126. Reclaiming Your Erotic Aliveness: Somatics, Safety & Power with Darshana Avila

What does it mean to be erotically alive—and how do we reclaim that connection after trauma, disconnection, or years of shutting down?In this intimate and illuminating conversation, I’m joined by trauma-informed somatic educator and Netflix’s Sex, Love & goop expert Darshana Avila. Together, we unpack the deeper meaning of erotic aliveness, the body as a gateway to truth, and how our capacity for pleasure and power is often buried beneath layers of cultural conditioning and trauma.We explore the role of somatic safety in true intimacy, what it means to center the body over the mind in healing work, and how you can begin to feel more at home within yourself again.Darshana shares potent reflections from her own life, as well as embodied tools you can begin practicing now to move from shutdown to sensation, from dissociation to desire.This episode is a powerful reminder: your pleasure is not frivolous—it’s foundational. And reclaiming it is a radical, healing act.Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/gHt7QKw8K1gConnect with Darshana:www.darshanaavila.comwww.instagram.com/darshana_avilawww.youtube.com/@darshana-avilawww.linkedin.com/in/darshana-avilaFREE GIFT: skool.com/galgasmGalgasm! is a free online community hub for women and AFAB folks ready to live, love and lead from their deepest pleasure and power. With a library full of resources and live-taught workshops and Q&A sessions with Darshana, it's a wonderful way to begin your journey to Erotic Wholeness.Connect with me:❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“You can’t force the body to open. You can only invite it to feel safe.” “Erotic aliveness is your creative life force—not just sex, but your ability to feel, to create, to be present.” “The nervous system remembers everything. But it also knows how to heal.” “We’ve been taught to live from the neck up. Healing means coming home to the body.”“Pleasure is not a luxury. It’s a compass pointing us toward aliveness.”somatic healing, trauma recovery, erotic embodiment, nervous system regulation, intimacy, sexual healing, darshana avila, netflix sex love and goop, pleasure and power, trauma-informed healing, body-based therapy, reclaiming desire, embodied relationships, somatics for intimacy

In this solo episode, I open up about the unexpected connection between being a deep feeler and living life in performance mode. From my personal story of burnout and relationship misalignment to the experiences of my clients, I unpack how sensitivity, rejection, and the need for deep connection can drive us to overwork, people-please, and push ourselves beyond our limits. If you're a high-achieving, highly sensitive person who still feels unfulfilled no matter how much you accomplish — this episode is for you. Together, we explore what it really means to meet your core needs, and how aligning with your true essence creates more success, ease, and joy.Connect with me:❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:"Being highly sensitive and a deep feeler is challenging — but ignoring it costs you your fulfillment.""Your satisfaction doesn’t come from performing, it comes from depth, vulnerability, and being seen.""We perform to feel worthy, but that survival pattern blocks us from the connection we actually crave.""You’re not ‘too much’ — you’ve just been giving your empathy and energy to people who don’t return it.""True success doesn’t require you to abandon yourself — it comes when you come back to who you are."deep feeler podcast, high achiever burnout, somatic healing, nervous system regulation, emotional sensitivity, trauma healing, authentic living, personal transformation, inner child work, somatic coaching, performance trauma, HSP podcast, inner healing, overachiever anxiety, emotional healing podcast

This week, I did something that felt incredibly vulnerable. I voiced a desire—openly, bravely—and then had to sit in the discomfort of waiting. That space between expression and response cracked me wide open. In this solo episode, I take you inside that raw experience and reflect on how I’ve spent most of my life suppressing my desires because they never felt safe to have.I explore how childhood messaging shaped my relationship with longing, why desire became tangled with shame, and how so many of us were taught that being “good” meant not needing anything. I share what it’s taken for me to slowly reclaim the right to want, to feel, to long for more without fear of rejection. We’ll talk about the difference between desire and control, the nervous system’s response to not being met, and how learning to sit in our longing—without shrinking or numbing—can be the most liberating act of self-love.This is an intimate conversation about emotional maturity, the pain of unmet needs, and the sacredness of choosing to feel it all. If you’ve ever been told you’re “too much,” or found yourself performing perfection to avoid discomfort, I hope this episode makes you feel a little more seen, held, and empowered.Connect with me:❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“Desire itself isn’t painful. What’s painful is the history that taught us it wasn’t safe to want.”“Suppressing your needs doesn’t make you more lovable—it makes you disappear.”“You can't receive what you don't let yourself long for.”“When we shut down our desires, we shut down our aliveness.”trauma healing, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, emotional resilience, inner child healing, longing, desire, healing trauma, childhood wounds, emotional suppression, embodiment, shame healing, self-acceptance, somatic coaching, Marina Yanay-Triner

This was the hardest year of my life. I found myself in the deepest freeze — emotionally, physically, and spiritually. After walking away from a relationship I once thought was my forever, I faced the terrifying realization that I had been outsourcing my safety for most of my life. Safety in men. Safety in money. Safety in pretending everything was fine.In this solo episode, I walk you through the unraveling. The grief, the helplessness, the heartbreak. And the surprising emotion that finally cracked me open and pulled me out of freeze: anger. Not rage — but the deep, righteous anger that reminded me I deserve more.This isn’t a “bounce back” story. It’s a remembering. If you’ve ever felt stuck in clinging energy, desperate for love, money, or a way out — I hope this helps you feel seen. I hope it helps you come back to yourself.❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“I was literally enacting helplessness so that my husband would rescue me.”“Anger is the antidote to freeze. It woke me up when nothing else could.”“I thought I was doing it all ‘right’—the divorce, the healing—but I still collapsed. And that’s part of it too.”“You don’t get rewarded for being brave. You get broken open so you can finally see.”“Outsourcing my safety was inherited—but reclaiming it is mine.”Tagssomatic healing, nervous system regulation, freeze response, trauma healing, anger work, women’s healing, heartbreak recovery, emotional safety, attachment wounds, Marina Yanay-Triner, solo episode, inner child healing, reclaiming power, emotional resilience, body-based healing, nervous system support

In this episode, I’m joined by world-renowned trauma expert Dr. Diane Poole Heller for a profound conversation on attachment wounds, healing relational trauma, and the path back to secure connection. Diane shares insights from decades of work in Somatic Experiencing and her DARe™ model, helping us understand why so many of us feel unsafe in intimacy—and what we can do about it.We explore the origins of avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized attachment patterns, how early ruptures shape adult relationships, and why nervous system regulation is key to healing. Diane brings a grounded, compassionate perspective to the messy, tender process of becoming securely attached, whether you're in a relationship or not.This conversation is full of lightbulb moments, practical takeaways, and gentle reminders that secure connection is not just possible—it’s our birthright.Connect with Diane:www.traumasolutions.comhttps://www.instagram.com/traumaattachmenttraining/❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“Connection is a biological imperative—we’re wired to attach, even when it hurts.”“You don’t have to wait for a perfect childhood to have a great adulthood.”“Healing attachment wounds isn’t about fixing—you’re not broken. It’s about reconnecting.”“Our patterns were brilliant survival strategies. But they’re not always the best relationship strategies.”“Secure attachment can be earned, at any stage of life.”attachment healing, trauma recovery, somatic experiencing, secure attachment, avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, nervous system healing, childhood trauma, relationship wounds, emotional safety, trauma-informed relationships, intimacy healing, healing attachment styles

“Language can either divide us or bring us home to each other.”In this soulful conversation, Marina and Jawdat explore how Nonviolent Communication (NVC) becomes a bridge — between people, between cultures, and within ourselves. Jawdat, a lawyer and facilitator with Army of Healers, shares his work using dialogue, storytelling, and NVC to support trauma healing and collective reconciliation. Together, we explore how to communicate from compassion instead of defense, transform tension into deeper connection, bring awareness and healing into justice work, and use the body as a compass for honest, grounded expression.This episode invites us to see communication not just as words, but as an embodied act of love, repair, and truth.Connect with Jawdat:https://www.instagram.com/jdkassabhttps://jawdatkasab.wixsite.com/appraiser❥Softening into self- 3 month 1:1 with Whats App Support:https://marina-yt.mykajabi.com/offers/PAWQhZHu❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“Language is not neutral — it can be a weapon or a bridge.”“Compassion doesn’t mean agreeing. It means staying present with humanity.”“We can’t heal collectively without learning how to listen.”nonviolent communication, trauma healing, conflict transformation, empathy, peacebuilding, nervous system regulation, heartspace podcast, marina yanay triner, jawdat kasab, trauma informed communication, collective healing, nervous system awareness, self compassion, embodiment, emotional regulation, healing podcast, inner healing, community healing

I’m joined by the radiant Sarah May—author, yoga teacher, Reiki healer, and intuitive guide—for a deeply honest and nourishing conversation about what it really means to come home to yourself. After doing everything she was “supposed” to do, Sarah found herself crying in a van in the middle of the desert, completely disconnected from her truth. That moment sparked a radical journey of healing, intuition, embodiment, and finally choosing a life that felt good, not just looked good on paper.We talk about how Sarah navigated grief, perfectionism, and pressure to achieve, and how she found her way back to wholeness through yoga, somatic practices, intuitive guidance, and her connection to nature. She shares how her van life adventure with her husband became more than a road trip—it became a pilgrimage back to her soul.If you’ve ever felt like you did everything “right” and still felt empty, or if you’re standing at a crossroads wondering if it’s safe to choose you—this episode will hold your hand through it.Connect with Sarah:www.shejourneys.uswww.instagram.com/she__journeysGet The Book: https://www.amazon.com/She-Journeys-Memoir-Heartbreak-Homecoming/dp/1647429625Personal website for healing offerings: www.shejourneys.us❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“I had done everything right. And yet, I still felt completely lost.”“The van didn’t save me. It gave me space to finally feel what I’d been avoiding for years.”“We talk a lot about coming home. But what does it really mean to come home to yourself?”“Letting go of ‘should’ was the most healing act I could give myself.”spiritual healing, somatic healing, intuitive living, healing journey, yoga for healing, women’s healing, reiki and intuition, grief and transformation, van life healing, spiritual awakening podcast, author interview, self-discovery journey, heart healing, feminine energy, burnout recovery

In this deeply nourishing episode, I’m joined by Ann Weiser Cornell, PhD—author, teacher, and a pioneer in emotional healing through the practice of Focusing and radical acceptance. Ann has spent decades helping people transform the parts of themselves they’ve been trying to fix, hide, or silence. Together, we explore what it means to turn toward the most painful emotions—shame, fear, self-doubt—not with resistance, but with compassion and presence.Ann shares how the nervous system and emotional patterns can become “stuck” when we reject or disown parts of our inner experience. We dive into the powerful concept of self-in-presence, and how relating to your inner world without merging or identifying with it can become a path to deep, lasting healing.If you've ever felt broken, overwhelmed by inner criticism, or caught in cycles of emotional pain you can’t “logic” your way out of, this conversation is here to remind you: you are not your trauma, your coping mechanisms, or your pain. You’re the one who can learn to turn toward it—with gentleness, curiosity, and radical acceptance.Connect with Anne:https://focusingresources.com/https://focusingresources.com/https://focusingresources.com/learning/untangling/https://focusingresources.com/learning/get-bigger-than-whats-bugging-you❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“You are not your shame. You’re the one who can turn toward it with love.” — Ann Weiser Cornell“When you stop trying to fix yourself and start listening to yourself, healing begins.” — Ann Weiser Cornell“Presence is not detachment—it’s the warm, loving awareness that says, ‘I’m here with you.’”Ann Weiser Cornell, radical acceptance, emotional healing, somatic healing, trauma recovery, focusing therapy, nervous system regulation, self-compassion, inner child healing, shame healing, healing from trauma, parts work, embodiment, personal growth podcast, deep healing conversations

In this solo episode, I’m opening up about one of the most tender and complex parts of my healing journey — growing up with emotionally immature parents and the lifelong impact it can have on our nervous systems, relationships, and sense of self.I share what it’s like to carry the invisible weight of over-responsibility, to be the emotional regulator in your family, and to navigate the guilt and grief that comes with creating space or going no-contact. This isn’t just about cutting people out — it’s about reclaiming your energy, your truth, and your right to feel safe in your own body.If you’ve ever felt torn between loyalty and self-preservation, between being the “good daughter” and finally being honest about how much it’s all costing you — you’re not alone. I’ve been there, and I’m still walking this path.I also talk about what helped me come back to myself and how I support others through this work inside my group program, The Unburdened Heart — for those of us who were never really held in the ways we needed.This one’s for the fixers, the feelers, the hyper-independent women who are so damn tired of holding it all. Let this episode be your permission slip to put it down.❥Join The Unburdened Heart Program: https://marinayt.com/the-unburdened-heart ❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:“There’s a kind of grief that comes when you stop trying to make a broken system love you.”“I spent years trying to be the calm in everyone else’s storm — and abandoning myself in the process.”“You can love someone and still need distance to protect your nervous system.”“I had to learn that taking space isn’t selfish — it’s sacred.”“It’s not my job to carry what my parents never learned to hold.”somatic healing, emotionally immature parents, trauma healing, nervous system regulation, inner child work, family estrangement, grief, fixer identity, boundaries, somatic coaching, Marina Yanai Trainer, The Unburdened Heart, CPTSD recovery, adult children of narcissists, self abandonment healing, trauma-informed care

In this deeply personal and vulnerable episode, Marina shares the most transformative relationship experience of her life—the one that finally broke the cycle of being the fixer in love. With raw honesty, she opens up about falling for someone with immense potential, a soulful connection, and an incredibly difficult past. But more importantly, she shares how she finally walked away—not just physically, but emotionally and somatically—from the belief that her love could save someone who didn’t want to be saved.This is not just a story of heartbreak; it’s a story of nervous system healing, boundary reclamation, and rewriting the blueprint of what love feels like. If you've ever stayed in a relationship hoping the other person would change, if you've ever been hooked by potential instead of reality, or if you’ve lost yourself trying to fix someone else—this episode will speak to the deepest parts of you.Marina invites you into her process of grieving not only a romantic relationship but also her relationship with her father, and how all of it ties back to her childhood pattern of trying to earn love through healing others. She reflects on her own addiction—not to substances, but to hope, to the fixer fantasy, and to the deep desire for emotional safety. Through this heartbreak, she found a sense of freedom she never knew was possible.❥Join The Unburdened Heart Program: https://marinayt.com/the-unburdened-heart ❥❥1:1 Coaching with me: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcZM5s9c2OjOLwoGMI5jE6rh_JAzjN2d_vCtuVe7e3pVGxw/viewform❥❥❥Stay or Go Course: ⁠https://marinayt.com/stay-or-go⁠ ❥❥❥❥ FREE RESOURCE: a step-by-step process of working with your triggersTRIGGERED TO ROOTED: A ROADMAP TO CREATE TREASURES FROM YOUR TRIGGERSThis powerful step by step process will walk you through how to somatically move through a trigger, ground yourself, allow the emotions to come up and experience massive growth in your lifeDownload here:⁠ ⁠https://marinayt.com/trigger-2-rooted⁠⁠Follow me on Instagram:⁠ ⁠www.instagram.com/marina.y.t⁠⁠ Subscribe to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@marinatriner Top Episode Quotes:"I was addicted—not to him—but to his recovery. That was my drug.""I used to fall in love with who people could be. Now I fall in love with how they treat me.""Healing isn’t just knowing better. It’s feeling differently. It's your nervous system learning what safety actually is.""The fixer in me always saw souls. But now, I’m learning to love what’s real.""I grieved the love story that never happened—because potential isn’t love, and fantasy isn’t reality."trauma healing, somatic healing, relationship patterns, fixer mentality, codependency, emotional healing, nervous system regulation, heartbreak recovery, boundaries, breaking trauma bonds, Marina Yanay-Triner, Deep Within podcast