Laura Khoudari is a trauma-informed wellness practitioner, author, and speaker who empowers individuals through personal strength training and embodied healing. She is the author of the memoir Lifting Heavy Things: Healing Trauma One Rep at a Time, which reimagines strength training as a path to resilience, and her innovative approaches have impacted hundreds of clients and readers. Laura's work draws deeply from her lived experience as a queer woman and her dedication to inclusive, feminist, and body-positive spaces, weaving together narrative, movement, and clinical insight to foster holistic healing.

What does it really mean to be strong? For many, strength evokes images of muscle, grit, and pushing through pain. But what if strength is something quieter — something that invites us to listen, rest, and rebuild trust with ourselves? What if healing from trauma begins not in the mind, but in the body?

For Laura Khoudari, a trauma-informed wellness author and speaker, true strength is born from awareness and gentleness rather than force. Drawing from her experience as a personal trainer and author, she explains that strength isn't about how much weight you lift but how you show up for yourself. It's the act of recognizing your limits and honoring them, even as you work to expand them. Laura's approach bridges movement and narrative, helping people reconnect with their bodies after trauma and rediscover agency in the process. Her work reminds us that healing and empowerment often happen in small, deliberate acts of self-love.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost is joined by Laura Khoudari to discuss how embodied movement and storytelling can transform trauma recovery. They explore how redefining strength allows us to meet our bodies with compassion, why writing can be a powerful somatic practice, and how honoring boundaries supports true empowerment. Laura also shares insights on integrating feminist and queer perspectives into healing work and movement.

Anna Clark Miller is the Owner and Trainer at Empathy Paradigm, a practice that provides therapy, training, and resources for people recovering from religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and cult dynamics. She is a licensed counselor (LPC-S, LMHC-S, NCC) and clinical supervisor with experience in trauma work and high-control group recovery. She wrote The Religious Trauma Survival Guide and hosts the podcast Martyr, She Wrote for survivors and professionals. Her approach is religiously neutral and aims to support autonomy, empathy, and healing.

Leaving a high-control faith or religious community can feel like losing your entire world. The beliefs that once gave structure and meaning can suddenly become sources of pain and confusion. How do you rebuild a sense of self and safety when even your spirituality feels unsafe?

According to Anna Clark Miller, a licensed counselor, supervisor, and author who specializes in religious trauma recovery, healing begins with reclaiming autonomy and reconnecting with the body's truth. She highlights that many survivors were taught to distrust their emotions and intuition, leaving them vulnerable to shame and disconnection. By practicing self-compassion and learning to listen to the body rather than fear it, individuals can begin to rebuild trust within themselves. This shift allows survivors to define their own values, relationships, and sense of spirituality on their own terms.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost sits down with Anna Clark Miller, Owner and Trainer at Empathy Paradigm, to discuss healing religious trauma and reclaiming autonomy. They explore the process of deconstructing faith, the importance of neutrality in therapy, and how survivors can rediscover meaning outside organized religion. Anna also shares how community, curiosity, and self-trust create lasting freedom.

Vanessa Osage is the Director of Philanthropy at NAMI Washington, a nonprofit that provides education, support, and advocacy for mental health. Vanessa leads fundraising and donor engagement initiatives to support the organization's programs. She also coordinates sponsorship and partnership efforts for signature events such as the NAMI WA Conference and Brainpower Showcase. Vanessa is also an author, having published Can't Stop the Sunrise and Sex Education for Girls: A Parent's Guide.

What does it mean to truly create safety in a world where systems often fail to provide it? How do individuals transform personal struggles into sources of strength and empathy that can uplift entire communities?

According to Vanessa Osage, a longtime nonprofit leader and author, safety begins with the courage to seek health and belonging even in the face of adversity. She highlights how her early experiences of displacement and survival shaped her empathy and ability to connect with others across differences. By weaving together themes of justice, empowerment, and healing, she explains how both one-on-one therapy and peer-led support groups can profoundly reorder lives.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost sits down with Vanessa Osage, Director of Philanthropy at NAMI Washington, to discuss creating safety and community through mental health advocacy. They explore how lived experience can serve as an access point to empathy, why peer support groups and education can be life-changing, and the importance of advocacy in shifting systems. Vanessa also shares how storytelling and art play a role in reducing stigma.