Episode
173: Recognizing & Touching Trauma (with Dr. Peter Levine) Listener Favorite
- Podcast
- The Thinking Practitioner
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3208
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- https://www.thethinkingpractitioner.com/e/173-recognizing-touching-trauma-with-dr-peter-levine-listener-favorite/
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Summary
🎙 Recognizing & Touching Trauma (with Dr. Peter Levine) By popular demand! Originally aired as Episode 108, Til’s conversation with Dr. Peter Levine quickly became one of our most listened-to episodes ever — and it’s easy to hear why. The developer of Somatic Experiencing®, bestselling author of Waking the Tiger, and student of Ida Rolf shares how trauma lives in the body, how hands-on practitioners can recognize it, and how we can be most helpful when it shows up on our tables. Whether you missed it the first time or you’re ready for a second listen, this one rewards a revisit. ✨ Topics:• How bodyworkers can recognize trauma as it’s held in the body — bracing, breath holding, and the “snapshot” of past responses• The vagus nerve and gut-brain feedback loops: why 80% of its fibers carry signals from body to brain, and how to send the “all clear”• What wild animals and NASA astronauts taught Dr. Levine about resilience and bouncing back• Why pushing too hard backfires: “talking to the shoulders” with patient, supportive touch instead of forcing change• Dr. Levine’s evolving view that Ida Rolf was “largely correct” about fascia — and how nervous system and tissue work fit together• The four women who shaped his work: Charlotte Selver, Magda Proskauer, Ida Rolf, and Mira Rothenberg• Trauma as “what happens in the absence of an empathetic other” — and how practitioners create relative safety• Scope of practice: where bodyworkers’ trauma work ends and psychotherapy begins• Healing rituals, shamanic traditions, and why community matters in trauma recovery• Practitioner self-care, burnout, and Dr. Levine’s end-of-day river ritual ✨ Resources:• Somatic Experiencing® International — trainings and practitioner directory: https://www.somaticexperiencing.com• Peter A. Levine,…