Look Under the Shadow: Healing Cellular Memory & Early Trauma with Cherionna Menzam-Sills

In this conversation, I welcomes back Cherionna Menzam-Sills to discuss her latest book, The Prenatal Shadow. While many people focus on childhood or adult trauma, Cherionna highlights the profound, sentient experiences we have before birth. This episode explores the Prenatal Shadow—the unconscious memories and survival templates formed in the womb—and how they influence our personality, health, and how we meet the world today. We also explore the deep somatic intelligence of our earliest days. We discuss how cells shut down when they can’t fight or flee, the power of a practitioner’s presence, and the Womb Surround process—a gentle, group-supported method for re-patterning our birth stories.Cherionna started as an Occupational Therapist and her work spans pre and perinatal psychology, embryology, and biodynamic craniosacral therapy. She has been a therapist for 45 years and has a wealth of knowledge.🕒 Episode Timestamps00:00 | Introduction09:20 | Prenatal explained by Cherionna in the context of psychology18:36 | What you can experience with working with the shadow27:09 | In utero, the mother and baby are a dyad39:33 | I reflect on a journey I had with a family and experienced perinatal memory45:34 | How to work with Cherionna and her advice for practitioners54:30 | The most helpful way to further understand and integrate Cherionna's work59:59 | Cherionna's personal legend and how she knows she is on the right path1:02:48 | What happens in a Womb Surround🔗 Connect with CherionnaWebsite: www.birthingyourlife.orgFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/birthingyourlifeYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@CherionnaMenzamSillsThe Prenatal Shadow: Healing the Traumas Experienced Before and After Birth: https://www.birthingyourlife.org/the-prenatal-shadow/#Karuna Dartmoor: https://www.karunadartmoor.co.uk/🎵 like the music? Check out lunaluxeThank you Toshi for the design work!Elevate your mastery at my training in Santa Barbara.🙋Sign up for updates on the Floor Four and for my System Reset Experience.Checkout my Substack📷 Follow me on Instagram for glimpses of my integrative practice and conversations I’m having with other practitioners @drneelbulchandani🎙️ Tune into my podcast via Apple or Spotify and watch on YouTube to engage in conversations around transformation and healing with the theme of Compromised to Alchemized🙋 Sign up for my Trainings and learn more about Functional Mandibular Diaphragmatic Integration HERE. Jump into my practitioner-level course, Floor of the Mouth: Interconnectivity Unveiled. It’s composed of 6 modules (90 minutes each).