, you're warmly invited to join our free online community gathering on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 PM PT—a space to slow down, connect, and remember you don't have to navigate life alone. Learn more and join us: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community] Guest Dr. Carol Talbot — PhD in Quantum Morphogenetic Physics, architect of Multi-Dimensional Intelligence, author, keynote speaker, and creator of the MDI (Multi-Dimensional Intelligence) Entrainment Series and Multi-Dimensional Field Scans. Episode Summary In this expansive and quietly extraordinary episode of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers, Laurel LeMohn sits down with Dr. Carol Talbot for a conversation that moves between worlds — the seen and the unseen, the known and the still-becoming. Carol is the architect of Multi-Dimensional Intelligence — a framework that explores our capacity to receive, transmit, and perceive across layers of consciousness beyond linear thought. But what makes this conversation so rich isn't only the science. It's the care underneath it. The way Carol speaks about intuition, identity, rest, healing, and human potential — with grounded precision and a tenderness that others will recognize immediately. Together, Laurel and Carol explore why intuition doesn't announce itself the way anxiety does. Why an old identity may be keeping you from the life you're trying to create. Why rest is not a reward — but a form of repair. And what it means to be, as Carol describes, one of the fireflies: waking up, brightening, and slowly coming into sync with one another. What We Explore in This Episode * What Multi-Dimensional Intelligence is — and why you're already connected to it * Why intuition whispers while trauma and anxiety shout * The link between your energetic signal and your identity * Rest as repair — and what the nervous system actually needs * How your past identity keeps you living from an old story * Navigating timelines: what happens when you lead with the future instead of the past * What walking across hot coals teaches us about possibility and self-belief * Holding yourself to a higher standard in healing work * Nervous system regulation and learning to trust your body's signals * The morphogenetic field and becoming a firefly of consciousness Key Quotes "Intuition doesn't shout. Trauma shouts. Anxiety shouts. Intuition and these gifts come more as a whisper." "Your past ties you to a specific identity. When it comes to shift and change, most people are operating from an old identity, an old role, and wondering why they can't change." "Rest as repair. Not a nicety — a necessity." "You never know what seeds you've planted, what lights you've lit." The Dip In There's a moment in this conversation when Laurel shares something she's rarely spoken about publicly. She describes being a child — the channels getting louder and louder, spirits and frequencies flooding in — until one day, folding laundry in her bedroom, she raised her hands and said: "No. I am not ready. I need to live the life of Laurel." And Carol meets her there. Not with a technique. Not a correction. With recognition. "You've mastered the art," Carol tells her, "of finding that balance. And having a life." That exchange is where this conversation becomes something different. Not an interview. Not a framework presentation. A genuine meeting between two people who have each learned, in their own way, how to move between worlds without losing themselves in the crossing. The dip in is where the real conversation begins. Why This Conversation Matters Many of us sense things we can't quite name. We feel the room shift. We know before we know. And then we question it — or silence it — because the world hasn't always offered a framework that honors it. Carol's work offers one. And Laurel's willingness to share her own story in this episode — the child who turned down the volume, the healer who's slowly and intentionally turning it back up — offers something perhaps even rarer: permission. If you've ever felt like the signal inside you was too much, not trusted, or not yet ready to be fully heard, this conversation holds that with care. About the Guest Dr. Carol Talbot holds a PhD in Quantum Morphogenetic Physics and is the architect of Multi-Dimensional Intelligence, a pioneering framework redefining human potential. She is the author of four books, including Multi-Dimensional Intelligence: Activating a Higher Blueprint for Human Evolution, and the creator of Multi-Dimensional Field Scans, the MDI Entrainment Series, and Mastery Mapping Technology. She is the recipient of the Forttuna Global Achievements 2026 Visionary of the Year Award and a master firewalk instructor with over twenty years of experience. Website: https://multi-dimensionalintelligence.com/ [https://multi-dimensionalintelligence.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolktalbot/ [https://www.instagram.com/carolktalbot/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.talbot.946/ [https://www.facebook.com/carol.talbot.946/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcaroltalbot/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcaroltalbot/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/carolkt10 [https://www.youtube.com/user/carolkt10] About the Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers—a podcast exploring healing, trauma, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and what it means to be human through heartfelt, reflective conversations. Her work brings together trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and spirituality to create grounded, compassionate spaces where greater self-understanding, connection, and transformation become possible. Explore more episodes, community offerings, and resources at: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/ [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/] If you're seeking individualized support, I offer virtual trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults throughout California and Washington through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy. Learn more: https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/ [https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/] Stories held with care. Disclaimer Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers is an educational and storytelling podcast and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, or mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing emotional distress or are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional or your local emergency services.

Episode 13: Pain Is Our Greatest Teacher: Near-Death, Trauma, and Reclaiming Wholeness — with Dr. Colleen Quinn

Community & Support If this conversation stirred something in you, you're warmly invited to join our free online community gathering on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 PM PT—a space to slow down, connect, and remember you don't have to navigate life alone. Learn more and join us: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community] Guest Dr. Colleen Quinn — Transpersonal Psychologist, Mystic, Breathwork Practitioner, Author, and Two-Time Near-Death Survivor Episode Summary What if the hardest moments of our lives are some of our most compassionate teachers? In this episode, Laurel sits down with Dr. Colleen Quinn for an intentional, depth-oriented conversation about near-death experiences, breathwork, embodied healing, and the slow process of coming back to yourself after survival. Colleen has been to the edge of this life twice — a car accident that took her to the threshold, and a pneumonia that left her gasping for a single breath. Lying on the floor, arms open wide, she finally surrendered with the words: "Let me be love in every moment." What followed wasn't a quick recovery. It was a slow, embodied return to Self — through breathwork, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, and the patient work of listening to the wisdom of her body. Colleen shares what it was like to live as "a walking head" before breathwork found her. What it means to surrender. How pain — befriended, not avoided — becomes one of our most compassionate teachers. And what it means to live fully open-hearted. This is a conversation for anyone who has wondered if the hardest moments of their life had meaning — and for anyone moving out of survival mode and quietly finding their way back to themselves. What We Explore in This Episode * Near-death experiences as spiritual awakenings * Breathwork as a path back to the body * Trauma recovery and nervous system regulation * Surrender as the doorway to healing * Pain as a compassionate teacher * Embodied healing and the wisdom of the body * Moving out of survival mode and back into wholeness * Relational healing and meeting yourself where you are Key Quotes "Let me be love in every moment." "At the very end of our own strength, that's when our hearts can crack open for love to finally come in." "When we drop down to love somebody exactly as they are, they finally feel safe enough and free enough to become more than they are." Why This Episode Matters So many of us are living from the neck up. Carrying our stories in our minds while our bodies quietly hold the weight of everything we've survived. But the body has its own wisdom. Its own pace. Its own way of bringing us back. This conversation is a reminder that healing isn't about pushing through — it's about surrendering into what is. Slowly. Embodied. With breath. With love. With the trust that even pain can be a teacher, if we let it be. A Note on Content This episode discusses near-death experiences, medical trauma, and survival. Please listen when you have space and support to receive it. About the Guest Dr. Colleen Quinn is a transpersonal psychologist, mystic, and breathwork practitioner whose work invites others into embodied healing through breathwork, somatic practices, and the slow return to wholeness. She is the author of Essence Merging — a spiritual memoir of devotion, conscious breathwork, and the transcendent power of love. Website: https://www.essencemerging.com About the Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers—a podcast exploring healing, trauma, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and what it means to be human through heartfelt, reflective conversations. Her work brings together trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and spirituality to create grounded, compassionate spaces where greater self-understanding, connection, and transformation become possible. Explore more episodes, community offerings, and resources at: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/ [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/] If you're seeking individualized support, I offer virtual trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults throughout California and Washington through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy. Learn more: https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/ [https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/] Stories held with care. Disclaimer Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers is an educational and storytelling podcast and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, or mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing emotional distress or are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional or your local emergency services.

Episode 12: Healing the Root: Trauma, Spiritual Awakening, and Finding Wholeness — with Laura Ellen

Community & Support If this conversation stirred something in you, you're warmly invited to join our free online community gathering on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 PM PT—a space to slow down, connect, and remember you don't have to navigate life alone. Learn more and join us: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community] Guest Laura Ellen — Artist, Jeweler, Spiritual Teacher, and Founder of Sacred Heart Healing in Northern California Episode Summary Some healing journeys take us all the way to the bottom before they bring us home to ourselves. In this episode, Laurel sits down with Laura Ellen for an intentional, depth-oriented conversation about trauma healing, the body's wisdom, and what it means to come back to yourself after years of soul fragmentation. Laura shares her healing journey from childhood sensitivity and unspoken trauma into the numbing patterns that followed her into adulthood — and the chronic, hidden wound at the base of her spine that became an invitation to listen. She opens up about living with a fistula connected to her root chakra, and how curiosity, faith, and a willingness to feel her emotions slowly guided her back toward wholeness. Together, they explore root chakra healing, Angelic Reiki, Access Consciousness Bars, soul contracts, past lives, mediumship and dream visitations, nervous system regulation, and the quiet, embodied work of reconnecting with yourself — and with the Earth that holds us. This episode also marks a deeply personal moment for Laurel — speaking openly about her own grief and her ability to communicate with the deceased. What We Explore in This Episode * The body as a messenger of truth * Root chakra healing and trauma recovery * Angelic Reiki and energetic clearing * Past lives, soul contracts, and exit points * Mediumship and dream visitations * Meeting your younger self with love * Reconnecting with yourself through the body * Collective awakening and creating heaven on earth Key Quotes "You have everything you need inside of you to heal." "We don't heal hiding under a rock. We heal when we reach out and share." Why This Episode Matters So many of us were taught to override the body. To push through. To numb. To keep going. But the body keeps a careful record. And sometimes, the only way back is the slow, vulnerable work of listening to what it has been trying to say. This conversation is a reminder that healing isn't about fixing yourself — it's about coming back to yourself. Layer by layer. Breath by breath. With faith, with community, and with the quiet trust that you were never broken to begin with. A Note on Content This episode touches gently on sexual trauma, chronic illness, and grief. Please listen when you have space and support to receive it. About the Guest Laura Ellen is an artist, jeweler, and spiritual teacher, and the founder of Sacred Heart Healing in Northern California. She offers tarot and oracle card readings, healing stone therapy, Angelic Reiki, and Access Consciousness Bars facilitation. Instagram: @sacredhearthealing1111 and @laurelleflower About the Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers—a podcast exploring healing, trauma, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and what it means to be human through heartfelt, reflective conversations. Her work brings together trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and spirituality to create grounded, compassionate spaces where greater self-understanding, connection, and transformation become possible. Explore more episodes, community offerings, and resources at: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/ [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/] If you're seeking individualized support, I offer virtual trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults throughout California and Washington through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy. Learn more: https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/ [https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/] Stories held with care. Disclaimer Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers is an educational and storytelling podcast and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, or mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing emotional distress or are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional or your local emergency services.

Episode 11: You Were Never Too Much: Reclaiming Your Voice After Trauma — with Sophia Graniela

Community & Support If this conversation stirred something in you, you're warmly invited to join our free online community gathering on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:00 PM PT—a space to slow down, connect, and remember you don't have to navigate life alone. Learn more and join us: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/community] Guest Sophia Graniela — Self-expression and podcast guide, EFT tapping practitioner, and host of Her Journey Home Episode Summary Some voices are silenced over time—not because they aren’t powerful, but because they didn’t feel safe to be heard. In this episode of Spiritual Friction, Laurel and Sophia explore what it means to reclaim your voice after years of silence, self-doubt, and disconnection. Sophia shares her experience of growing up feeling “too much”—too loud, too emotional, too intense—and how family instability, bullying, and unhealthy relationships led her to suppress her voice and shrink herself to feel safe. Through sobriety, self-discovery, and podcasting, she began coming home to herself—reconnecting with her voice, her truth, and her capacity to take up space. Together, Laurel and Sophia reflect on how trauma shapes identity, the courage it takes to be seen, and the transformative power of sharing your story—not just for others, but for yourself. This is a conversation about self-expression, healing, and remembering that your voice matters. What We Explore • Reclaiming your voice after silence • Feeling “too much” and learning to take up space • Trauma, self-worth, and identity • Sobriety and self-discovery • Podcasting as a tool for healing • Vulnerability as strength • Being seen and finding community Key Quotes “I learned it wasn’t safe to be me.” “Podcasting didn’t just change my life—it gave me my voice back.” “You are worthy, exactly as you are.” Why This Episode Matters Many people move through life feeling disconnected from their voice—questioning their worth, shrinking themselves, or believing they are too much. This conversation offers a different perspective: Your voice was never the problem. It may have just never felt safe to use. If you’re navigating healing, identity shifts, or self-expression, this episode offers a grounded reminder: You are allowed to take up space. You are allowed to be seen. And your voice matters. About the Guest Sophia Graniela is a self-expression and podcast guide who helps women launch podcasts rooted in authenticity. She is also an EFT tapping practitioner and the host of Her Journey Home, a podcast centered on healing and personal growth. Connect with Sophia Website: www.herjourneyhomeco.com [http://www.herjourneyhomeco.com] Instagram: @sophiagraniela About the Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers—a podcast exploring healing, trauma, nervous system regulation, spirituality, and what it means to be human through heartfelt, reflective conversations. Her work brings together trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and spirituality to create grounded, compassionate spaces where greater self-understanding, connection, and transformation become possible. Explore more episodes, community offerings, and resources at: https://www.soulbodywellness.health/ [https://www.soulbodywellness.health/] If you're seeking individualized support, I offer virtual trauma-informed psychotherapy for adults throughout California and Washington through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy. Learn more: https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/ [https://www.redwoodcoastpsychotherapy.com/] Stories held with care. Disclaimer Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers is an educational and storytelling podcast and is not a substitute for psychotherapy, medical care, or mental health treatment. Listening to this podcast does not establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing emotional distress or are in crisis, please contact a qualified mental health professional or your local emergency services.