I came from trauma, right? So I am really interested in working with people around trauma

to decrease violence in the world because that's an embodied experience that I've had.

So I think that our life experience shapes up. I mean, I've seen leaders all over the place,

whether it's like someone who's, you know, child died of cancer starts a foundation to work with families, you know, or some of the survivors of the mass shootings are starting nonprofits.

Going in and helping is a great way to actually heal

from our own traumas. The problem becomes if we're not at all addressing our trauma and we're

just simply wanting to address it out there, we risk, again, either burnout, self-harm or harming

others.

Welcome to Commune, where each week we explore the ideas and practices that bring us together and help us live healthy and purpose-filled

lives. In addition to being a podcast, Commune is also an online course platform featuring

some of the world's greatest teachers. Our next course, redefining leadership, starts on March 4th,

and is now open for free sign-ups at OneCommune.com.

Hala Kuri is one of the teachers from our leadership course, so we invited her on the show today to talk about somatic psychology, a form of psychotherapy that focuses on the embodied

self.

Ever since her family left war-torn Lebanon when she was a child, creative movement and self-inquiry have been

tremendous sources of personal healing for Hala. Her experiences led her to develop a deep passion for

understanding both the scientific and spiritual aspects of trauma. She's dedicated her life to this work,

earning a BA in psychology with a minor in religion,

a master's degree in counseling psychology, and today she's back in school, earning a PhD in community psychology, liberation studies, and eco-psychology. Hala is also one of the

creators of Off the Mat Into the World, along with Korn and Suzanne Sterling, a nonprofit dedicated to

utilizing the tools of yoga and somatic practices to inspire people to be conscious leaders of change.

When trauma isn't resolved, we get trapped in the past, and events in our present can trigger

...