Holistic Life Navigation

[Ep. 357] Microdosing A Kit Kat Bar (Give Me A Goddamn Break) Oct 12, 2026 523 Today's podcast is an audio version of today's email.⁠⁠Not a part of the HLN newsletter? You can join here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/join-my-newsletterYou can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-and-body-image-webinar You can register for November's Community

[Ep. 356] One Or Two Parents Cannot Replace The Village Oct 5, 2026 296 One of the biggest losses of the modern era is the loss of the village. Without the village we parent in isolation and use screens with our child(ren) to give us a break. But this plunges our kid(s) into their own isolation: isolation breeding isolation, and parental burnout. You can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.h

[Ep. 355] This Is Why Parenting Sucks - & It Doesn't Have To Oct 3, 2026 421 What does wanting our kids to like us have to do with a kid’s sense of being too much to handle? Drop in to find out in this tiny taste of the upcoming 6-month Embodied Parenting Slow Group, starting October 6th: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/parenting-groupThe live webinar has passed, but you can watch the replay here: https://hln.thinkific.com/courses/embodied-parenting-webinarDo you wa

[Ep. 354] Screens: The New Drug Everyone Is Dealing Kids Sep 27, 2026 1149 Screen addiction in kids, and the isolation it fosters, is the most insidious parenting issue today. Kids and adults disassociate both lose themselves in the screen — the big difference is that many of us developed without the prevalence of screens, while our kids don't have that privilege. Kids now retreat to their rooms, alone, orienting to TikTok and influencers, not their family or elders

[Ep. 353] "I Don't Believe Minors Should Transition"... An Honest & Respectful Disagreement Between Myself & Psychologist Mackenzie Steiner Sep 20, 2026 4752 Luis and Psychologist Mackenzie Steiner dive deep into their own truths about minors surgically transitioning, who *actually* is trans, de-transition rates, how gender dysphoria shows up in the brain, and gender affirming care options for children. They share wisdom and stories from their own individual experiences with gender dysphoria, and how they navigated the experience. Each opted for surger

[Ep. 352] How To Connect With Your Kids When They're Shutdown (Parallel Co-Regulation) Sep 13, 2026 1131 Neurodivergent kids or teenagers often come home overwhelmed just from spending the day masking, or surviving the hormonal shifts. Directly engaging them often results in frustration. They need to rebuild their capacity from the day before they are resourced enough to engage with us. Let them disconnect and resource before initiating Parallel Co-Regulation. The goal of Parallel Co-Regulation is at

[Ep. 351] Transform Your Child's Behavior and Moods With This Snack Sep 6, 2026 830 Stimulating foods loaded in sugar and carbs are everywhere, and especially advertised to our children. These foods cause spikes and dips in glucose which result in an adrenal response. This transforms nervous systems and brain chemistry, negatively impacting dopamine levels. Sometimes we call the result a tantrum, shutting down, or an inability to concentrate. We can change so much about a kid’s,

[Ep. 350] Embodied Parenting: Teens, Single Parenting, and Sleep Deprivation Sep 3, 2026 1423 Luis gives us question-and-answer style examples of his upcoming six month Embodied Parenting Slow Group, starting October 6th. https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/parenting-groupParents ask how to single parent, or co-parent with a sick partner, how to parent while sleep deprived without doing the "cry it out" method, and how to parent rebellious teens and siblings. And a big one: ho

[Ep. 349] You Need Capacity To Connect, Not Love Sep 1, 2026 769 Today's podcast is an audio version of today's email.⁠⁠Not a part of the HLN newsletter? You can join here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/join-my-newsletterYou can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-and-body-image-webinar You can register for November's Community

[Ep. 348] It's Been 11 Years & This Is What Parenting Has Taught Me Aug 30, 2026 642 Parenthood is brutal and brilliant, like drinking Ayahuasca for over a decade. Our upcoming six-month Embodied Parenting program starts October 6th, but it won't provide you with answers, nor a guide book. Instead, we'll dive deep into accessing and learning our bodies instincts and intuition to discover our own unique truth.Click here to sign up for our newsletter, and for Embodied Pare

[Ep. 347] Let's Talk About Dysphoria In Kids Aug 24, 2026 734 Today's podcast is an audio version of today's email.⁠⁠Not a part of the HLN newsletter? You can join here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/join-my-newsletter⁠You can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-and-body-image-webinar You can register for November's Communit

[Ep. 346] Kids + Dysphoria: It Doesn't Always Mean They're Trans Aug 23, 2026 1180 We, or our children, can be gender non-conforming, or have body dysphoria and not be trans. There is nothing wrong with bodies in puberty (which is an inherently dysphoric experience): the problem is with our culture, families and society not having rites of passage, and not knowing how to support and hold space for teenage bodies as they mature. Dive into this podcast, and for a more in-depth exp

[Ep. 345] "We Think Gentle Parenting Is Cheesy"... How The HLN Team Parents Aug 16, 2026 3523 Marika, Evan, Camille and Luis talk about their experiences as parents on today’s podcast. Marika came to embodiment and studied somatics after her son became an adult, while Evan trained in somatics before becoming a parent to his one year old. So the team discusses embodied parenting from a full spectrum of perspectives and experiences. They discuss how embodiment has changed their parenting. As

[Ep. 344] Come See Me In London Before I Get Sick Of Talking About Food Jul 21, 2026 418 Luis drops a brief announcement about his upcoming visit to the U.K.!You can read more about the upcoming events below:8/29: Alternatives Workshop09/06 - 09/02: Broughton Sanctuary Retreator send us an email at info@holisticlifenavigation.comYou can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-an

[Ep. 343] Why Being Seen Is So Hard (It's Supposed To Be) Jul 15, 2026 655 Today's podcast is an audio version of the mid-month newsletter.Not a part of the HLN newsletter? You can join here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/join-my-newsletterYou can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-and-body-image-webinar You can register for November's Commu

[Ep. 342] I'm Quitting My Live 7-Week Course...For Good Jul 12, 2026 3535 Marika, Camille, Evan and Luis reminisce about the 7 week course, how it started, and what their individual entry points were: Marika’s was admin in the very early days, Camille’s was the famous ant crawling on Luis as he taught, and Evan, as a long time musician friend, started in podcast production. Each recounts their experience of the 7 week course. The course was the first offering HLN ever o

[Ep. 341] GLP-1s, Obesity, & Emotions Jul 5, 2026 1859 Luis and Camille riff on GLP-1s. They are not a silver bullet, nor do they teach you how to relate to food, but they can be a great temporary auto regulator and bridge while a new food relationship is built. In an era of overfed and undernourished people, Luis and Camille talk about how to get nutritional needs met. Resmaa Menakem speaks about culture vs strategy. Diet culture is a strategy. Our s

[Ep. 340] Are You Being Traumatized By Your Food? Jun 28, 2026 1230 Stress is a short term experience that results in elevated adrenaline that often manifests with higher blood pressure, increased heart rate, muscle tension and anxiety. Certain foods can increase our fight-or-flight stress hormones, putting our body on a hormonal rollercoaster, while other foods can increase our capacity for peace. Luis’ book, Food Therapy, has more of the philosophy and practices

[Ep. 339] Did This Woman Find The Cure For Chronic Pain? It's Not What You Think w/ Nicole Sachs Jun 21, 2026 3923 Luis and Nicole Sachs dig into the depths of pain. She believes pain is caused by fear, and the meaning we assign to the pain, keeping the nervous system in fight or freeze. If we think something is wrong with us, a stress response results, because we become our own threat. Nicole lived in her own cage of pain, fear and shame until she found Dr. Sarno’s work. He believes back pain is due to bottle

[Ep. 338] How Nutrition Increases Your Capacity To Be Seen & Metabolize Stress Jun 14, 2026 1182 Feeling anxious? Your body might need to down-regulate. Feeling depressed? Your body might need to up-regulate. This modulation of finding balance can be achieved in two ways, through a simple supportive practice Luis offers, and through food. Food affects our biology 24 hours a day. What we eat can activate us into a fight-or-flight response, effectively inducing stress. Or, we can consciously al

[Ep. 337] How Blood Sugar Is Affecting Your Mental Health Jun 7, 2026 1230 PSA: psychiatry does not have any case reports of diseases that are validated! This shortcoming of the DSM is why Luis dropped out of psychology and instead chose holistic psychology. As Luis sees it, behavior is not a fixed identity. There is no biochemical data proving “mental disease”. What we can track is neurotransmitters, like seratonin. 50-90% of these are made in the gut. Cue nutrition. Fo

[Ep. 336] How To Lose 125 Pounds & Lower Your Stress Naturally May 24, 2026 2781 He lost 10 pounds in a month. She lost 125 pounds in 4.5 years. Why? Because they didn’t focus on the weight. Camille and Luis focused on tending to their nervous systems so that their bodies could shift from fat storage mode to fat burning mode. Camille credits her shift to focusing on ease, energy, and flow. She also focused on reducing her adrenaline overload, then she worked on reducing her in

[Ep. 335] Dopamine Kids: The 4 Ingredients For Addiction w/ Michaeleen Doucleff May 3, 2026 3696 Michaeleen Doucleff joins Luis for an effervescent meeting of minds in this joyful podcast. A reporter and an author with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, Michaeleen’s knowledge base is vast and fascinating. In 2021 she published Hunt Gather Parent, and in March 2026 she published Dopamine Kids. Luis credits her work as changing his family’s life because of fundamental parenting shifts she shares that the

[Ep. 334] How To Enjoy Your Peace When Others Are Suffering Apr 26, 2026 3597 Camille Leak, Grey Doolin, and Luis chat about protecting their peace amidst dysregulated political times. With the privilege of their safety, they are attuning to what is true for them and where their agency lies. So many are glued to screens, attuning to someone else’s story and suffering, bypassing the okay-ness of their own reality. This attunement to suffering doesn’t always resource them to

[Ep. 333] You're Allowed To Change Your Mind: The Forbidden Art Of Canceling Apr 19, 2026 1135 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookJoin Luis for a quick chat about the taboo art of cancelling plans. Once loath to cancel, Luis revels in the deliciousness of cancelling when his body needs to. Most of us live from our desire, or conditioned desire, and push our bodies past capacity to keep our schedules intact. But true integrity lies in our alignmen

[Ep. 331] "Had I Listened To Her, I Wouldn't Even Be Doing This" - Healing The Inner Child w/ Dr. Nicole LePera (The Holistic Psychologist) Apr 7, 2026 3216 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookLuis welcomes back Nicole LePera to the podcast to chat about her new book, "Reparenting the Inner Child." They discuss what it's like being real and messy in the public eye, and the role the fawn response plays in that experience. They explore how the inner child shows up in daily life, how tending to o

[Ep. 330] Stress Demands More Nutrients Apr 5, 2026 2780 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookNeuronutritionist Timothy Frie joins Luis today. Tim learned early in his studies that the neural pathways of appetite and food-seeking are the ones most impacted by stress, and that stress increases nutrient demand. He connects the threads for us on how he followed this curiosity, healed his body and disordered eating

[Ep. 329] What Being Goth & Recent Imposter Syndrome Taught Me About Belonging Mar 29, 2026 1963 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookKickin’ it old school, Luis does a solo meander around the topic of belonging. Videoless podcasting, as he is today, allows his vision the enjoyable option to focus on whatever it wants, like the ant walking on a nearby plant. (Fun HLN fact, Camille decided she wanted to learn from Luis when she saw his reaction to a b

[Ep. 328] How Screens, Processed Food & Burnout Are Driving Your Freeze Response Mar 22, 2026 2579 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookDopamine, amino acids, hopelessness, and beans! Let's dive in with Luis and Camille as they explore burnout and freeze alongside ADHD. If we get our dopamine from ultra processed foods, devoid of micronutrients, lacking L-Tyrosine, we do not replenish the building blocks to make more dopamine. We find ourselves ho

[Ep. 327] Exhaustion Is A Boundary: Are You Breaking It? Mar 18, 2026 481 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-book"How do I stimulate myself to get through life without burning out and getting sick?" Today Luis explores this question, sharing what he wrote in a recent newsletter. He also discusses other upcoming offerings, where you can learn more in a nuanced, somatic environment.You can watch the replay of the webinar

[Ep. 326] Embodying ADHD: Creating A Life That Fascinates You (Part 3/3) Mar 15, 2026 1845 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookThrowback to when Camille’s weekends contained 16 bottles of wine, and a day contained 80 cigarettes for Luis. Wine and cigarettes respectively calmed and stimulated their neurodivergent brains into surviving. They no longer need wine or cigarettes because they live in alignment with their interests and capacity: part

[Ep. 325] Embodying ADHD: Navigating Overwhelm, Capacity, & Relationships (Part 2/3) Mar 8, 2026 2255 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookWe aren’t gonna tell you how to fix ADD/ADHD. (Spoiler alert, you or your loved one don’t need fixing.) We are, however, going to teach our 6-month group on how to relate to ADHD, in yourself or in someone else. The actual problem is a societal standard our brain wasn’t designed for. In this podcast we are talking abou

[Ep. 324] Embodying ADHD: Dopamine Deficiency, Functional Freeze, & Stimulants (Part 1/3) Mar 1, 2026 2223 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookAt the age of nine Luis was diagnosed with ADHD. He never medicated with pharmaceuticals: instead his drugs of choice were coffee, cigarettes, and a stimulating diet. Over the years Luis has learned how to reduce the stimulants needed to keep him engaged. ADD/ADHD is when there is not enough dopamine getting to the bra

[Ep. 323] Embodying ADHD: My Story Of Being Unmedicated & Thriving Feb 22, 2026 1758 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookIn this replay episode, we explore ADHD or RITC -- a Radical Inability To Conform.Luis shares with us his own childhood experiences with ADHD, Tourette's syndrome, and nervous ticks. Often people are prescribed medications to suppress these conditions but Luis questions what would it mean to allow ourselves to rel

[Ep. 322] Biochemist Explains How Chronic Stress Fuels 99% Of All Our Diseases Feb 15, 2026 2197 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookOur favorite biochemist, Karen Hurd, joins us again to discuss how stress fuels disease. Chronic levels of stress, be it from food, relationships, physical exertion, thought patterns, or the environment, all tax the adrenal glands. Karen tells us how and why this happens. With taxed adrenals we are left feeling burnt o

[Ep. 321] How Stress & Trauma Affect Female Hormones & Sexuality Feb 8, 2026 3675 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookKymber Maulden joins us on the podcast today. Fertility isn't just for women who want to be mothers, it is a sign of health in menstruating females. Trauma stresses and rapidly oxidizes the body, causing it to need even more nutrients and therefore be in metabolic debt. This draws on resources contributing to low

[Ep. 320] Let's Talk About The New Food Pyramid Feb 1, 2026 3425 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookThe new Food Pyramid is released in the United States, turning the old one on its point. Regardless of how you feel about the administration it is released under, the focus has shifted from carbs and demonizing fats to centering protein, vegetables, nuts, beans and healthy fats. Camille reminds us that it is a guidelin

[Ep. 319] The Self, Star Wars, and Savoring Depression Jan 25, 2026 3293 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookLuis and Camille banter as they dive into the concept of the Self in somatics. Along the way Luis offers 3 practices to work with finding the Self as witness. This witnessing allows us to be with a sensation or state and feel it rather than avoid it. It also helps us dis-identify from the state. From there we can exper

[Ep. 318] How Nourishing Foods Helped Her Feel Like A Woman Again w/ Tasha Blank Jan 18, 2026 3283 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookLuis and Tasha talk about beauty standards, eating disorders and their role in Tasha's life. She used food as a way to control her appearance and fit into beauty standards. Her hormones tanked. Out of desperation she began the complicated journey of taking control of her own health. In 2020-2021 she found herself

[Ep. 317] Meet Linda Erman: The Woman Who Initiated Me Into Somatics Jan 11, 2026 2247 PRE-ORDER the upcoming book now: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/the-bookMeet Linda Erman, Luis' Somatic Godmother, Art Therapist and Somatic Experiencing practitioner. About a decade ago Luis decided to go back to school for psychology. Instead of school his own body's resurgence of symptoms led him to Linda and her Somatic work. Linda herself found SE in her 50s. SE carefully te

[Ep. 316] LECTURE EXCERPT: The Correlation Between Visceral Fat, Inflammation, and Trauma Jan 4, 2026 753 Curious about how Luis teaches? Here is your window into a nutritional teaching about stored trauma, visceral fat, and inflammation. Stored trauma in the body sets off a chain reaction resulting in elevated insulin, putting the body into fat storage mode. Visceral fat becomes an endocrine organ producing protein molecules called cytokines that create an inflammatory response. This process primes t

[Ep. 315] Cracking The Code For Weight Loss: Insulin, Calories, and Stress Dec 28, 2025 901 3 Oreos and 1/2 an Avocado join Luis on the podcast today. Their calories are the same, but how each affects our glucose levels is very different. Refined carbs spike glucose, which increases insulin, and puts us into fat storage mode.Another factor to weight is stress and trauma, especially when in functional freeze, where we produce adrenaline, but do not burn it off with movement. Join us live

[Ep. 314] Food Therapy: How Nutrition Impacts Addiction & Recovery (Webinar Replay) Dec 21, 2025 4602 Today's episode is a replay of the recent free Food Therapy session.Recovery is different from abstinence, though both are important as you heal from addiction. Abstinence is the avoiding of an addictive substance, while recovery is the balancing of your body from years of addiction. For example, some people go from cocaine to coffee so the same activating patterns of addiction are playing ou

[Ep. 313] The Connection Between Weight Gain & Trauma Dec 14, 2025 1045 Quick and dirty, Luis outlines the science between insulin and fat storage. It's not the least amount of calories that is the golden ticket, instead, it's the least amount of glucose spike. He teaches us which foods, and the ideal combination of those foods, that results in the least amount of glucose release, so that the body goes into fat burning mode instead of fat storage mode. An im

[Ep. 312] How This Blue Collar Carpenter Became An Embodied Man w/ Colin Safranek Dec 7, 2025 2680 Colin is our fourth and final small group facilitator for the Embodied Masculinity program starting January 6th 2026. His journey to somatics, and Luis, started with a nail gun, and the pain resulting from repetitive use. He realized he was holding tension around accuracy in physical labor, and relationally around important topics. Somatics helped show him how to hold his body through work and rel

[Ep. 311] How S*x Apps Affect The Gay Community And Men Nov 30, 2025 6454 Al Romano, Tim Paula, Rio Allen, and Naveed join Luis for a collaborative conversation about sex apps in the gay community, and what men really want. Men are conditioned to discover their sexuality as boys, isolated with porn. And yet, all bodies want security, touch ,and connection. Corporations prey upon this conditioning and need with sex apps that dehumanize and objectify men, gamifying their

[Ep. 310] "They Called Me Gay Just For Singing" Why Men Shut Down & Isolate w/ Steven Rasovsky Nov 23, 2025 3049 2025 and it's still fringe as f*ck for men to do somatic work. Why? Because men are conditioned to suppress the parts of themselves that are tender and vulnerable with dissociation and porn. Join Luis and his friend Steven as they discuss masculinity and the upcoming 6 month Embodied Masculinity Slow group, starting January sixth. Steven reminisces about singing with a friend when he was 11 y

[Ep. 309] Share This With A Man You Know: How P*rn Affects Their Relationships Nov 20, 2025 1013 Our boys, too often, grow up using porn as a formulaic way to self soothe. They experience the dopamine rush, stimulation and sexual gratification in isolation. There is no touch or feedback in return, no boundaries to navigate, just dissociative pleasure.This stress loop, repeated chronically in a young body becomes a developmental trauma. The pattern spills into future relationships, where they

[Ep. 308] "He Called Me A F*ggot For Wearing Striped Socks"... How One Man Reclaimed His Masculinity From Toxic Modeling w/ Atarah Valentine Nov 16, 2025 3288 Atarah Valentine joins Luis on the podcast today. They warm up talking about how we can practice self hatred, and we can practice gratitude. It's all a practice. What choices and practices have adapted you to be the person you are? Men, Atarah saw, hurt women. He did not want to hurt women. As a result he practiced hating masculinity. He evoked feminine energy emulating his grandmother who w

[Ep. 307] Mystic Nomad: A Woman’s Wild Journey to True Connection w/ Annette Knopp Nov 13, 2025 2796 On today's episode, Luis is joined by Annette Knopp - meditation teacher, somatic educator, nature mystic, and author - to discuss her newly released book Mystic Nomad: A Woman's Wild Journey to True Connection.In her book, Annette shares the personal experiences that shaped who she is as a person, and then how these events developed her way of teaching and showing up in the world. Part

[Ep. 306] When Men Don't Have To Hold It All Themselves w/ Zach Kalatsky Nov 9, 2025 2799 Meet Zach Kalatsky, a mentor for the Embodied Masculinity 6 months slow group, as well as a member of the HLN retreat team. He joins Luis today for a chat about their experience as friends, and as part of a team that holds the all male slow group members. So many men identify as being fatherless sons, sons of men who could not connect and support their boys the ways they needed. The result is a li

[Ep. 305] Why Men Don't Practice Somatics Nov 6, 2025 902 Somatics is naturally an inward focused practice involving the noticing of internal feelings and sensations, something that sociatally, in America at least, only women are "allowed" to notice. Men often feel like they need to be loud and dominant, focusing their energy outward lest they seem weak, whereas women can be fluid, sensuous and internally focused. However, it's when men le

[Ep. 303] How I Stopped Hating Men Nov 1, 2025 1038 Join Luis as he gets vulnerable about his history with dysphoria around masculinity. His DNA is coded to express as female, yet he has male sex organs that produce testosterone. Feminine attributes made him the target of male abuse, and as a result he learned to reject his masculinity (associated with abuser energy) and femininity (associated with victim energy), both felt dangerous. The abuse and

[Ep. 302] Radical Rehumanizing: How To Dislike Someone With An Open Heart Oct 12, 2025 5681 In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Luis invites Camille Leak and Gray Doolin into a raw conversation about the somatics of dehumanization. Together, they explore what happens in the body when we dislike someone so deeply that we strip away their humanity, and how to stay open-hearted even in disagreement.The team discusses how somatic awareness has helped them recognize that feeling

[Ep. 301] Sovereign Love: Finding Safety In Yourself, THEN Your Partner w/ Dené Logan Oct 7, 2025 3504 On today's episode Luis welcomes his friend and colleague Dené Logan - group facilitator, therapist, and author - to the podcast.They discuss her concept of Sovereign Love, and dive deep into the nuance of relationships and the way we show up to them.and the culturally imposed ideas of what a love, and relationships, look like. They explore:Culturally dominant ideas of what love and relations

[Ep. 300] Hate Speech: Can Words Really Hurt Us? Oct 5, 2025 3729 Luis and Camille dive into the complexities of free speech, exploring the difference between what is truly dangerous and what is simply triggering. They discuss how words can hurt when our sense of self isn’t yet established, and how building the inner witness allows us to pause, discern, and let go of what doesn’t belong to us.Together they unpack the distinction between harm and danger, the powe

[Bonus Episode] Food Therapy: Supporting ADHD With Nutrition (Webinar Replay) Oct 2, 2025 5231 Today's episode is a replay of the recent free Food Therapy session.Most treatments for ADHD rely on stimulants that create dopamine spikes, helping us push through tasks that otherwise feel painfully boring. While these can help in the short term, they don’t address the deeper needs of the body. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 9 and has been working for over 15 years as a nutri

[Ep. 299] The Connection Between Processed Foods & Trauma Sep 28, 2025 1715 Why do we crave junk food when we’re stressed? In this episode, Luis explores how trauma and chronic stress deplete the body, driving us toward processed foods for quick hits of serotonin and temporary relief. He explains the three categories of foods—stimulants, depressants, and balancers—how each affects our emotional state, and why balancing foods are essential for true regulation.Luis also sha

[Ep. 298] Unfawning, Risking Conflict, & Channeling Anger w/ Dr. Ingrid Clayton Sep 25, 2025 2635 On today's episode, Luis welcomes back Dr. Ingrid Clayton for a deep dive into fawning.Both share their personal experiences with fawning, both historical and present, and how their relationship with this trauma response has evolved over time.They discuss:how conflict and authenticity feels risky, and fawning helps to avoid itstepping into authenticityincreasing capacity for discomfort and re

[Ep. 297] The Biology Of Trauma [THE BOOK] w/ Dr. Aimie Apigian Sep 23, 2025 2914 What if your body wasn’t broken, but brilliantly designed to survive?In today’s episode, Luis speaks with Dr. Aimie Apigian — medical doctor, biochemist, and foster parent — about her new book The Biology of Trauma. After her foster son told her he was going to kill her, Dr. Apigian’s search for answers revealed that trauma is rooted in biology, not weakness.Tune in as they discuss how trauma rewi

[Ep. 296] Pendulation: The Practice That Saved My Life Sep 21, 2025 955 On today's episode, Luis teaches about pendulation, a term coined by Peter Levine, and taught through Somatic Experiencing. Luis shares about his understanding of "active" pendulation, how to not bypass, and how the practice changed his life. At the end of the episode, Luis takes us through a guided pendulation practice so you can experience firsthand what he's teaching about.Y

[Ep. 295] Humanizing Charlie Kirk: Using Somatics & Technology To Expand Our Hearts Sep 19, 2025 3160 On today's episode Luis discusses his practice of humanizing those he disagrees with, and how the killing of Charlie Kirk, and the response to it, inspired him to share his reaction.When one of the people who had abused him died, Luis thought he'd feel relief, but instead found grief and love underneath the fear he'd been trapped in. His own self-inquiry made him decide that it hurt

[Ep. 294] Trauma Healing 101: Learn How To Combine Nutrition + Somatics In Just 7-Weeks Sep 17, 2025 1497 Most of us were alone during our most traumatic experiences—and then left alone to try to heal from them. In this episode, Luis explores why isolation is at the root of so much trauma, how unexpressed survival responses can stay stuck in the body for decades, and why healing requires connection. He shares why group work is so powerful, how somatic practices and whole-food nutrition work together,

[Ep. 293] How To Eat For ADHD Sep 14, 2025 948 Luis has lived the ADHD diagnosis, along with tics, tourrettes, binge eating, self-hatred and suicidal ideation. All of this stress does a number on the gut lining, which leads to brain inflammation and brain fog. Luis began to notice that all of his symptoms would shapeshift depending upon what food he had eaten. Eventually this practice taught him how to eat for a nutrient deficient brain, while

[Ep. 292] Treating ADHD By Making Life More Exciting Sep 11, 2025 355 Do you have ADHD? Has anyone ever asked you what kind of food you eat and if your life excites you? Luis had self-medicated his ADHD with sugar, caffeine, and cigarettes because stimulants boost dopamine. This can help with short term productivity, but these substances also stimulate the heart, nervous system, and adrenals, eventually leading to burnout. What if we learned how to use dopamine defi

[Ep. 291] What If ADHD Was Actually About Your Gut? Sep 9, 2025 341 Luis explores the correlation between ADHD, dopamine, and the gut. He explains how certain foods can change and shift your microbiome, which then can improve your dopamine levels and lower brain inflammation.You can read more about, and register for, the Navigating Weight & Body Image With Somatics webinar here: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/weight-and-body-image-webinar You can regis

[Ep. 290] F*ck Your Table: The Practice Of Belonging To Yourself Sep 7, 2025 3600 Have you ever heard the reference to, "a seat at the table"? As in, "everyone deserves a seat at the table"? Camille and Luis riff on how they feel about "the table". They. Don't. Need. Your. Table. Luis wasn't allowed into spaces to spread his work because of how he looked, so he built his own HLN-shaped table. If we are constantly searching for a table to

[Ep. 289] The Avoidant-Anxious Duo: A Match Made In Hell or Heaven? Aug 31, 2025 1331 Let's explore attachment styles. Luis has learned from personal experience that avoidant attachment types are simply bodies overwhelmed by a connection that feels overly needy, like a burden, and as a result they over-identify with independence. Anxious attachment types seek safety outside of themselves, and often end up seeking that safety in an avoidant partner. So anxious types and avoidan

[Ep. 288] Let's Dive Deep Into The Origins Of Avoidant Attachment Styles Aug 24, 2025 1730 Join a crow, a fawn, and Luis on a morning walk to chat about the avoidant attachment style. There is a myth that avoidant attachment style folks are narcissistic psychopaths. He challenges this through the lens of somatics, seeing the avoidant attachment style as a habit in bodies that don't have capacity for connection. Their lack of capacity for their own feelings makes connection feel re

[Ep. 287] Spirituality, Animism, & Parts Work w/ Dick Schwartz Aug 17, 2025 2718 Today Luis chats with Dick Schwartz, developer of Internal Family Systems (I.F.S.). Dick started his career as a family therapist. Upon asking the question, "why isn't family therapy working?" he began to develop what has become I.F.S. He learned from being in the field, and from making mistakes, how to tend to the parts of us that are usually frozen in the past. Dick found that whe

[Ep. 286] How To Navigate Conflict Somatically Aug 10, 2025 1200 On today's episode, Luis discusses navigating conflict through a somatic lens. As he speaks about conflict, he does not mean abuse or threat, but disagreement, disappoint and frustration.Luis teaches about his "Tending To Rupture" method, and how he's been able to apply it to his client work, as well as his personal life. He discusses how the physiology of trauma response creat

[Ep. 285] Teeming With Life: The Role Regenerative Farming Plays In The Land & Our Communities w/ Will Harris Aug 3, 2025 2745 On today's episode, Luis speaks with Will Harris, a farmer, cattleman, and owner of White Oak Pastures. Will shares his personal story of how he inherited his family farm, and how he transitioned the farm from an industrial model to a regenerative one.When taking an industrial approach to farming, Will had caused desertification on parts of his land from the use of chemicals and monocultural

[Ep. 284] Interrupting Teenage Isolation w/ Trevor Spring (Part II) Jul 31, 2025 2718 Trevor is back for a second podcast episode with Luis to discuss parenting in the age of social media and screen prevalence. The hard first question is, what social media and screen patterns do the parents model? Do parents use their own free time to disassociate and isolate with the screen? Do parents use the screen as a babysitter for their child/ren, so that they have time to resource themsel

[Ep. 283] Supporting Boys Through Puberty w/ Trevor Spring (Part I) Jul 27, 2025 2782 Trevor Spring joins Luis for a tender discussion about masculinity, and how to tend our boys. Many boys and men have grown up, or are growing up, in isolation around their emotions and sexuality, with little to no physical or emotional attunement from caregivers and mentors. Porn becomes the de facto teacher prompting a chemistry shift in a frozen, dissociated body. Sexuality is learned with and f

[Ep. 282] Interrupting Your Teen Boy's Isolation w/ Parallel Co-Regulation Jul 24, 2025 903 In this episode, Luis continues the short series on male puberty by exploring parallel co-regulation, which is similar to parallel play -- meaning they're playing near or next to each other -- and how important it is for teenage boys. During puberty, many boys lose access to their feelings while stuck in a body overwhelmed by testosterone and transformation at every level. An increase in sens

[Ep. 281] The Difference Between Raising "Gentle Boys" & EMBODIED Ones Jul 21, 2025 1279 In this episode, Luis dives into the developmental trauma of boys -- a continuation of Episode 279: This Is Why I Think P*rnography Is Traumatizing For Developing Boys -- and how they are generally unsupported through puberty.There's a lot of discourse around "toxic males" and problematic men in our society, but not a lot of somatic discussion around how to support young boys in a n

[Ep. 280] This Is Why I Disagree With Gender-Affirming Treatment For Minors (And It's PRO-Trans) Jul 17, 2025 1175 Join Luis as he riffs about gender-affirming surgery, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers for minors. He looks to Marci Bowers, the first transgender female gynecologist and surgeon, who makes the case for not giving minors puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Children can safely explore who they are through temporary means, such as: make-up, fashion, roles, gender and stereotypes. The teenage

[Ep. 279] This Is Why I Think P*rnography Is Traumatizing For Developing Boys Jul 13, 2025 1383 On today's episode, Luis begins a conversation about male puberty that will continue into another two videos to explore what they face when testosterone begins to transform their bodies, minds, and chemistry. Because of this sudden biological change, p*rnography can be a developmental traumatizing experience for boys that leaves them further isolated from their bodies and emotions.For parenta

[Ep. 278] What Does Stress Have To Do With Skin Health? Jul 7, 2025 710 On today's episode, Luis discusses how our skin health is affected by our hormones, and by our liver health. Everything from acne, rashes, eczema, and psoriasis can be caused by impurities coming out through your skin when your liver is overtaxed.The focus is usually on sex hormones, but stress hormones can also tax your liver, which then can trigger flare ups.We can work with chronic stress

[Ep. 277] The Secret Ingredient For Balanced Glucose? Movement Jul 6, 2025 570 On today's episode, Luis discusses the connection between movement and glucose.Movement and modern, industrialized food now lack a reciprocity. Movement is required for gathering and processing food; movement that many of us no longer need to perform in order to access calorically dense food.Refined foods can often cause a glucose spike, which is followed by an insulin response, and then an a

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