S3 E4 Raina LaGrand on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Embodying Mixed Identities, Loneliness and the Dangers of Somatics

I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk with Raina Lagrand for this episode.

Raina LaGrand (she/her) is a somatic therapist, yoga teacher, speaker and facilitator specializing in racial identity, trauma, relationships and embodiment. In her practice, Root to Rise Somatics, she primarily helps mixed race adults and interracial couples build relationships where they feel emotionally connected, and she also works with people of all identities when her schedule allows. Outside of clinical work, Raina provides embodiment-based workshops and trainings for companies invested in anti-racism and social justice. Raina lives with her dog on occupied Anishinaabe land (Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA).

I hope you will enjoy our coverage of sensorimotor psychotherapy and how it helps us become more aware of our experience, following activation in the body, and becoming more embodied even if we have been through trauma.

We talk through how it feels to navigate spaces when we are "outsiders" in a group, not belonging necessarily to a particular group in a way. We need to understand broader context, and how some of our trauma is actually subconsious and and preverbal.

Healing these identities and having connections through family or learning aspects of our identity, beyond racial and cultural aspects. What do we value? How do we spend our time? What do we like to do? These all make up aspects of our value.

Sometimes we need to understand how our origin stories play into the become we have become. We also make choices about how we situate ourselves.

We speak about rejection sensitivity and how this plays a part not just in conditions like ADHD. Our mixed identities can sometimes lead to certain types of unknown rejection, and this can make us more sensitive to this process.

We explore the notion of being part of a "mixed" identity and how we need to serve as elders in a way, that this will be something we can created that we didn't have.

Raina explores her "Somatic Skills for Anxiety" class which available for purchase on her website.

To some extent, all of us struggle with interacting in groups. Loneliness is a big part of major health risk, and is at epidemic proportions according the Surgeon General.

Raina shares a practice called "the U turn" when she is working with couples, and things we can implement when we are working in relationship.

She offers a practice toward the end of our conversation to help ground ourselves.

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Check out Raina's offerings at Root to Rise Somatics.

Her Instagram is also Root to Rise Somatics.

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Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/

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