This is not a podcast for the mainstream. This is for the silenced, the cast out, and those whose stories never made the headlines. A Groundbreaking Trauma Justice Podcast from a Genocide Survivor and Somatic Therapist.
Deeply embodied, politically urgent, and spiritually grounded space led by a therapist who survived war and genocide herself. Ana Mael is not just talking about trauma—she has lived it, survived it, and now guides others through it with radical clarity and compassion.
This podcast is a revolution in trauma conversations: it moves beyond mindset tips and breathwork into trauma justice, relational repair, and systemic truth-telling. Each episode invites listeners to stop healing in isolation—and to begin naming, reclaiming, and rising from what hurt them.
Exiled and Rising is for survivors of war, systemic injustice, and complex trauma—especially those living in exile from land, identity, or community.
With raw truth and radical tenderness, Ana Mael offers unfiltered guidance on how to heal when you’ve been cut off—literally or metaphorically—from your home, safety, or sense of self and how to raise up and call for justice.
“This podcast is not about surface-level healing. We are not fluffing the feathers or shaking the crystals here.”
No glamour edits. No AI voices. Just real voice, lived experience, and trauma-focused truth.
Social and Cultural Relevance:
Ana’s work is a mirror for our time. In a global climate of rising authoritarianism, censorship, and the silencing of marginalized voices, this podcast becomes both a somatic protest and a innate act of resistance.
“If you have been silenced… Welcome.”
Ana gives voice to the body in a time when speech itself is policed. This is especially potent for:
Activists and whistleblowers
Immigrants and undocumented individuals
Survivors of trauma who were never given words for what they endured
A deep-dive podcast blending somatic healing expertise, micro-teachings, and lived survivor experience. Each episode distills trauma recovery, nervous system insights, and political consciousness into guidance that helps you reclaim power, safety, and self.
This Podcast Is a Home For:
Overfunctioning Immigrants, Exiled & Displaced – Those who overwork to prove worth
Survivors of War, Genocide, & Systemic Oppression – Healing from identity loss and rebuilding life
Refugees, Stateless, Undocumented People – Navigating erasure and exile
Children of Exiled or Immigrant Parents – Carrying generational wounds
Those Ostracized from Family or Church – For who they are, what they believe, or how they love
Those Seeking Somatic Recovery – Learning to regulate and reconnect with the body
Anyone Ready to Resist Spiritual Bypassing – And choose embodied, justice-based healing
What It Offers:
Real Stories of Survival & Healing – From Ana’s own war journals to survivor interviews
Expert Somatic & Trauma Recovery Insights – Practical tools for regulation and healing
Space for the Cast Out – Centering those excluded from mainstream healing narratives
Healing as Activism – Moving from survival to embodiment, from harm to advocacy
Radical Human Truth – With no scripts, no glamour edits, no “fixing”—only truth
Premium Membership – What You Get in the Private Community
Take your healing deeper with exclusive, high-value content:
Extended, Deep-Dive Episodes – Personal stories and expert somatic breakdowns
Therapy-Based Takeaways – Direct applications for therapy, journaling, and integration
Keynotes & Summaries – Distilled insights to anchor your healing
Full Transcripts – For reflection, accessibility, and in-depth study
Bite-Sized Somatic Lessons – Micro-practices for nervous system healing
Science of Trauma – Research-backed techniques to help reset your body’s stress response
Listener Q&A + Expert Sessions – Ask Ana your questions and receive trauma-informed answers
Ad-Free Listening – No filler, no distractions, just healing and clarity
Meet Your Host: Ana Mael
Ana Mael is a genocide and war survivor, somatic therapist, and founder of the Somatic Trauma Recovery Center. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping survivors of war, forced displacement, systemic oppression, and complex trauma reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-trust.
As a bestselling author, Ana’s book, The Trauma We Don’t Talk About, became a #1 bestseller in over 10 categories, including Mental Health, Personal Testimonies, and Memoirs.
Based in Toronto, Canada, Ana works directly with clients and educates mental health professionals and counselors on the complexities of displacement, exile, and war trauma recovery. She leads training programs, provides trauma-informed therapy, and conducts pioneering research to bridge the gap between somatic therapy and global crisis trauma care.
"From Trauma to Resilience. From Wounds to Resistance."
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for mental health treatment or doctor care and advise. Please consult your mental health and/or medical care provider for individualized care.
All content for Exiled & Rising: Trauma Recovery & Somatic Healing is the property of Ana Mael and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
This is not a podcast for the mainstream. This is for the silenced, the cast out, and those whose stories never made the headlines. A Groundbreaking Trauma Justice Podcast from a Genocide Survivor and Somatic Therapist.
Deeply embodied, politically urgent, and spiritually grounded space led by a therapist who survived war and genocide herself. Ana Mael is not just talking about trauma—she has lived it, survived it, and now guides others through it with radical clarity and compassion.
This podcast is a revolution in trauma conversations: it moves beyond mindset tips and breathwork into trauma justice, relational repair, and systemic truth-telling. Each episode invites listeners to stop healing in isolation—and to begin naming, reclaiming, and rising from what hurt them.
Exiled and Rising is for survivors of war, systemic injustice, and complex trauma—especially those living in exile from land, identity, or community.
With raw truth and radical tenderness, Ana Mael offers unfiltered guidance on how to heal when you’ve been cut off—literally or metaphorically—from your home, safety, or sense of self and how to raise up and call for justice.
“This podcast is not about surface-level healing. We are not fluffing the feathers or shaking the crystals here.”
No glamour edits. No AI voices. Just real voice, lived experience, and trauma-focused truth.
Social and Cultural Relevance:
Ana’s work is a mirror for our time. In a global climate of rising authoritarianism, censorship, and the silencing of marginalized voices, this podcast becomes both a somatic protest and a innate act of resistance.
“If you have been silenced… Welcome.”
Ana gives voice to the body in a time when speech itself is policed. This is especially potent for:
Activists and whistleblowers
Immigrants and undocumented individuals
Survivors of trauma who were never given words for what they endured
A deep-dive podcast blending somatic healing expertise, micro-teachings, and lived survivor experience. Each episode distills trauma recovery, nervous system insights, and political consciousness into guidance that helps you reclaim power, safety, and self.
This Podcast Is a Home For:
Overfunctioning Immigrants, Exiled & Displaced – Those who overwork to prove worth
Survivors of War, Genocide, & Systemic Oppression – Healing from identity loss and rebuilding life
Refugees, Stateless, Undocumented People – Navigating erasure and exile
Children of Exiled or Immigrant Parents – Carrying generational wounds
Those Ostracized from Family or Church – For who they are, what they believe, or how they love
Those Seeking Somatic Recovery – Learning to regulate and reconnect with the body
Anyone Ready to Resist Spiritual Bypassing – And choose embodied, justice-based healing
What It Offers:
Real Stories of Survival & Healing – From Ana’s own war journals to survivor interviews
Expert Somatic & Trauma Recovery Insights – Practical tools for regulation and healing
Space for the Cast Out – Centering those excluded from mainstream healing narratives
Healing as Activism – Moving from survival to embodiment, from harm to advocacy
Radical Human Truth – With no scripts, no glamour edits, no “fixing”—only truth
Premium Membership – What You Get in the Private Community
Take your healing deeper with exclusive, high-value content:
Extended, Deep-Dive Episodes – Personal stories and expert somatic breakdowns
Therapy-Based Takeaways – Direct applications for therapy, journaling, and integration
Keynotes & Summaries – Distilled insights to anchor your healing
Full Transcripts – For reflection, accessibility, and in-depth study
Bite-Sized Somatic Lessons – Micro-practices for nervous system healing
Science of Trauma – Research-backed techniques to help reset your body’s stress response
Listener Q&A + Expert Sessions – Ask Ana your questions and receive trauma-informed answers
Ad-Free Listening – No filler, no distractions, just healing and clarity
Meet Your Host: Ana Mael
Ana Mael is a genocide and war survivor, somatic therapist, and founder of the Somatic Trauma Recovery Center. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping survivors of war, forced displacement, systemic oppression, and complex trauma reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-trust.
As a bestselling author, Ana’s book, The Trauma We Don’t Talk About, became a #1 bestseller in over 10 categories, including Mental Health, Personal Testimonies, and Memoirs.
Based in Toronto, Canada, Ana works directly with clients and educates mental health professionals and counselors on the complexities of displacement, exile, and war trauma recovery. She leads training programs, provides trauma-informed therapy, and conducts pioneering research to bridge the gap between somatic therapy and global crisis trauma care.
"From Trauma to Resilience. From Wounds to Resistance."
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for mental health treatment or doctor care and advise. Please consult your mental health and/or medical care provider for individualized care.
How to Actually Talk With God (A Therapist's Guide)
When Hugs Feel Awkward, Intimacy Feels Impossible. Why does intimacy feel so hard — even with someone you love? Why do hugs feel stiff, awkward, or unsafe? Why do some couples avoid touch altogether? It’s not weakness. It’s not that you’re “broken.” It’s your trauma body remembering.
In this episode of Exiled & Rising, Ana Mael — Somatic Experiencing Therapist for PTSD and Trauma Recovery — reveals the hidden link between trauma, hugging, and intimacy struggles. Whether you’re someone who can’t stand to be hugged, or a couple struggling to connect emotionally or sexually, Ana explains how unresolved trauma interrupts the most basic cycle of trust in the body.
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PRE SALE FOR ANA TEACHINGS STARTS NOW : When Hugs Feel Awkward, Intimacy Feels Impossible Heal the trauma imprint in your body and learn to open, receive, and trust again — in love, in touch, and in intimacy. https://exiledandrising.mykajabi.com/offers/zchSQWb5
Get the Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL
❤️ Please donate . This podcast is independently run. No production teams. Fancy edits. https://buy.stripe.com/3cscOqbbXfZp0sU7ss
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Key Teaching: Trauma Intimacy At birth, we all have the Moro reflex (also called the startle or embrace reflex). It’s simple: open → be held → safely close. When trauma, neglect, or abandonment interrupts this cycle, the nervous system wires in a different lesson: opening is dangerous because no one will catch me.
That incomplete cycle shows up later as: Stiffness and robotic posture (the body saying better stiff than abandoned) Awkward hugs and difficulty receiving love or comfort Shutdown in sexual intimacy and the inability to orgasm Couples who can’t surrender to one another because safety is missing
Somatic Principles of Intimacy
Ana teaches that the front body = nourishment (receiving love, warmth, intimacy) and the back body = protection (safety, “I’ve got you”).
Healthy intimacy happens where these two meet: I can open, and I can trust you will meet me. Without this somatic completion, intimacy breaks down: In relationships, one partner reaches out but the other pulls away. In sex, the body refuses to surrender, making orgasm or closeness impossible. In couples, love is present, but safety is missing — so intimacy feels forced, fake, or dangerous.
Core Lesson Intimacy is not just about romance or sex — it is about the nervous system’s ability to open and safely close, to be visible and still feel protected. Trauma freezes this cycle. Healing means retraining the body to trust that it can expand, be embraced, and condense back into safety. Takeaways from This Episode Awkward hugs are not random — they are trauma imprints. Intimacy struggles in couples are rooted in the same incomplete reflex.
The body says “better stiff than abandoned” — until it learns a new pattern. Trauma healing = relearning to open, to close, and to be safely embraced. Hugging is not just a gesture — it’s a blueprint for nourishment, trust, and intimacy. For many, this is the missing piece: you don’t need more affirmations or “trying harder” in your relationship. You need to heal the somatic foundation of intimacy. If intimacy has felt impossible for you or your partner — whether through avoidance, shutdown, or the inability to surrender — this episode is your starting point.
Who This Helps Survivors of neglect, shock trauma, war, abuse, public shaming/bullying. First responders, veterans, activists living with chronic hypervigilance. Couples struggling with affection, receiving, or sexual surrender. Impact Ana normalizes a widely misunderstood experience, gives a clear somatic mechanism, and o...
This is not a podcast for the mainstream. This is for the silenced, the cast out, and those whose stories never made the headlines. A Groundbreaking Trauma Justice Podcast from a Genocide Survivor and Somatic Therapist.
Deeply embodied, politically urgent, and spiritually grounded space led by a therapist who survived war and genocide herself. Ana Mael is not just talking about trauma—she has lived it, survived it, and now guides others through it with radical clarity and compassion.
This podcast is a revolution in trauma conversations: it moves beyond mindset tips and breathwork into trauma justice, relational repair, and systemic truth-telling. Each episode invites listeners to stop healing in isolation—and to begin naming, reclaiming, and rising from what hurt them.
Exiled and Rising is for survivors of war, systemic injustice, and complex trauma—especially those living in exile from land, identity, or community.
With raw truth and radical tenderness, Ana Mael offers unfiltered guidance on how to heal when you’ve been cut off—literally or metaphorically—from your home, safety, or sense of self and how to raise up and call for justice.
“This podcast is not about surface-level healing. We are not fluffing the feathers or shaking the crystals here.”
No glamour edits. No AI voices. Just real voice, lived experience, and trauma-focused truth.
Social and Cultural Relevance:
Ana’s work is a mirror for our time. In a global climate of rising authoritarianism, censorship, and the silencing of marginalized voices, this podcast becomes both a somatic protest and a innate act of resistance.
“If you have been silenced… Welcome.”
Ana gives voice to the body in a time when speech itself is policed. This is especially potent for:
Activists and whistleblowers
Immigrants and undocumented individuals
Survivors of trauma who were never given words for what they endured
A deep-dive podcast blending somatic healing expertise, micro-teachings, and lived survivor experience. Each episode distills trauma recovery, nervous system insights, and political consciousness into guidance that helps you reclaim power, safety, and self.
This Podcast Is a Home For:
Overfunctioning Immigrants, Exiled & Displaced – Those who overwork to prove worth
Survivors of War, Genocide, & Systemic Oppression – Healing from identity loss and rebuilding life
Refugees, Stateless, Undocumented People – Navigating erasure and exile
Children of Exiled or Immigrant Parents – Carrying generational wounds
Those Ostracized from Family or Church – For who they are, what they believe, or how they love
Those Seeking Somatic Recovery – Learning to regulate and reconnect with the body
Anyone Ready to Resist Spiritual Bypassing – And choose embodied, justice-based healing
What It Offers:
Real Stories of Survival & Healing – From Ana’s own war journals to survivor interviews
Expert Somatic & Trauma Recovery Insights – Practical tools for regulation and healing
Space for the Cast Out – Centering those excluded from mainstream healing narratives
Healing as Activism – Moving from survival to embodiment, from harm to advocacy
Radical Human Truth – With no scripts, no glamour edits, no “fixing”—only truth
Premium Membership – What You Get in the Private Community
Take your healing deeper with exclusive, high-value content:
Extended, Deep-Dive Episodes – Personal stories and expert somatic breakdowns
Therapy-Based Takeaways – Direct applications for therapy, journaling, and integration
Keynotes & Summaries – Distilled insights to anchor your healing
Full Transcripts – For reflection, accessibility, and in-depth study
Bite-Sized Somatic Lessons – Micro-practices for nervous system healing
Science of Trauma – Research-backed techniques to help reset your body’s stress response
Listener Q&A + Expert Sessions – Ask Ana your questions and receive trauma-informed answers
Ad-Free Listening – No filler, no distractions, just healing and clarity
Meet Your Host: Ana Mael
Ana Mael is a genocide and war survivor, somatic therapist, and founder of the Somatic Trauma Recovery Center. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping survivors of war, forced displacement, systemic oppression, and complex trauma reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-trust.
As a bestselling author, Ana’s book, The Trauma We Don’t Talk About, became a #1 bestseller in over 10 categories, including Mental Health, Personal Testimonies, and Memoirs.
Based in Toronto, Canada, Ana works directly with clients and educates mental health professionals and counselors on the complexities of displacement, exile, and war trauma recovery. She leads training programs, provides trauma-informed therapy, and conducts pioneering research to bridge the gap between somatic therapy and global crisis trauma care.
"From Trauma to Resilience. From Wounds to Resistance."
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for mental health treatment or doctor care and advise. Please consult your mental health and/or medical care provider for individualized care.
