Trauma and the Body with Amber Gray: Regulation, Restoration, & The Patience of Whales...REPRISED

CONTENT HEADS UP: Be enriched by a thoughtfully crafted conversation where sensitive topics related to trauma, torture, and self-loathing are gently woven into a narrative that is ultimately about love. There are no graphic descriptions of torture, just some causes and effects, but we nonetheless recommend that sensitive listeners prioritize their well-being and engage at their own discretion/pace. Also, for those intrigued by the idea of swimming with whales, a friendly reminder to follow safety guidelines and never venture alone into such deep waters.SYNOPSIS:Join us in this episode as we connect with Amber Gray, a masterful Human Rights Psychotherapist and Somatic and Dance/Movement Therapist with over 25 years of experience. Through her profound insights gained from working with survivors of trauma, particularly torture, war, and human rights abuses, Amber shares invaluable lessons and practices.Ali and Amber explore the profound lessons Amber has gleaned from her work with both whales and torture victims, professors and shamans, including the complexities of dissociation, what traditional trauma recovery misses, and the impactful ability to shift one's state of being.Amber's integrative approach, which merges refugee mental health and torture treatment with creative arts, mindfulness, and body-based therapies, offers a unique perspective on healing. The discussion also delves into the innovative Restorative Movement Psychotherapy, a resiliency-based framework co-created by Amber and her clients, designed specifically for trauma survivors in diverse cultural contexts.MORE ALI MEZEY:Website:  https://www.alimezey.comPersonal Geometry® and the Magic of Mat Work Course informationTransgenerational Healing FilmsMORE AMBER GRAY:Website: https://ambergray.comTo be with Amber and the whalesBIO: Amber is a Human Rights Psychotherapist and a Somatic and Dance/Movement Therapist who has worked with survivors of interpersonal, collective  and intergenerational trauma, particularly torture, war, and human rights abuses, for 25 years. Amber provides clinical and transformational training on her Right to Embody  trainings integrating refugee mental health and torture treatment with creative arts, mindfulness, and body-based therapies for programs serving survivors worldwide. She, with her clients, created a resiliency-based framework and clinical approach (Restorative Movement Psychotherapy) for somatic and movement  therapies with survivors of trauma in multi-cultural contexts, and they also co-created Polyvagal-informed Somatic  and Dance/Movement therapy,  based on 24 years immersion in Polyvagal Theory. The latter is the subject of her upcoming book, Roots, Rhythm and Reciprocity, to be published by Norton. She regularly facilitates WildZeNess Eco-somatic Body of Change retreats for survivors, and caregivers and practitioners, serving communities affected by injustice, oppression and trauma. RESOURCES:Gil episode: THE BODY AS A GIFT: A REVERENTIAL JOURNEY INTO THE HUMAN BODYCONTINUUM MOVEMENT: Founder, the brilliant Emilie Conrad, gives an introduction.ASHES AND SNOW VoDou: “ Vodou is both a religion and a way of being. It is a uniquely Haitian religion; an amalgam of the religions and  traditions originating in and on the Continent, that arrived to Haiti’s shores with the ships carrying those enslaved and stolen from their land. To learn more read Mimerose Beaubrun's  book Nan DomiLES ARIAIFS - Internal Family SystemsBrilliant article by Jen Percy: “What People Misunderstand About Rape” Ed Tick: Warrior’s Return: Restoring the Soul After WarThe Polyvagal Theory/Stephen Porgeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec3AUMDjtKQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWVgXQKrqQ4Body-Mind Centering/Bonnie Bainbridge CohenThe Blue Mind by Wallace J. NicholsVideo Talk by David Eagleman on the Live-wired Brain TO SEE AMAZING PHOTOS OF AMBER AND THE WHALES, GO TO www.thebrilliantbodypodcast.com…[From time to time, a word or phrase goes wonky. Please forgive my wandering wifi.]