Episode 70 – Waking the Tiger: Peter Levine and the Wisdom of the Body

This episode centers on the work of Peter Levine and his Somatic Experiencing (SE) model, fundamentally reframing trauma not as a psychological disorder but as a biological process gone awry. It argues that trauma is not contained in the external event itself, but in the unresolved survival energy that gets trapped in the nervous system when a defensive response is thwarted. This leads to the "trauma paradox": wild animals face constant life-or-death threats but rarely show signs of trauma because they instinctively complete their biological defense cycles.

The discussion explains that humans often inhibit these natural discharge mechanisms—like shaking or trembling—due to fear or social conditioning, causing the nervous system to remain stuck in a high state of arousal or a dissociative shutdown. Levine’s concept of the "Medusa Complex" is introduced to describe the profound terror associated with the freeze state, where the body experiences a terrifying combination of high activation and immobility. This unresolved conflict keeps the body's internal alarm system, or neuroception, chronically signaling danger.

True healing, therefore, is not about reliving the story but about renegotiating the trauma at the level of physical sensation. By gently guiding attention to the "felt sense," SE helps the body access and safely complete those interrupted motor patterns and discharge the trapped energy. This physiological completion is what ultimately allows the nervous system to recalibrate, restoring its natural rhythm and capacity for resilience, and reconnecting us to our innate "body's wisdom."