#63 – Try Softer with Author and Trauma Therapist Aundi Kolber

Season 9 continues with author and trauma therapist Aundi Kolber. Aundi recently celebrated 100,000 copies sold for her book Try Softer. She was also most recently featured on Good Morning America's segment on faith. In this episode we discuss embodiment, what it means to be attuned to our bodies, holding trauma, and then preview some pathways towards deeper connection in community and self. When culture demands we act a certain way, even if it's unhealthy or destructive, unlearning those demands, and coming alongside new ways to be whole, takes time, energy, and insight. We discuss what a better way might look like, and how we can be attentive and offer care to our bodies. From mapping internal systems, to finding life giving community, we cover a lot of ground here. In your own pursuit of embodiment, find a piece in this episode that resonates with you, and go deeper. Aundi's Full Bio: Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor (MA, LPC) and author of the critically acclaimed Try Softer. She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. Aundi regularly speaks at local and national events, and she has appeared on podcasts such as The Lazy Genius with Kendra Adachi, Typology, Go and Tell Gals, and The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain. Find her on Instagram. Description for Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy We don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, shows us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect us to our truest self and truly live. This is the “try softer” life. In Try Softer, you’ll learn how to: Know and set emotional and relational boundaries Make sense of the difficult experiences you’ve had Identify your attachment style—and how that affects your relationships today Move through emotions rather than get stuck by them Grow in self-compassion and talk back to your inner critic Trying softer is sacred work. And while it won’t be perfect or easy, it will be worth it. Because this is what we were made for: a living, breathing, moving, feeling, connected, beautifully incarnational life. Description for Strong Like Water We’ve all heard the platitudes: “No pain, no gain.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But if we spend our lives trying to be “the strong one,” we become exhausted, burned-out, and disconnected from our truest selves. What if it were different? Could there be a different way to be strong? Could strength mean more than pushing on and pushing through pain, bearing every heavy burden on our own? What if, instead, true strength were more like the tide: soft and bold, fierce and gentle, moving together as one powerful force? In Strong like Water, Aundi offers a framework for true flourishing. With each page, you’ll: • Learn how your nervous system shapes your experience so that we can move through pain instead of being stuck in it. • Explore various practices, rhythms, and resources to support you in challenging circumstances with compassion and hope. • Discover how to internalize connection, love, and safety?empowering you with greater resilience. A different, more expansive way of healing, wholeness, and possibly