Join two of the leading educators in manual therapy, bodywork, and massage therapy, as they delve into the most intriguing issues, questions, research, and client conditions that hands-on practitioners face. Stimulate your thinking with imaginative conversations, tips, and interviews related to the somatic arts and sciences. For professional practitioners in bodywork, massage therapy, structural integration, chiropractic, myofascial and myotherapy, orthopedics, sports massage, physical therapy, osteopathy; as well as yoga, strength and conditioning, and allied professions. This podcast is not medical or treatment advice.
All content for The Thinking Practitioner is the property of Til Luchau & Whitney Lowe 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.
Join two of the leading educators in manual therapy, bodywork, and massage therapy, as they delve into the most intriguing issues, questions, research, and client conditions that hands-on practitioners face. Stimulate your thinking with imaginative conversations, tips, and interviews related to the somatic arts and sciences. For professional practitioners in bodywork, massage therapy, structural integration, chiropractic, myofascial and myotherapy, orthopedics, sports massage, physical therapy, osteopathy; as well as yoga, strength and conditioning, and allied professions. This podcast is not medical or treatment advice.
146: Inflammation, Touch, & the Grieving Body (with Mary-Frances O’Connor)
The Thinking Practitioner
56 minutes
5 months ago
146: Inflammation, Touch, & the Grieving Body (with Mary-Frances O’Connor)
🎙Grief is not just an emotion—it’s a full-body experience. In this episode, Til Luchau talks with neuroscientist and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, author of The Grieving Body, about how grief changes the brain, affects inflammation, and alters our physiology. They explore how attachment loss rewires the brain, how inflammatory responses shape behavior and mood, and how the body experiences grief via physical sensations.
They also discuss the role of touch, bodywork, and therapeutic presence in supporting people through grief, and together they reflect on the profound connections between grief, the body, and the healing power of human connection.
🔍 Key Topics:
04:30 – Grief and the brain: What happens in the mind-body connection
10:45 – Grief is not toxic: A new understanding of pain and loss
16:00 – How inflammation shapes behavior and mood in grief
24:00 – Attachment loss and the nervous system: Polyvagal insights
32:45 – The physical sensations of grief: aches, tension, and holding patterns
38:00 – Touch as co-regulation: What bodywork can offer in grief
44:15 – Grief as a lifelong, embodied process, not something to get over
50:10 – Practical insights for bodyworkers supporting grieving clients
55:30 – How understanding the body’s role in grief can transform our approach
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đź“„ Get the full transcript at Til or Whitney's sites!Â
Whitney Lowe’s site: AcademyOfClinicalMassage.comÂ
Til Luchau’s site: Advanced-Trainings.comÂ
Resources discussed in this episode:Â
Two of Mary-Frances O’Connor's books:
The Grieving Brain https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-grieving-brain-mary-frances-oconnorÂ
The Grieving Body https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-grieving-body-mary-frances-oconnorÂ
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About Whitney Lowe | About Til Luchau | Email Us: info@thethinkingpractitioner.com
(The Thinking Practitioner Podcast is intended for professional practitioners of manual and movement therapies: bodywork, massage therapy, structural integration, chiropractic, myofascial and myotherapy, orthopedic, sports massage, physical therapy, osteopathy, yoga, strength and conditioning, and similar professions. It is not medical or treatment advice.)
The Thinking Practitioner
Join two of the leading educators in manual therapy, bodywork, and massage therapy, as they delve into the most intriguing issues, questions, research, and client conditions that hands-on practitioners face. Stimulate your thinking with imaginative conversations, tips, and interviews related to the somatic arts and sciences. For professional practitioners in bodywork, massage therapy, structural integration, chiropractic, myofascial and myotherapy, orthopedics, sports massage, physical therapy, osteopathy; as well as yoga, strength and conditioning, and allied professions. This podcast is not medical or treatment advice.
