Why do people join cults and why do they stay? How does spiritual, mental and emotional trauma impact physical pain? Today I sit down with my sister, Danii Zak, to discuss her her complex journey through trauma, chronic pain, and religious abuse.

Danii shares about several key traumatic events that shaped her life, including a devastating natural disaster and a life-altering car accident that occurred while she was studying to become a pastor at a cult-adjacent religious organization, Hillsong Church. The conversation delves into the impact of these experiences on her mental health and the development of chronic pain. Danii discusses her healing journey through somatic therapy, emphasizing the importance of understanding the connection between trauma and physical pain. The episode will invite you to think for yourself, reclaim your truth, and take agency over your life.

Trigger Warning: In this episode we discuss trauma, religious abuse, chronic pain, and suicidal ideation.

Resources

Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed

Curable: A Different Approach to Chronic Pain

Stay in Touch!

Danii on Instagram: @heal.with.danielle

Danii's website: https://www.thewellnessjourney.ca/

Marie on Instagram: @althaeaherbals

Marie's Substack: @marieembodied

Book a somatic therapy and/or herbalism session.

Feeling stuck, small, or disempowered in your life? Jump into this conversation where I explore what it means to reclaim your personal power on an embodied level. This episode will encourage you to take accountability for the things you can change, while recognizing and accepting circumstances and dynamics that are out of your control.

You'll learn about early imprints and how they shape our relationship with power in the present, how to spot unhealthy power dynamics, and how to widen your nervous system's capacity to hold more personal power. If you're ready to creating real lasting change in both your inner and outer world - this episode is for you!

Ready to step on your path of embodiment? I invite you to explore my upcoming program, Reclaim Your Power. This is an eight-week somatic program that will provide you with the tools and guidance that will support you tto step into the version of yourself who embodies your power, protects your boundaries, and lives in deep self-trust.

Lasting change doesn’t happen through sheer willpower; it happens when your nervous system feels safe and resourced enough to expand its capacity to hold more power. Learn more here.

Stay in Touch!

Instagram: instagram.com/althaeaherbals/

Substack: https://substack.com/@marieembodied

Book a somatic therapy and/or herbalism session.

Have you ever wondered what people mean when they talk about listening to the body or regulating their nervous system?

In this episode I dive into the foundations of somatic work, particularly focusing on the creating a felt sense of safety in the nervous system. This episode emphasizes the importance of understanding our bodies in order to foster a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us. You'll learn practical tools for expanding your window of tolerance, and helping your body to differentiate between lack of safe and simply uncomfortable situations. The episode serves as a guide for listeners to explore their own experiences with dysregulation and offers insights into how somatic therapy can help individuals reclaim their power and live more authentically.

Ready to step on your path of embodiment? I invite you to explore my upcoming program, Reclaim Your Power. This is an eight-week somatic program that will provide you with the tools and guidance that will support you to step into the version of yourself who embodies your power, protects your boundaries, and lives in deep self-trust.

Lasting change doesn’t happen through sheer willpower; it happens when your nervous system feels safe and resourced enough to expand its capacity to hold more power. Learn more here.

Stay in Touch!

Instagram: instagram.com/althaeaherbals/

Substack: https://substack.com/@marieembodied

Book a somatic therapy and/or herbalism session.

Traditional herbal systems were built based on deep relationships with the places people lived, and the plants they engaged with. These traditional practices recognize plants as teachers, guides and kin; it is only relatively recently that Western people lost their connect to the wisdom world of nature.

In this episode I speak about herbalism from an embodied perspective, sharing both my personal journey and the historical significance of herbal medicine. Plants have been one of the primary forms of medicine for thousands of years, and we have so much to learn from our ancestors about the respect and reverence for the natural world. This episode explores the importance of approaching herbalism with humility, reciprocity, and a focus on building meaningful relationships with plants, rather than merely viewing them as medicinal resources for extraction.

Ready to step on your path of embodiment? I invite you to explore my upcoming program, Reclaim Your Power. This is an eight-week somatic program that will provide you with the tools and guidance that will support you to step into the version of yourself who embodies your power, protects your boundaries, and lives in deep self-trust.

Lasting change doesn’t happen through sheer willpower; it happens when your nervous system feels safe and resourced enough to expand its capacity to hold more power. Learn more here.

Stay in Touch!

Instagram: instagram.com/althaeaherbals/

Substack: https://substack.com/@marieembodied

Book a somatic therapy and/or herbalism session.

Welcome to The Marie Embodied Podcast!

In this opening episode I sit down for a vulnerable share about my journey towards embodiment. I discuss my early years of religious trauma and substance abuse which left me shattered and disconnected from myself. Through body based practices like yoga, somatic therapy and Traditional Western Herbalism I began to heal my nervous system and piece myself back together. I eventually became a Clincal Herbalist and Somatic Herbalist myself to share these medicines with the the world and support others towards embodied healing.

This podcast will be about the perspectives, frameworks and modalities that guided me home to my body, allowing me to create a life of meaning, belonging, wonder, enchantment, and wholeness.

Ready to step on your path of embodiment? I invite you to explore my upcoming program, Reclaim Your Power. This is an eight-week somatic program that will provide you with the tools and guidance that will support you tto step into the version of yourself who embodies your power, protects your boundaries, and lives in deep self-trust.

Lasting change doesn’t happen through sheer willpower; it happens when your nervous system feels safe and resourced enough to expand its capacity to hold more power. Learn more here.

Stay in Touch!

Instagram: instagram.com/althaeaherbals/

Substack: https://substack.com/@marieembodied

Book a somatic therapy and/or herbalism session.