#100 Part 6 | Finding Our Way Home: A Somatic Path to Healing
“Who were you before the world told you who you should be?”
In this milestone 100th episode of The Lori Clarke Show, we conclude the 6-part Shame Out Loud series. This finale explores the "Child and Woman" split and the long, slow walk back to ourselves after a lifetime of silence.
Host Lori Clarke is joined by a specialized panel to discuss why "talk therapy" isn't always enough to move a nervous system out of a functional freeze, and what happens when the body finally decides it is time to be heard.
Our Expert Panel Includes:
Lori Clarke: Podcaster and creative writer sharing the "Jailbreak" moment of reclaiming identity after childhood sexual assault and family gaslighting.
Tammy Valicenti: Psychotherapist and EMDR specialist (founder of Transformation Soulution) providing a clinical lens on parts work, attunement, and co-regulation.
Petra Brunnbauer: Mind-body coach and chronic stress expert (creator of The Jōrni) discussing the vagus nerve and the "shock" of recognizing dissociation in the mirror.
Annie Trainor: Sharing her personal reflections on the physical release of movement and the journey from performative living to authentic presence.
In this episode, we explore:
The Somatic Turning Point: Why Lori’s body "cracked open" after a decade of silence, leading to physical illness and eventually, a jailbreak into her own truth.
The Cardboard Sword Metaphor: A deep dive into the moment we stop fighting the world and start "scooping in" the younger parts of ourselves we once had to reject.
Intergenerational Shame: How to discern between your own feelings and the "introjects" the voices of harm we inherit to realize what shame is "not yours."
Functional Freeze & The Vagus Nerve: Petra shares the "micro-moments" of healing that allowed her to breathe deeply for the first time in years.
The Challenge of Receiving: Why survivors often find it harder to receive love than to give it, and how to stay "afloat" when vulnerability feels like danger.
Show Notes
Episode 100 – Somatic Healing, Shame That Isn’t Yours, and Returning to Yourself
Brief Episode Summary
In Episode 100, Lori Clarke is joined by Tammy, Annie Trainor, and mind-body coach Petra Brunnbauer for a powerful conversation about what happens when the body finally stops whispering and starts demanding to be heard. They explore how trauma and grief live in the nervous system, why talk therapy alone may not reach what’s locked inside, and how somatic work can create micro-moments that become massive change.
This episode moves through the themes of protection vs. preservation, learning to receive love after survival-mode living, and the liberating realization that much of what we carry especially shame may not even be ours. Together, they offer a grounded, compassionate invitation: your journey is valid, your forest is yours, and you can return to yourself again and again.
Key Topics Covered
Somatic therapy and why the body “stores” trauma
Chronic stress, nervous system healing, and functional freeze
Grief as a doorway to breakthrough
Micro-moments that become lasting transformation
Internal Family Systems (parts work) and inner-child retrieval
Protection vs. preservation: shifting from survival to self-honor
Shame that doesn’t belong to you (intergenerational + internalized)
The vulnerability of receiving love, care, and support
Control, justification, and self-worth being “for sale”
How to return to center faster without forcing healing
Important Quotes & Takeaways
“The body is our voice. The body has a message, and in it is the memory.”
“Somatic work was the missing piece. Talk therapy alone didn’t reach what was locked inside.”
“Those younger parts were protecting me with the tools they had.”
“We’re not attracted to what’s good for us we’re attracted to what feels familiar.”
“Receiving is vulnerable… and I’m practicing saying yes.”
“Shame isn’t always ours. Sometimes it’s inherited, internalized, or placed on us.”
Healing isn’t linear: the practice is leaving and returning again and again.
Your forest may look “manicured” or wild either way, it’s valid.
Resources Mentioned
Somatic therapy and nervous system healing
Internal Family Systems (IFS) / parts work
EMDR (referenced in context of different modalities)
Vagus nerve work and breath regulation
Gregory Boyle – idea referenced: the opposite of shame is tenderness and belonging
Brené Brown – shame dissolves through connection and being spoken aloud
Guest Information
Host: Lori Clarke
Co-host: Tammy Valicenti
Guest: Annie Trainor — Therapist and Clinical Social Worker
Guest: Petra Brunnbauer — Mind-body coach, founder of The Jōrni (online wellbeing platform), author (chronic stress + functional freeze), podcast host (holistic healing + mental health)
Time Stamps
09:31–12:05 – Petra introduces her work: mind-body connection, chronic stress, holistic healing
12:26–15:20 – Petra’s response to Child and Woman: mirror/water imagery, recognition, “I’m not alone”
16:26–22:05 – Lori shares the “breakthrough”: betrayal, illness, voice loss, writing as body truth
25:42–33:11 – Somatic work + grief as catalyst; nervous system healing; functional freeze
33:13–35:08 – Micro-shifts: breath, meditation tolerance, tiny changes becoming a “river”
35:08–38:43 – Body symptoms and stored trauma; posture shifts; movement as release
38:43–41:01 – Co-regulation, attunement, and why “I don’t need anyone” is a trauma response
41:01–44:52 – Lori’s “cardboard sword” image: inner-child protection and retrieval
44:58–47:38 – Tammy shares self-hatred toward a younger part; parts work and compassion shift
47:38–51:15 – Protection as preservation; grace for survival strategies; “I’m still here because…”
53:31–58:45 – Receiving, self-sabotage, tenderness vs. shame; shame that isn’t yours
59:01–1:01:14 – Generational patterns, genealogy, epigenetics, inherited pain
1:02:19–1:11:37 – Intimacy and receiving: “worth for sale,” justification, vulnerability of love
1:12:36–1:16:31 – How to return to center faster: connection, vulnerability, pacing, gentleness
1:20:46–1:24:42 – Petra’s “manicured forest”: control, uniqueness of healing, permission to be different
1:26:20–1:31:03 – Closing reflections: story as medicine, lineage healing, “watch us,” take a breath
Learn more about today's guests
