There's Nothing Wrong With You: Trauma, Yoga, and Healing Your Nervous System
There’s nothing wrong with you.
"What if the thing you've spent years trying to fix was never broken in the first place?"
Have you ever wondered why something seems easy for everyone else—but not for you?
Maybe you've been told you aren't trying hard enough.
That you need more discipline.
More willpower.
More motivation.
Eventually, those messages can become something much deeper.
"There's something wrong with me."
It's one of the most common beliefs I hear as a trauma therapist.
Different stories.
Different people.
The same painful conclusion.
In this episode of Spiritual Friction, I sit down with yoga therapist and trauma-informed health and wellness coach Liz Albanis for a conversation that gently challenges that belief.
Not with false reassurance.
But with understanding.
When the Body Isn't the Problem
One of the most fascinating parts of our conversation is Liz's introduction to skeletal variation—the reality that no two bodies are built exactly the same.
Some yoga poses simply aren't possible for certain people.
Not because they're inflexible.
Not because they aren't trying.
Simply because their bodies are built differently.
For years, Liz believed she wasn't trying hard enough.
Then she learned something that changed everything.
There had never been anything wrong with her body.
It makes me wonder how often we reach the same conclusion about ourselves in other areas of life.
How often do we confuse difference with deficiency?
How often do we mistake survival for failure?
Healing Didn't Begin the Way She Expected
Liz didn't begin practicing yoga because she was searching for healing.
She was looking for exercise.
She walked into her first hot yoga class hoping to burn some calories.
Instead, something unexpected happened.
Her nervous system began to slow down.
Her body found moments of stillness it hadn't known for years.
Within months, after fifteen years of trying, she stopped smoking.
Not because someone convinced her to quit.
But because the thing the cigarettes had been helping her manage was slowly beginning to change.
As we discuss in the episode, behaviors often make more sense when we understand what they're protecting.
Sometimes the coping strategy isn't the problem.
Sometimes it's the solution our nervous system found while trying to survive.
The Body Remembers
Liz also shares what it was like to survive not one—but two house fires.
The second brought back everything the first had left behind.
Hypervigilance.
Sleeplessness.
Fear.
The body remembered.
Not because it was broken.
Because it was protecting her.
Trauma often lives beyond memory.
It shows up in our physiology.
In our startle response.
In our relationships.
In the way we brace before something even happens.
Understanding that doesn't erase the pain.
But it changes the question.
Instead of asking,
"What's wrong with me?"
we begin asking,
"What happened to me?"
A Different Way of Holding Space
One of my favorite moments in our conversation isn't about yoga at all.
It's about the way Liz teaches.
She describes creating what she calls a sacred container.
Not by demanding perfection.
Not by insisting there's one right way.
But by offering choice.
Invitational language.
Predictability.
Permission.
As a therapist, this deeply resonates with me.
Healing rarely happens because someone pushes us harder.
It happens when we're finally met where we are.
There's Nothing Wrong With You
Near the end of our conversation, I asked Liz what she would say to her younger self.
The little girl who had survived trauma.
Who believed she wasn't smart enough.
Who thought something was fundamentally wrong with her.
She didn't hesitate.
"There's nothing wrong with you. You've been through a lot for a child. Keep trying. Ignore those who tell you there's something wrong with you. You are not alone in this experience—but your experience is completely unique."
I think many of us need to hear those words.
Not because they erase our struggles.
But because they remind us that understanding often comes before healing.
A Gentle Reflection
As I sat with this conversation afterward, I found myself returning to a question I hear often in therapy:
"What's wrong with me?"
Perhaps a different question is worth asking.
What if your nervous system has been doing exactly what it was designed to do?
What if your coping strategies developed for a reason?
What if the goal isn't to become someone different—but to understand yourself with greater curiosity, compassion, and care?
What would change if you stopped trying to fix yourself...
and began listening instead?
Listen to the Conversation
🎙️ Episode 15
There's Nothing Wrong With You: Trauma, Yoga, and Healing Your Nervous System
with Liz Albanis
Connect with Liz
Website: https://www.lizalbaniswellness.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizalbaniswellnessau/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lizalbaniswellnessau
Podcast: Yoga for Trauma: The Inner Fire of Yoga
Continue Exploring
If this conversation resonated with you, you may also enjoy:
Learning to Trust Yourself After Trauma with Jennifer Chambers
Beyond Numbing with Jake Petrykowski
Intuition Doesn't Shout with Dr. Carol Talbot
Or, if you're longing for deeper connection, you're warmly invited to join our free online community for deep feelers on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Stories held with care.
