Dorian and Steph offer extended healing activities for nervous system support in our current times. They also share their experiences recording their first season.

Steph facilitates a resourcing exercise for relaxation and protection (at 07:13).

Dorian guides us in a 6 Healing Sounds Qi Gong breathwork activity to strengthen our voice and process emotions (at 22:50).

6 Healing Sounds Qi Qong

• Benefits
  • Balance emotions within the 5 elements of traditional Chinese medicine
  • Helps us support stress and stagnation
• When you are practicing
  • Do 1 or all 6 sounds
  • Sit or stand
  • Dorian recommends doing each healing sound in repetitions of 3s or multiples of 3s if you would like to have an extended practice
• Instructions with Images: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DTzJ5JzkmkCVxi17QwsdYHPqMbiNO6id0vH27zYIaKQ/edit?tab=t.0

Disclaimer: All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Dorian and Steph go over trauma basics, different options for healing, and how to find a practitioner. They also discuss how they take care of themselves in solitude and in community.

Dorian and Steph end with a loving-kindness meditation and a foot acupressure exercise (KD 1 Gushing Spring) for grounding.

Content Notes & Disclaimer: This episode includes mentions of childhood neglect and abuse, being traumatized while receiving healing services, the 2025 Southern California fires, and the current US government administration. The KD 1 acupressure point is not intended for anyone who may be pregnant. All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Steph and Dorian share how their upbringings led them to community organizing as well as how their traumas shaped the ways they've shown up in organizing spaces.

Some highlights include how Dorian’s eldest daughter status and Steph’s refugee family influenced each of them to take on too much responsibility and too little space.

They end with a self-reflection activity on how patterns from your upbringing show up in your current life and an acupressure exercise (Ren 17 Chest Center) to strengthen the voice.

Content Notes: This episode includes mentions of trauma from white supremacy, racism, xenophobia, classism, and institutional oppression as well as emotional, sexual, and physical abuse in the context of familial, romantic, and/or peer relationships. All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Dorian and Steph suss out what constitutes performative versus non-performative activism. They discuss the roles of the ego and self-awareness in helping to determine how to engage with the world authentically.

They end with a foot acupressure exercise (KD 3 Great Ravine) for fatigue and a reflection activity on your vision for engaging with the world.

Content Notes & Disclaimer: This episode mentions childhood trauma and was recorded in December 2024; it does not reflect the rapidly-changing sociopolitical climate of 2025 and beyond. All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Steph and Dorian discuss green and red flags for working in community. They share about the history of their comradeship, what they’ve learned from reliving trauma patterns in organizing, and their own healing breakthroughs in Brazilian jiu jitsu and somatic psychotherapy.

They end with a self-reflection on working with others and a hand acupressure exercise (Point LI 4 Joining Valley) to promote circulation and relieve pain.

Content Notes & Disclaimer: This episode includes descriptions of personal experiences of relationship abuse as well as mentions of the first Trump administration before his second term began. The LI 4 acupressure exercise is not intended for anyone who may be pregnant. All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Get to know Dorian and Steph on this first episode as they share about their backgrounds and how they got politicized as well as dive into their takes on community care and self-care.

They begin to piece together how histories of colonization and trauma led them to community organizing, and then how labor organizing and nonprofit work led them to holistic healing. They end with a reflection activity on community/self-care and a third-eye acupressure exercise (Yin Tang Hall of Impression).

Content Notes & Disclaimer: This episode includes mentions of personal experiences with colonization, internalized racism and colorism, relationship abuse, war trauma, and neglect. All medical and mental health content is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Awaken Our Whole Selves Podcast is a storytelling project between Awaken Remedies and Our Whole Selves Therapy on finding healing justice personally, socially and politically.

Dorian (she/her), an acupuncturist, and Steph (they/them), a psychotherapist, are longtime friends and former community organizers. They explore a variety of topics related to community- and self-care by sharing personal stories as well as professional takes and tips. Each episode ends with an acupressure exercise and a self-reflection activity.