
20 Embodied Practices for Healing Trauma and Addiction
Using the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model
18 March 2025
Territory Rights — Worldwide.
Description
Trauma and addiction heal in tandem with this paradigm-shifting approach.
What if addiction, dissociation and other manifestations of trauma were not framed as diseases or disorders, but rather as adaptive methods of regulating the autonomic nervous system? This book does just that, and guides readers through twenty embodied practices that allow for a rewiring of the ANS. By integrating the latest neuroscience from Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory with Eugene Gendlin’s embodied Felt Sense, Jan Winhall’s Felt Sense Polyvagal Model is a paradigm-shifting, deeply somatic approach to healing trauma and addiction.
Here, the reader is presented with two vital tools for healing: learning how to recognise and rewire autonomic state and finding the felt sense of body wisdom. The book’s exercises are uniquely designed to be completed with a mental health professional, another person engaged in this embodied process, or both. Through the twenty embodied practices, the reader and their felt sense partner explore their trauma history together, developing a Four Circle Harm Reduction Plan. Graphic models and case examples help to illustrate the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model.
Reviews
"What I find most compelling about this book is the compassion and warmth that accompany the reader’s journey from hiding and isolation, hallmarks of trauma and addiction, to openness and self-acceptance. It’s a journey that passes through many landscapes, including the scientific foundation of bodily health, cultural distinctions in our understanding of risk, and modes of thought and action that cultivate trust, both of ourselves and of others. This book takes focusing on the road, from a conceptual understanding—of, indeed, a bodily exploration—to a fluid (meta-focusing), intuition-guided methodology that links urgent needs to real solutions, concretely defined, and available either in therapy or outside of therapy. Grounded in the body’s urge for self-care, Winhall’s exercises offer a remarkable pathway through emotional healing." — Marc Lewis, PhD, C. Psych, professor emeritus of developmental psychology and neuroscience, University of Toronto, and clinical psychologist
"20 Embodied Practices for Healing Trauma and Addiction; is a profound guide to reclaiming one’s body, life, and sense of self. By listening to the wisdom of our bodies and cultivating a sense of safety, we can break free from the cycles of trauma and addiction that have held us back. Winhall’s book offers both hope and practical tools for those on this healing journey, transforming how we view and address trauma and addiction." — From the Foreword by Stephen W. Porges, PhD
"Jan Winhall highlights the vital importance of drawing on one’s inner wisdom when healing from trauma and addiction. This work empowers both trauma clinicians and survivors and instills hope in those who are healing from trauma." — Ruth A. Lanius, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry, director of the PTSD Research Unit, and Harris-Woodman Chair, University of Western Ontario