#815 The Mind/Body Connection - Liz Tenuto aka The Workout Witch

#815 The Mind/Body Connection - Liz Tenuto aka The Workout Witch

What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation between host Paul Gilmartin and somatic specialist Liz Tenuto, aka "The Workout Witch", digs into how trauma shows up in the body and what can change when you finally start listening to it.

You’ll hear Liz share her history of childhood sexual assault, including summers spent with an unsafe family member and a drugging incident by a lifeguard, and how long-denied experiences eventually erupted as insomnia, gut issues and chronic pain. She talks frankly about the struggle to even say the word "incest" and those nagging questions like, "What would I be like if that hadn’t happened?" From there, the episode shifts into practical mind/body tools.

Liz explains somatics in down-to-earth terms, describing her first class as "people rolling around on the floor in their pyjamas" and yet feeling, for the first time, a warm, tingling sense of safety in her body. After just four classes, her decade-long insomnia lifted. She walks Paul through a simple one-minute exercise you can do in the car to calm the fight–flight response and shares how short, accessible practices became the backbone of her online courses.

The chat also touches on nervous system states (fight, flight, freeze and that "Goldilocks" middle), perfectionism, the pressure of running a trauma-focused business with millions of followers, and the sting of online harassment. Liz adds lighter notes too, describing her first healthy same-sex relationship and the joy of building it slowly.

If you’ve ever felt like your body is a crime scene, or you’ve wondered whether your pain, anxiety or insomnia might be linked to old wounds, this episode offers honest stories and concrete body-based ideas. Could it be time to let your body have a say in your recovery?