From Surviving to Thriving: Trauma, Safety & the Healing Power of the Body

In this episode, Sherry talks with Amy Stein, an herbalist, energy medicine educator, trauma-informed breathwork facilitator, and motivational speaker, to explore what it really means to heal — beyond symptoms, diagnoses, and willpower.

This episode is a powerful reminder that your body is not broken — it’s communicating.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

Amy shares her personal journey of growing up immersed in Western medicine, only to find herself chronically ill in her mid-20s — mirroring the very patients she once worked with. What followed was years of unanswered questions, standardized protocols, and the painful realization that being “too sensitive” was never the problem.

Together, Sherry and Amy unpack the deeper layers of healing — trauma, safety, energy, breath, and the body’s innate intelligence.

Key Topics We Explore:

1. When the Body Speaks — and No One Listens

Amy describes what it’s like to experience invisible illness and autoimmune symptoms in a system that only validates what it can measure. This conversation will resonate deeply with anyone who has felt dismissed, unseen, or told “everything looks normal” when it clearly isn’t.

2. Trauma Isn’t Just What Happened — It’s the Body’s Response

This episode gently dismantles the idea that trauma has to be “big” to be real.

• Trauma can be grief, chronic stress, dieting, emotional suppression, or even daily traffic.

• The body doesn’t distinguish between past and present — or perceived and real threats.

What matters is how the nervous system responds.

3. Safety, the Nervous System & Why Healing Can Feel Impossible

Sherry and Amy explore why true healing can’t happen in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn — and why so many people stay stuck in survival mode for decades.

You’ll hear how:

• Restriction (including dieting) can be traumatic to the body

• Feeling unsafe in your body drives self-sabotage

• The body prioritizes survival over thriving

And why learning to feel safe again is foundational for healing, weight regulation, and emotional freedom.

4. Why Awareness Alone Isn’t Enough

Many people in therapy develop deep awareness of their triggers — yet remain stuck.

Amy explains how repeatedly retelling trauma without engaging the body can actually re-traumatize the nervous system, and why healing must include the physical and energetic body — not just the mind.

5. Breathwork: The Most Accessible Healing Tool We Have

Breathwork becomes the heart of this episode.

Amy explains why breath is so powerful:

• It directly regulates the nervous systemIt brings awareness back into the body

• It requires no equipment, no story, and no perfection
  

Unlike meditation, breathwork allows movement, sound, emotion, and release — giving the body permission to process what it’s been holding for years.

6. Energy Medicine, Ancient Wisdom & Trusting What You Can’t See

This conversation bridges ancient healing systems — herbalism, meridians, energy medicine — with modern nervous system science.

Amy shares how combining:

• Plant medicine

• Energy medicine

• Breathwork

• Trauma-informed support

created the breakthroughs that traditional medicine never could.

Powerful Takeaways

• Your body is not failing — it’s communicating

• Trauma is stored energy that needs movement, not suppression

• Healing requires safety, not force

• The body leads; the mind follows

• Simple tools can create profound shifts

• You don’t need to be “fixed” — you need to be supported

Closing Reflection

Healing isn’t about arriving at a destination — it’s about learning how to meet yourself with awareness, compassion, and trust.

As Amy reminds us:

“As long as you’re in a physical body, healing is part of the journey.”

This episode is an invitation to stop outsourcing your power — and begin listening to the wisdom that’s been within you all along.