Healing Trauma with Sarah Jackson, the Woman Behind Sarah Jackson Coaching (TRP Episode 89)
On this anniversary of a somber national trauma on September 11th, what better way to spend the day than with someone who understands how trauma can be stored in the body.
Our guest today is someone I’ve known for a long time: The Woman Behind Sarah Jackson Coaching has been through it.
Sarah learned the hard way, from the cumulative wisdom from long years of suffering how to resource the nervous system by releasing stored energy , allowing the body to return to a state of regulation, or rest and digest, which is the baseline God designed for us.
The woman behind Sarah Jackson Coaching on Instagram and Facebook is someone who is taking the heart of Jesus to the ministry of healing trauma and releasing it so that the nervous system can return to a baseline of “rest and digest.” That’s where we belong. It’s what we were designed for by our Creator.
I personally think that the message here has some cultural ramifications. Much of politics involves trying to motivate people to do something by getting folks into a nervous system state of fight or flight.
That’s not good for the nervous system. It may temporarily increase attention span to a narrow focus, but a perpetual cycle of this can wreck one’s health, ultimately leading to brain fog and lower attention span. Many people become so overloaded that they go into dorsal vagal shutdown–they can’t take it–or worse, freeze, which is a combination of fight or flight and shutdown.
Sarah spent 6 years in the prime of her young adult life in bed with chronic, invisible illness. I was writing colleagues with her at a non-profit at the time. During writer’s meetings, I glimpsed first-hand what she was going through. She often did her writing from bed.
It seemed hopeless. She saw countless doctors. Sadly, there were multiple layers to this challenge, emotional, financial, social–she was deserted by friends and by the church when she was most vulnerable. She was gaslighted, because the medical people couldn’t see anything wrong with her.
It was only when she began learning to release stored trauma with somatic, bottom up practices, that she began healing her system more holistically. Once that resourcing was in place, she began to heal in a more complete way than ever before.
Now she helps others to do the same.
I saw this transformation with my own eyes over the years. And I can speak from personal experience that her techniques work. She’s not paying me to say any of this. I’m introducing you to her because I really believe in her.
It might seem like an odd topic for The Republican Professor, especially given the last 2 years. It’s actually one of the most relevant topics we’ve ever covered on the podcast, because it gets to the heart of so many issues in our national, regional, and local culture that have relevance to education and learning. I think God designed us to be in a state of rest and digest for optimal learning. I think our politics work best if we develop a culture where people have an attention span, feel resourced and are indeed healthy. I know of no other way to do deep work necessary for long-term, healthy solutions for all problems, big and small.
You’ll notice that Sarah is a lovely young woman and a joy to be around. Most impressive, though, from my perspective is the depth of her wisdom and life experience she has with suffering well. One of the spiritual forms she uses is lament. This is a deep teaching and will serve many millions well.
It’s a strange topic, suffering well. Turns out, it’s actually a thing. But she helps people move through the suffering to the other side.
The Republican Professor is a pro-resourcing-the-nervous-system, pro-rest-and-digest-baseline, pro-attention-span, pro-releasing-stored-trauma, pro-pursuing-health-by-suffering-well podcast.
Therefore, welcome dearest Sarah Jackson of Sarah Jackson Coaching on Instagram and Facebook.
The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.