The morning of Tuesday, January 7, 2025, began like any other. I went to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials and planned to meet a friend for lunch. As I stepped out of the store, I noticed something unusual—it looked like it was snowing. For a balmy Southern California day, that would have been impossible. It didn’t take long to realize that the snow-like particles were ash, drifting from a fire that had broken out in the Palisades, not far from where I stood.
It was early enough that firefighters and first responders were still arriving on the scene. My intuition told me this was big, and I needed to get home. I canceled my plans and rushed back.
As the day unfolded, I watched in disbelief as flames crested over the ridge and began their descent into Topanga Canyon, where I live, advancing toward us with terrifying speed. Some flames reportedly reached over 50 feet tall.
Over the next few days, it became a series of sleepless nights and moments of raw vulnerability, watching as the fire moved closer, completely decimating everything in its path. The lush canyon was transforming into an ash wasteland. All the while watching the news and social media, watching my world just burn.
The Body Talks
Even though I felt scared, I thought I was clear-headed, but my body told a different story. I noticed my entire body trembling as though I was hypoglycemic, but eating or drinking water didn’t stop the shaking. My stomach churned constantly, making it difficult to eat anything at all. My muscles ached, and an unrelenting tightness gripped my chest. These physical signs of stress, anxiety, and fear were undeniable, even as I tried to stay grounded and calm.
There is one moment I remember with visceral clarity: standing in my yard, watching the fire rage and crest over the last ridge that stood between it and my home. I had to surrender to a force far beyond my control. If it demanded everything I owned, so be it. I would let it go. As I released my fear, my body began to relax. In that moment of surrender, I felt a calmness wash over me.
I’m not saying you have to surrender everything you own in order to regulate your nervous system—in fact, many people did lose everything. And it’s absolutely devastating. But for me in that moment, it was what I needed to come back to my training and regain control over my nervous system. My body regulated, and I felt at peace. I knew my community would need support, and I needed to be resourced and ready to step in where I could.
The fires (along with the recent presidential inauguration in the middle of it all – ugh) became a profound teacher in staying calm amidst chaos and not becoming overwhelmed or swept up by the collective emotion. Standing in my yard as the flames raged closer, I realized that surrender didn’t mean giving up—it meant letting go of my need to control what was beyond my reach.
Social media, news, projections, and stories shared by everyone around me contributed to a frantic, fear-based energy that felt ungrounded and unhelpful. Instead, I chose to focus on my own responses and actions, asking myself, “What is life trying to show me and teach me?”
These moments reinforced that while I couldn’t control the fire or the collective reaction to it, I could control how I engaged with it. Letting go of what I couldn’t control and embracing what I could—my attitude, my actions, my nervous system—allowed me to stay grounded and resilient. In this way, the fire became more than just a natural disaster; it became a teacher in trust, perspective, and regulation.
Trauma and the Nervous System
Trauma profoundly impacts the interconnected dimensions of the mind, body, and spirit by disrupting natural processes and creating persistent patterns of imbalance. Witnessing your world consumed by flames or reduced to nothingness is an experience that leaves a deep and lasting impact, leaving an indelible mark on both the body and psyche.
Research shows that trauma alters the brain’s structure and function, particularly in areas responsible for emotion regulation, memory, and stress response, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. These changes can lead to heightened emotional reactivity, impaired decision-making, and difficulties in processing and integrating experiences.
Trauma also dysregulates the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), perpetuating chronic states of hyperarousal (fight or flight) or hypoarousal (freeze), manifesting as physical pain, anxiety, or emotional numbness.
This dysregulation often creates protective patterns that bypass the conscious mind. For example, one client I worked with experienced chronic shoulder pain. During bodywork, we uncovered a connection to a traumatic event she had suppressed for years. Her nervous system had been holding onto that experience, manifesting the unresolved trauma as physical tension. It was only through addressing the underlying trauma that her body could release the pain.
How Trauma Manifests in the Body
Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind; it embeds itself into the body’s tissues, creating feedback loops that reinforce pain and emotional distress. Chronic pain and PTSD are deeply intertwined, with studies showing that 15-35% of individuals with chronic pain also suffer from PTSD. Left unaddressed, these patterns can lead to years of unresolved physical and emotional suffering.
In my practice, I’ve seen clients who spent decades in talk therapy without ever addressing the somatic components of their trauma. One client with persistent back pain came to realize during our session that his pain was rooted in unresolved trauma from an abusive childhood. Once he could connect the emotional and physical layers of his pain, his body finally released the tension it had been holding for years.
Physical pain—whether chronic or unexplained—often has origins that go far beyond the physical layer. Multiple sessions of bodywork, acupuncture, or physical therapy might temporarily alleviate the discomfort, but the pain will inevitably return if its root lies in unresolved trauma stored within the body’s tissues. This deeper understanding underscores the necessity of addressing pain holistically, by considering both its physical and emotional origins, to achieve lasting relief.
A Holistic Approach to Healing
Traditional methods of addressing trauma often fall short because they isolate the physical, emotional, and intellectual layers of healing. Bodywork can release physical tension but doesn’t address emotional trauma. Talk therapy provides a safe space for reframing thoughts but often overlooks the somatic imprint of trauma. Psychedelics offer profound insights but require structured integration to create lasting change.
Psychedelics have emerged as a powerful tool in addressing the intricate layers of trauma and nervous system dysregulation. Research shows that substances like psilocybin and MDMA can help rewire neural pathways disrupted by trauma, fostering emotional resilience and deeper self-awareness. These substances allow individuals to access suppressed memories, reframe deeply ingrained beliefs, and process emotions that have long been stored in the body.
One of the most significant ways psychedelics support nervous system healing is by promoting neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt and form new connections. This process is particularly effective in breaking the cycles of hyperarousal or hypoarousal that keep the autonomic nervous system stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses. By allowing individuals to revisit traumatic experiences from a place of safety and curiosity, psychedelics enable the brain to create new, healthier patterns of response.
Beyond their neurophysiological effects, psychedelics facilitate a profound connection between the mind and body. Trauma often manifests as physical tension or pain, and psychedelics can help individuals access these somatic layers, releasing long-held stress.
For example, during a therapeutic session, someone might recall a specific traumatic event while simultaneously experiencing a physical release, such as tension melting away from the shoulders or a deep exhalation.
The Trilome method builds upon these principles by combining bodywork and psychedelics into a cohesive framework that addresses trauma across the five bodies: physical, emotional, energetic, intellectual, and spiritual. By integrating these modalities, the method provides a direct path to resolving trauma at its root, offering profound and lasting healing.
Integration is key to making these experiences transformative and enduring. Psychedelic therapy isn’t just about the insights gained during the session but about how those insights are applied in daily life. Practices like breathwork, bodywork, and mindfulness can help ground the experiences and incorporate the lessons learned into lasting change. By combining the emotional, intellectual, and somatic aspects of healing, psychedelics offer a unique pathway to restoring balance and resilience in the nervous system.
Finding Meaning in the Ashes
As the smoke clears and life moves forward, I am reminded of the profound lessons the fire imparted. Resilience is not about controlling the uncontrollable; it is about finding peace amidst chaos and learning to trust the unfolding of life. Healing from trauma, much like facing the flames, requires a willingness to confront the discomfort, release what no longer serves us, and embrace the tools that can guide us toward balance.
Whether through mindfulness, somatic practices, or integrative approaches, healing is possible when we approach it with intention and compassion. Trauma may leave its mark, but it also offers an invitation—to grow, to connect, and to reclaim the wholeness within us. Just as the canyon will regrow, so too can we find renewal and strength in the face of life’s challenges.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of yesterday, a new day is born.
